Here's how I start gnome mages

[Ingwe Ingweron]

Ugh- lost my last promising hobbit mage last night. ~DL 44 or so.

Sorry about your loss. As I recall, hobbit mage was a tough combination.

[bio_hazard]

Seems like it would be a reasonably good race. High stealth, +'s in Int and con, and decent device modifier. mushroom id is not very useful, but hold-life isn't bad (compare with gnome- innate free action is useful up until the mid game at which point you are almost guaranteed to have equipment covering FA, plus as a mage you are often stuck with FA gloves for a long time anyway). Strength and hit die just one worse than gnome.

[brbrbr]

Didn't notice it coming back down the long corridor

In moments like that I really wish I had a wand of Mud to Stone

[bio_hazard]

That's a good point- I could have avoided that by mcc'ing a small anti-summoning corridor and resting there.

To be honest I'm not sure whether I got "double-moved" but it's possible. I think I was at base +8 so it is possible it moved within Telepathy range then breathed before I had a chance to react. Much more likely I didn't notice right away, or the resting didn't interrupt when the B approached.

[Estie]

Ugh- lost my last promising hobbit mage last night. ~DL 44 or so. I was getting a pretty good kit together- swaps for rblind and rconf, telepathy, decent speed, and Con was starting hit the good part of the curve. No dungeon books in the dungeon, but I'd actually managed to buy Resistances and Raal's in the black market!

I was working a small vault- I TOed a Winged Horror, and left the vault to rest so I didn't wake up Kavlax or Smaug. Didn't notice it coming back down the long corridor- no rNether and I was done in one breath with -11hp.

Thats a typical diver´s death. Sometimes I cast light down the corridors before resting; it is by no means a failsafe measure, but has saved me once in a while.

[Derakon]

That's a good point- I could have avoided that by mcc'ing a small anti-summoning corridor and resting there.

To be honest I'm not sure whether I got "double-moved" but it's possible. I think I was at base +8 so it is possible it moved within Telepathy range then breathed before I had a chance to react. Much more likely I didn't notice right away, or the resting didn't interrupt when the B approached.

Isn't vision range slightly longer than spell/breath range for precisely this kind of reason?

[Estie]

Isn't vision range slightly longer than spell/breath range for precisely this kind of reason?

I suspect it was a case of elongated hockey stick, where the B had LOS but the @ didnt.

[bio_hazard]

/\/\//\No- it was a dead-straight corridor.

I'm not sure- it was a dark corridor so I may not have actually seen it

Lighting corridor probably a good idea.

[brbrbr]

/\/\//\No- it was a dead-straight corridor.

I'm not sure- it was a dark corridor so I may not have actually seen it

Lighting corridor probably a good idea.

Been there, done that.
One of my characters was killed by awaken and teleported Barlog, who was at the other end of very, very, very, very long corridor.
I made it a point to always rest in "knight move"/"hockey stick" position. Never rest in corridors.

What else you could do? Maybe memorize every insta-killer you teleported. There is always a chance they will come back. And even higher chance that you will teleport yourself next to them.

[brbrbr]

My Dunedan Mage goes very strong!!!
I am at dl75, and the game is fun and quick. I like it.

Question: how mage should deals with summoners?
I am facing now Mouth of Sauron, Vampire messenger, Saruman...
If I make anti-summoning zig-zag corridor, I would need to go melee.
Mage is not good at melee. Magic Shield gives +50 AC, but is it enough? Totila does about 150 damage... I anticipate I would need to use lot of healing potions if I melee, sounds like waste.

[Ingwe Ingweron]

My Dunedan Mage goes very strong!!!
I am at dl75, and the game is fun and quick. I like it.

Question: how mage should deals with summoners?
I am facing now Mouth of Sauron, Vampire messenger, Saruman...
If I make anti-summoning zig-zag corridor, I would need to go melee.
Mage is not good at melee. Magic Shield gives +50 AC, but is it enough? Totila does about 150 damage... I anticipate I would need to use lot of healing potions if I melee, sounds like waste.

Avoid the battle! TO them and move on until @ is more powerful.

[Timo Pietilä]

Avoid the battle! TO them and move on until @ is more powerful.

150 from Totila is far too little to melee any of those. Priest could perhaps out-last them by standing on rune and healing every time needed, but mage needs bigger guns to survive bigger battles.

[Estie]

That is the tough part for mages: damage is hard to find at that point; ideally, you find Kelek´s and plunder vaults by means of banishment. To kill those uniques, you need either better melee or more experience to be able to cast the good spells, both are best come by from vaults (better items, stat potions, xp potions).

Lacking Kelek`s, its teleport other orgy.

[Werbaer]

Question: how mage should deals with summoners?
I am facing now Mouth of Sauron, Vampire messenger, Saruman...
If I make anti-summoning zig-zag corridor, I would need to go melee.

My mages never use melee.
I usually kill uniques in a looooong straight corridor to limit summoning options. Then i use Explosion / Meteor Swarm / Mana Storm to kill it. When damaged, i create doors, heal with cheap potions unitl the opponent opens the door, then phase away.
Since you're at dlev 75, i assume you're strong enough to kill Saruman this way; i avoid (teleport away) monsters with strong range attacks (for example the Mouth) until i have high hit points and hopefully the last book.

[wobbly]

Saurman also hits for disenchant. If you're not going to blast him with spells you're probably better of using a shooter with slay evil arrows or emptying a staff of holiness on him and recharging then meleeing. I'd honesty wait til you can blast him with spells.

Have you tried separating him from his summons with TO?