Missing/Hunting Unique Enemies

[NimrodPE]

Let's say I roam around 2000 ft and have missed Draebor the Imp (1400 ft, lvl 28). Is there a chance that he, or any other unique enemy, will still show up or do I have to go back to hunt them?

If they show up nonetheless, is there a range how much OoD a unique will venture? (Besides vaults)

I ask because thanks to the monster list on thangorodrim.net I know that I missed some uniques.

[Philip]

There's basically no way to miss uniques. Ones from the first 10 levels will still regularly appear very very deep, at least in V. They're probably less likely to generate, because you add a whole lot of other monsters that could be generated.

More importantly, it's not a big deal not to kill uniques. There aren't that many compelling reasons to do so. Just kill them whenever you feel confident you can kill them without any major issues (consumable loss or somthing). The only uniques you need to kill are Sauron and Morgoth after all.

[Bostock]

Hello NimrodPE,

Uniques can show up again and again until you kill them. While they're less, and eventually far less, likely at depths far below their normal depth, they're not impossible. Not sure how much, if at all, vaults affect this process, but I encountered Smeagol at the bottom of the dungeon today, for example.

Note that there is no need at all to kill every unique, and in fact I believe I recall recommendations to leave easy uniques unkilled so that Morgoth will summon them instead of the difficult ones. Personally I find this too fiddly though.

[NimrodPE]

Thank you ;D

Well, I'm quite a "completionist" but on the other hand not that eager to hunt every unique. That n00b question just came up while browsing through the monster list.

@"Missing" Uniques: The Ant Queen just showed up on 2450 ft (usually 1850).

@Vaults: Quaker (unique golem) showed up OoD around 600 ft before his usual level, just to say.

[Bostock]

Ah yes. Vaults are often full of OoDs, and uniques are absolutely no exception there, true.

You can see a list of uniques in-game as well; it's one of the items on the menu you get by pressing ~.

You can see a monster's normal depth in-game while inspecting it. Many or even most uniques are best avoided if they're even at their "native" depth, let alone above it, but some are wimps (e.g. Mughash), pinatas (e.g. Maeglin), or hard to avoid at their depth (e.g. Farmer Maggot's dogs). Some are even wimpy, hard-to-avoid pinatas (Bullroarer). But otherwise - no hurry, more the opposite.

[luneya]

Thank you ;D

Well, I'm quite a "completionist" but on the other hand not that eager to hunt every unique. That n00b question just came up while browsing through the monster list.

If you want to be a completionist, there's always the aftergame--the dungeon keeps going past where you killed Morgoth. Win the game as soon as you're prepared to do so, then hunt down whoever's left. That way, if you get yourself killed fighting the Tarrasque (or even doing something embarrassing like fighting Shagrat), at least your character is a winner rather than a failure.

[Zikke]

Well, I'm quite a "completionist" but on the other hand not that eager to hunt every unique.

I am too. When you get to the late-game uniques, they will sometimes summon other uniques, and the game just pulls from any that haven't been killed. So you'll get plenty of chances to kill the "early" uniques you didn't get to. And probably one-shot them if you're leveled and geared by that point.

[Sky]

if you dive and avoid as many uniques as you can, eventually you'll come across a greater vault and they will be all there.

personally i think the only uniques that can be let go are the tarrasque and huan, maybe chronos (shards), ancalong ..

if you do not kill uniques, when you fight sauron and morgoth, they are likely to case a summon and you'll find yourself surrounded by things you cannot Banish ..

[Ingwe Ingweron]

Except for fun, hunting down all the uniques can be counterproductive. http://angband.oook.cz/forum/showthread.php?p=107826

[NimrodPE]

(...) at least your character is a winner rather than a failure.

Concerning *WINNER*: Is there a "safe" way to protect scrolls from being burned in the inventory by fire attacks? I find it quite annoying to lose teleport and other scrolls which the stores don't sell.

[Derakon]

Concerning *WINNER*: Is there a "safe" way to protect scrolls from being burned in the inventory by fire attacks? I find it quite annoying to lose teleport and other scrolls which the stores don't sell.

Immunity from fire is the only way to do this, and that immunity is fairly rare.

Resistance and double-resistance (stacking permanent + temporary) can help reduce the chance; it's 1% per item for low amounts of fire damage, 2% above 30HP, and 3% above 60HP (I think; it's been ages since I checked the damage thresholds). But even 1HP of fire damage can theoretically destroy every scroll in your inventory.

[Egavactip]

Concerning *WINNER*: Is there a "safe" way to protect scrolls from being burned in the inventory by fire attacks? I find it quite annoying to lose teleport and other scrolls which the stores don't sell.

Immunity from fire.

[kandrc]

Failing immunity, carry what you need and leave the extras in your home.

In the Bad Old Days, I would carry 2, 3, at one time even 4 of each town book for my spell casters. Of course, that gets heavy. These days I squelch town books as soon as I have them (inscribed with !k) and I go to great effort not to get breathed on. Of course, it still happens now and then, but it's rare enough that it doesn't get me killed. When it does happen, I toggle squelch to check if there's a replacement available, then I decide whether to play on or recall. Literally the only item that I carry backups against inventory destruction of these days are word of recall scrolls, which I always have four of (if I can afford them (and unless I have fire immunity, in which case I have two)) when I read one in town.

[Egavactip]

Also, if I am digging/mudding a twisty tunnel towards some baddie with a fire attack, I will sometimes leave items behind me in the tunnel--like that valuable staff of speed or banishment, so they can't be burned up. I'll speed myself first, of course. You can only do that if you are confident of winning the battle and not having to bug out, but it is a way to reduce destruction. It's too cumbersome to do with lots of stuff (and somewhat risky as well), but for 1-3 items it's fine.