[Announce] Poschengband 3.1.0 Released

[HugoVirtuoso]

Just noticed this with new Ring monster race:
I gain ZERO experience if my pet kills wilderness monsters. Is this intended?!

[chris]

Just noticed this with new Ring monster race:
I gain ZERO experience if my pet kills wilderness monsters. Is this intended?!

It's more that your current ring bearer did not gain any experience for the kill. If it does, you get the same amount.

BTW, the experienced gained by one monster for killing another is

X*L/(L' + 2)

where X is the killed monster's experience value, L is the killed monster's level, and L' is the victorious monster's level. So if a powerful monster kills a weak monster, there is no gain.

[Arjen]

Thought for mounts in general.

I've a hard time healing my mount (haven't found heal monster wand yet). Shouldn't the temple service to heal also work for the mount? That way you can at least fully heal your mount without wasting 1000s of turns.

[fred]

Chris. RINGS! Where's that arrogant self absorbed self professed bling-proof twit Faramir, I have a thing or two to discuss with him. About to dive into all things ring/bling, and judging from the above comments, it looks like you took my little lurkers suggestion and turned it into a worthy addition to Poschengband. I salute you Ser.

[mrrstark]

I'm having fun playing this new ring class. Very neat. A couple comments so far:

At level 17, I'm still spamming magic missile having no other attack. I've only gotten a couple ring drops. One at like level 10 gave me a level 25 acid ball that I still cant cast. I also picked up heroism (woo?) and had phase door from the start. So it looks like it might be a very uneven class. Any other wizard would have a bunch of spells in their list by now, offense and detection. It seems like as a caster it's got huge long term potential, but the start is going to be very chancy and you'll have to rely heavily on consumables.

My ride seems to get multiple attacks per round sometimes. I don't quite understand why. I'll cast 1 spell, normal speed (not fast or slowed), and then my mount will punch the thing next to it a few times. This was when riding a normal warrior type p

I just lost my mount in a quest dungeon (sewers), and ... Glitter isn't working.... Am I boned? I think I'm boned.

For glitter, is there a way to know which monster is showing up friendly in response to the glitter, and which ones just happened upon me and are going to attack?

Does anything other than humanoids (p's & h's) wear rings?

Another problem with early game is lack of any way to get light radius increase. It looks like scrolls only?

Also, does the Ring get any pseudo-id at all? I haven't pseudo'd anything at all yet... Makes getting cash harder.... This class seems like a huge candidate for a no-selling game.

[chris]

Chris. RINGS! Where's that arrogant self absorbed self professed bling-proof twit Faramir, I have a thing or two to discuss with him. About to dive into all things ring/bling, and judging from the above comments, it looks like you took my little lurkers suggestion and turned it into a worthy addition to Poschengband. I salute you Ser.

Thanks for the idea. I really liked it at the time but just never got around to it since these sorts of zany things take a lot of coding effort.

[chris]

At level 17, I'm still spamming magic missile having no other attack. I've only gotten a couple ring drops. One at like level 10 gave me a level 25 acid ball that I still cant cast. I also picked up heroism (woo?) and had phase door from the start. So it looks like it might be a very uneven class. Any other wizard would have a bunch of spells in their list by now, offense and detection. It seems like as a caster it's got huge long term potential, but the start is going to be very chancy and you'll have to rely heavily on consumables.

This is indeed a potential problem. But you have mage like skills so could fall back on using devices in a pinch. The towns stock wands of fire bolts and the like (for a price) and also offer recharging services. So you can use your mana for phase door and shoot and scoot stuff as needed. In this scenario (i.e. getting screwed for lack of decent activations) the best approach might be to hunt big monsters in the wilderness with your wand arsenal. 3 or 4 Water Trolls will level you up nicely. Also, check out those hermit houses as the chests inside will have a good drop and you might get lucky. Finally, do quests! The Thieves Hideout, Wargs quest, Tengu and Deathswords quest, the Mimic's Treasure and Doom Quest I all grant ring rewards. Something is bound to help out if you can manage all of those.

Getting Acid Ball is really nice (I wish I had that). Were I you, I would level up to CL25 in the wilderness, boosting Int every chance I got

My ride seems to get multiple attacks per round sometimes. I don't quite understand why. I'll cast 1 spell, normal speed (not fast or slowed), and then my mount will punch the thing next to it a few times. This was when riding a normal warrior type

I think your mount just got a double move. Its probably missing turns occasionally as well. This is just Hengband's random speed system at work.

I just lost my mount in a quest dungeon (sewers), and ... Glitter isn't working.... Am I boned? I think I'm boned.

Yeah, that's a bug. I haven't thought of all the edge cases just yet. If you have recall you can fail the quest and use glitter in the town to pick something up. Missing the Sewer quest line is no big deal as none of the rewards will help you much. Or you can wait until I push a new release (I'd like to hold off a bit if you don't mind as Debo mentioned doing a comp for this in a few days and I'd like to patch as many bugs as possible in the meantime).

For glitter, is there a way to know which monster is showing up friendly in response to the glitter, and which ones just happened upon me and are going to attack?

Actually no monster shows up friendly. Rather, they think you are a treasure so aren't lobbing spells at you (yet). Once they get next to you, they might notice you aren't what you seem and then attack. It won't work every time so there is some risk here but it seems to be a fairly reliable means to get a new bearer.

Does anything other than humanoids (p's & h's) wear rings?

Yeeks ... but they don't help much. Also townsfolk (Try a Singing Happy Drunk for your first mount). But the one useful one you missed are angels. And there are a few others that I don't want to spoil just yet.

Another problem with early game is lack of any way to get light radius increase. It looks like scrolls only?

Another oversight. I added the light up attribute to a few amulets but the early game is still not likely to yield any.

Also, does the Ring get any pseudo-id at all? I haven't pseudo'd anything at all yet... Makes getting cash harder.... This class seems like a huge candidate for a no-selling game.

You get mage-like pseudo-id which means basically no pseudo-id on equipment (which you can't wield anyway) but really good fast pseudo-id on jewelry (which you can identify anyway). So yeah, if you want cash you'll have to use a staff of perception and pay for the constant recharging. Of course, you can limit which items you identify strategically (e.g. only identify if the level feeling is good, or identify unique's drops).

Anyway, thanks for the very useful feedback!

[mrrstark]

Or you can wait until I push a new release (I'd like to hold off a bit if you don't mind as Debo mentioned doing a comp for this in a few days and I'd like to patch as many bugs as possible in the meantime).

No worries. I thought of recalling after I posted.

A few of my questions were trying to figure out design intent also. I haven't played with the Wilderness much. Thanks for the tip, and the cool class. I may also go back and try Death Swords, since I totally didn't realize they worked like this with the absorb mechanic. Fun.

[HugoVirtuoso]

Regarding 3.1.1 "Rings":

What is the difference between:
"<monster> throws you in disgust vs. <monster> sees who you truly are?

[chris]

Regarding 3.1.1 "Rings":

What is the difference between:
"<monster> throws you in disgust vs. <monster> sees who you truly are?

The first occurs when you are being worn and the monster is no longer bound to your will. It removes you, stops being a pet, and then attacks you for good measure. It can be nasty if you are trying to use a ring bearer much more powerful than you or one with big time damage spells.

The second occurs when you are laying on the ground trying to lure an unsuspecting monster into wearing you (Dumb monster should always use identify before equipping stuff, but I guess some folks never learn). In this case, the monster might realize you aren't what you seem before picking you up and will attack you instead.

Both aspects depend on the player's level and charisma versus the monster's level, so you won't be able to get (keep) ring bearers that are too much more powerful than you.

[HugoVirtuoso]

I just lost my mount in a quest dungeon (sewers), and ... Glitter isn't working.... Am I boned? I think I'm boned.

If your monster rejects you in the Sewer quest, you can try to charm it right away (although the chance of success at clvl 17 are not that great) and ride it to control it.

As for the Sewer quest itself, how about replacing one of the monsters with a Zog or something like that?

[mrrstark]

If your monster rejects you in the Sewer quest, you can try to charm it right away (although the chance of success at clvl 17 are not that great) and ride it to control it.

As for the Sewer quest itself, how about replacing one of the monsters with a Zog or something like that?

Yeah by lost I mean it died.

Which reminds me, is there a way to heal your mount?
Also, it'd be nice if rest-until-healed could rest until your pet is healed.

[HugoVirtuoso]

Yeah by lost I mean it died.

Which reminds me, is there a way to heal your mount?
Also, it'd be nice if rest-until-healed could rest until your pet is healed.

Yes. Throw !CCW or any healing type against a nearby wall and your mount will get some healing from the splash effect. You CAN do this with !Speed for +10 Speed bonus for your mount!

You really want to stock up as many health recovery and speed potion consumables as possible for this reason!

[Tulip]

Whenever I get somewhat into midgame (level 20+, if that counts as midgame) I get curbstomped by archviles, dark elven warlocks and other ranged horrors. Is there some sort of way to defend against them or do I have to run/teleport away every time I see (or don't see) the dreaded 'h' or 'u'.

I'm used to the strategy of running away at the measliest breath of challenge in roguelikes, but with poschengband it seems to be taken to the extreme.

Also, experience. Is there a fast way to get experience or is grinding the way to go? Primarily because trying to gain a level as a balance drake/demon/demigod/etc feels like a weekly task.

[Arjen]

Whenever I get somewhat into midgame (level 20+, if that counts as midgame) I get curbstomped by archviles, dark elven warlocks and other ranged horrors. Is there some sort of way to defend against them or do I have to run/teleport away every time I see (or don't see) the dreaded 'h' or 'u'.

I'm used to the strategy of running away at the measliest breath of challenge in roguelikes, but with poschengband it seems to be taken to the extreme.

Also, experience. Is there a fast way to get experience or is grinding the way to go? Primarily because trying to gain a level as a balance drake/demon/demigod/etc feels like a weekly task.

Arch-viles are just horrible, try to lure them around a corner for quick melee. But one source of resist fire helps a lot and you can carry !oResist Fire with you for a second resist.
DEWs are just too weak (hp wise). A good launcher can one-hit-kill them. But the lure-them-around-the-corner-tactic works against them too. Teleport at sight if you can't handle one manabolt.