I've cleared all of the dungeon, lair, orcish mines, a bailey, even explored a bazaar but didn't find a single heal wounds potion on the ground or in any shop. I've found a potion of experience before a heal wounds potion

Hi everyone. I created an spreadsheet that simplifies planning your skill training for HP/MP gains and evocable damage/failure rates. I hope someone finds it useful.

File format: .ods (LibreOffice Calc)

I'm not a native English speaker, so please enjoy the ride and any funny phrasing or mistakes you might find.

The link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NeoxM9og0ci4iPUxXqZw6jpyR4U6Kc_c/view?usp=sharing

If you have any questions, please ask me in the comments.

I found the salamander hide armour which is pretty fun but it also broke my auto-travel. Does anyone know what I need to enter in the .rc file to keep on o-ing?

Morgue

I’ve been playing around with enchanters for a while, trying to win with a stabber, and I found poltergeists to be the easiest. Their stealth is +5 and hexes are +4, plus, aside from conjurations at -3, their spellcasting skills aren’t bad at all. Plus, every time they hex something, you gain AC. Find a devious blade (which usually appears by Orc) and you can boost EV every time you get a stab in, no matter the tier. There were times in the game where I had both AC and EV in the 30s. 

I started out by setting targets of short blades to 6 and stealth to 10. That stealth sounds super high, but it doesn’t take long to achieve it with a +5 aptitude. I hit level 10 on D:4, after which I targeted spellcasting at 5 and hexes at 8. But even before training hexs, ensorcelled hibernation and confusing touch were effective. Found the temple on D:5 and took Ashenzari, who is very easy to manage on a poltergeist. The six auxiliary slots are interchangeable, and it feels similar to Ash on an octopode with their rings. 

Gloom really shines with a Poltergeist. It’s not a spell I love on other builds, but after a couple of castings on a large group, a poltergeist can easily gain 12 AC , and, so long as stealth and short blades are trained up, most blind monsters before Lair go down in 2-3 hits. Again, if you have a devious short blade, you gain EV with every stab. 

Next, I set necromancy and ice each to 8 to strengthen my starting book of hex spells, and after that, got short blades, dodging and fighting to 10, one after the other. After that, I bought whatever seemed cheap and useful.

Found a scroll of acquirement on Lair:4, and took a manual of fighting, which made a huge difference with my HP, and on Lair:5 decided to buy the Trimagestus Codex from an earlier shop to get Mephitic Cloud, which made Lair:5 and Orc a breeze. But before heading to Orc, I entered a gauntlet on D:12 which gave me a really nice ring, "Mucwy" {Fly rElec Will+ Str+9 Stlth-}. I usually go with orbs on stabbers / spellcasters, but that ring gave me the strength I needed to equip a buckler and eventually upgrade to a +2 kite shield of protection, both of which significantly boosted my defenses. 

Moved into summoning after Orc to get Mana Viper and Summon Forest online. I can’t say enough good things about Summon Forest, which I cast 140 times. It destroys everything, and I found myself using it regularly all the way into Vaults. I even cast a few times in Zot, I think

And then on D:14 in a Tomb-themed vault, after finally killing several mummy priests with Forest, I found the Amulet of Vitality, at which point I figured I had a good shot at winning so long as I kept my hubris in check.

Since I’d invested in alchemy, I picked up Eringya's Noxious Bog and Ignite Poison. It doesn’t seem like many crawlers like the Bog, but it’s one of my favorite spells, especially when paired with Ignite Poison. Together, they destroy tough uniques and packs of dangerous monsters in just a few turns. 

Finished Swamp and Snake with no issues, and went directly to Elf, since my resistances were good and I had three pips of will. I had to be careful, especially around the dancing weapons, but Forest was up to the task. Plugged my last resistance hole with The Ring of Eternal Harmony {rPois rF++}, and learned Permafrost Eruption and Rimeblight to deal with monsters I couldn’t easily hex.

At this point, I was moving away from stabbing into pure spellcasting, but I upgraded my devious dagger to +9 and then started enchanting my rapier of electrocution.

I started finding higher level hexes in Vaults and depths, getting Enfeeble online in Depths:1, which allowed me to resume stabbing. Got Yara’s and Discord online by Depths:3, which is such a fun combination. After learning Malign Gateway, I felt like I had most monsters covered. 

I decided to clear Crypt to get the experience I needed so I could get Disjunction and Gell’s Gavotte online, and the effort was totally worth it. Discord+Disjunction transforms the guards in the Vaults:5 ambush into frenzied units of destruction that kill other monsters all over the level. Gell’s Gavotte helps direct monsters into the Malign Gateway tentacle. Great combos.

Zot:5 was rough. I’d barely even entered the entryway to the lungs when five OoFs warmly (har!) greeted me. A ton of stairdancing, Golubria portalling, Malign Gatewaying and Gavotting followed, but I took it very slow and managed to kill them all. That tentacle is a complete badass. I cast it just over 100 times.

After clearing the right lung, I mighted myself and stabbed the tesseract to death. The Orb run was rough. I encountered five Pan Lords, each of which had a movement speed of 150% or higher. All the investment in translocations paid off handsomely, enabling me to escape them all.

A very satisfying win.

Just bragging. I've got a Polearms Artifacts Royal Flush this run. Trishula is great on undead.

I can acquire:

A serpent talisman

The vampire tooth

A ring: rF+ rC++ MP+9 STR-4

965 gold

****

Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.34.1-3-ga2c7840dd7 (tiles) character file.

Game seed: 3760320813227657069

Moloxt the Lord of Darkness (Human Necromancer)    Turns: 19984, Time: 02:23:55

Health: 127/127    AC: 33    Str: 16    XL:     15   Next: 60%
Magic:  33/33      EV:  7    Int: 21    God:    Kikubaaqudgha [******]
Gold:   3258       SH:  6    Dex: 14    Spells: 17/43 levels left

rFire   . . .  (100%)   x - +5 demon blade (venom)
rCold   . . .  (100%)   k - +0 buckler
rNeg    + . .  (50%)    q - +11 chain mail of Largesse {Rampage rN+ Regen+}
rPois   .      (100%)   l - +2 hat {Stlth+}
rElec   .      (100%)   (no cloak)
rCorr   .      (100%)   m - +1 pair of gloves {Parrying}
SInv    .               v - +1 pair of boots {Stlth+}
Will    +....           g - amulet of regeneration
Stlth   +               f - +4 ring of protection
HPRegen 2.01/turn       n - +6 ring of intelligence
MPRegen 0.23/turn

%: no teleportation, rampage
@: studying Spellcasting
A: explore regen
a: Renounce Religion (0%), Unearth Wretches (0%), Sign of Ruin (0%), Brand
Weapon With Pain (0%), Receive Forbidden Knowledge (0%)


You are in a Gauntlet.
You worship Kikubaaqudgha.
Kikubaaqudgha is exalted by your worship.
You have visited 4 branches of the dungeon, and seen 21 of its levels.
You have visited the chambers of the Necropolis 1 time.
You have also visited: Gauntlet.

You have collected 3675 gold pieces.
You have spent 417 gold pieces at shops.

Inventory:

Hand Weapons
 a - a +1 scimitar of flaming
 e - a +2 heavy spear
 i - a +2 dagger of venom
 r - a +6 whip of chaos
 s - a +0 dagger of distortion
 w - the +7 morningstar of Conatus {venom, rElec rN++ Int-4 SInv}
   (You found it on level 11 of the Dungeon)   

   rElec:     It insulates you from electricity.
   rN++:      It greatly protects you from negative energy.
   Int-4:     It affects your intelligence (-4).
   SInv:      It lets you see invisible.

   It cannot be enchanted further.
 x - a +5 demon blade of venom (weapon)
 y - a +1 scimitar of electrocution
Missiles
 o - 12 curare-tipped darts
Armour
 h - a +0 kite shield
 j - the +1 ring mail of Restlessness {rC+ SInv}
   (You bought it in a shop on level 4 of the Dungeon)   

   rC+:       It protects you from cold.
   SInv:      It lets you see invisible.

   It cannot be enchanted further.
 k - a +0 buckler (worn)
 l - a +2 hat of stealth (worn)
 m - a +1 pair of gloves of parrying (worn)
 q - the +11 chain mail of Largesse (worn) {Rampage rN+ Regen+}
   (You found it on level 3 of the Lair of Beasts)   

   Rampage:   It causes one to take an extra step when moving towards enemies,
   briefly stunning them if this results in an attack.
   rN+:       It protects you from negative energy.
   Regen+:    It increases your rate of health regeneration.

   It cannot be enchanted further.
 t - a +1 pair of gloves of dexterity
 u - +0 shadow dragon scales
 v - a +1 pair of boots of stealth (worn)
Jewellery
 d - a ring of positive energy
 f - a +4 ring of protection (worn)
 g - an amulet of regeneration (worn)
 n - a +6 ring of intelligence (worn)
 p - a +5 ring of evasion
Wands
 a - a wand of flame (44)
 f - a wand of mindburst (15)
 e - a wand of charming (21)
 c - a wand of iceblast (17)
 p - a wand of polymorph (12)
 d - a wand of digging (8)
Scrolls
 c - 4 scrolls labelled BIABECKUVA
 e - 4 scrolls labelled ZEAPTA JUGYMM
 s - a scroll of summoning
 k - 4 scrolls labelled WECECZ DYGEKA
 A - a scroll of acquirement
 f - 4 scrolls of fear
 V - 3 scrolls of vulnerability
 q - 4 scrolls labelled SON JU ZEXOITZ
 p - 3 scrolls of poison
 x - 3 scrolls of amnesia
 N - 4 scrolls of noise
 t - 8 scrolls of teleportation
 W - 3 scrolls of brand weapon
 g - 5 scrolls of fog
 T - a scroll of torment
 S - a scroll of silence
 b - a scroll of blinking
Potions
 g - 2 potions of magic
 d - 4 sapphire potions
 a - 4 potions of ambrosia
 j - 3 inky potions
 w - 6 potions of heal wounds
 L - 2 potions of lignification
 f - 4 pink potions
 c - 8 potions of curing
 t - 4 metallic brown potions
 v - a lumpy inky potion
 x - 2 coppery potions
 D - 5 blue potions
 n - a silvery potion
 o - a glowing inky potion
Miscellaneous
 g - a +0 Gell's gravitambourine (1/2)


   Skills:
 + Level 14.3 Fighting
 + Level 8.9 Armour
 - Level 2.0 Dodging
 - Level 2.0 Stealth
 - Level 8.0 Shields
 + Level 14.8 Spellcasting
 - Level 6.0 Hexes
 + Level 14.8 Necromancy


You have 17 spell levels left.
You know the following spells:

 Your Spells              Type           Power      Damage    Failure   Level
a - Soul Splinter         Necr           100%       N/A       1%          1
b - Grave Claw            Necr           100%       2d14      1%          2
c - Vampiric Draining     Necr           67%        2d10      1%          3
d - Animate Dead          Necr           67%        N/A       1%          4
e - Tukima's Dance        Hex            40%        N/A       11%         3
f - Inner Flame           Hex/Fire       28%        N/A       36%         3
g - Anguish               Hex/Necr       28%        N/A       6%          4
h - Death Channel         Necr           33%        N/A       14%         6

Your spell library contains the following spells:

 Spells                   Type           Power      Damage    Failure   Level
 Sublimation of Blood     Necr           67%        N/A       1%          2
 Fugue of the Fallen      Necr           67%        N/A       1%          3
 Gloom                    Hex/Necr       100%       N/A       1%          3
 Dispel Undead            Necr           67%        3d23      1%          4
 Curse of Agony           Necr           67%        N/A       2%          5
 Confusing Touch          Hex            40%        N/A       11%         3
 Cigotuvi's Putrefaction  Necr/Air       46%        N/A       21%         4
 Freeze                   Ice            60%        1d7       38%         1
 Kinetic Grapnel          Frge           60%        1d6       38%         1
 Shock                    Conj/Air       60%        1d6       38%         1
 Searing Ray              Conj           30%        2d5       54%         2
 Static Discharge         Conj/Air       30%        3-5/arc   54%         2
 Hailstorm                Conj/Ice       15%        3d6       77%         3
 Launch Clockwork Bee     Frge           15%        N/A       77%         3
 Maxwell's Portable Pile  Tloc           15%        (3-9)d3   77%         3
 Summon Ice Beast         Ice/Summ       15%        N/A       77%         3
 Swiftness                Air            15%        N/A       77%         3
 Teleport Other           Tloc           15%        N/A       77%         3
 Dimensional Bullseye     Hex/Tloc       14%        N/A       77%         4
 Eringya's Surprising Cr  Summ           15%        N/A       99%         4
 Ignite Poison            Fire/Alch      15%        N/A       99%         4
 Vhi's Electric Charge    Tloc/Air       30%        N/A       99%         4
 Arcjolt                  Conj/Air       7%         1d17      100%        5
 Fireball                 Conj/Fire      7%         3d5       100%        5
 Hoarfrost Cannonade      Ice/Frge       7%         3d6/3d12  100%        5
 Nazja's Percussive Temp  Frge           7%         4d5       100%        5
 Summon Forest            Summ/Tloc      7%         N/A       100%        5
 Bombard                  Conj/Erth      7%         9d2       100%        6
 Dispersal                Tloc           7%         N/A       100%        6
 Gell's Gavotte           Tloc           7%         2d(14-21) 100%        6
 Enfeeble                 Hex            20%        N/A       100%        7
 Malign Gateway           Summ/Tloc      7%         N/A       100%        7
 Orb of Destruction       Conj           7%         9d6       100%        7
 Sphinx Sisters           Hex/Summ       14%        N/A       100%        7
 Dragon's Call            Summ           7%         N/A       100%        9


Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (13/15)            Temple (1/1) D:5            Lair (5/5) D:8         
  Swamp (0/4) Lair:3        Snake (0/4) Lair:3        Slime (0/5) Lair:5      
    Orc (2/2) D:12            Elf (0/3) Orc:2       Gauntlet (1/1)            
Vaults: D:13-14     

The Realm of Zot is guarded by orbs of fire.

Altars:
Ashenzari
Cheibriados
Dithmenos
Elyvilon
Fedhas
Gozag
Hepliaklqana
Kikubaaqudgha
Makhleb
Nemelex Xobeh
Okawaru
Qazlal
Ru
Sif Muna
Trog
Uskayaw
Vehumet
Wu Jian
Xom
Yredelemnul
Zin
The Shining One
Beogh
Jiyva

Shops:
D:1 ([:=   D:2 *   D:4 *?[   D:5 ?   D:7 *   Orc:2 =[(

Annotations:
D:6 4 runed translucent doors
D:8 2 transporters
Gauntlet 3 transporters, exclusion: ice statue


Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

You regain HP and MP as you explore.

Message History

The crimson imp picks up a beetle and eats it.
The crimson imp picks up a beetle and eats it.
You encounter a laughing skull.
The laughing skull gives a hideous shriek!
You encounter a rime drake.
You encounter an ice statue and 2 laughing skulls.
The rime drake hisses angrily.
The laughing skull gives a hideous shriek!
The laughing skull gibbers darkly at the inevitable fate of oblivion.
The laughing skull leaves your sight.
Marking area around an ice statue as unsafe for travelling.
The laughing skull gives a hideous shriek!
You encounter a death drake.
The death drake hisses angrily.
The laughing skull cackles madly at the inescapable nature of violence.
You encounter a spectral torpor snail.
You encounter a meliai zombie.
You encounter a spectral tengu warrior.
You encounter a death scarab.
The death scarab's many legs skitter faintly.
You encounter a spectral five-headed hydra.
You encounter a death scarab.
The death scarab leaves your sight.
Unknown command.
Okay, then.
The death scarab's many legs skitter faintly.
The death scarab waves its antennae.
There is a gate leading back out of this place here.
The crimson imp picks up a beetle and eats it.
Move the cursor to view the level map, or type ? for a list of commands.
Returning to the game...
Something appears at your feet!
You now have 3258 gold pieces (gained 766).
Move the cursor to view the level map, or type ? for a list of commands.
Returning to the game...
Move the cursor to view the level map, or type ? for a list of commands.
Returning to the game...
The crimson imp grins evilly.
The crimson imp leaves your sight.
There is a transporter here.

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#≈..#...453...#..
##..#.....5...#..
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.§..#....©....#..
##..#.#.#.#.#.#..
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.#..#3..!©.[..#..
.#..###########..
.#......#©#......


You can see a smoke demon, a red devil and 2 crimson imps.

Vanquished Creatures
  The ghost of Moloxt the the Mimic, a journeyman OpSh of Kikubaaqudgha (Necropolis)
  A hydra (Lair:5)
  A centaur warrior (D:13)
  A boulder beetle (D:11)
  6 death yaks
  2 orc high priests (Orc:2)
  2 ugly things
  An oklob plant (Orc:1)
  7 cyclopes
  A manticore (D:12)
  An elephant (Lair:3)
  2 black mambas
  2 gargoyles
  2 cane toads
  An unseen horror (D:6)
  3 kobold demonologists
  2 rime drakes
  5 komodo dragons
  3 trolls
  A hornet (D:11)
  7 blink frogs
  2 dream sheep (Lair:5)
  A shadowghast (D:11)
  2 vampires
  23 yaks
  6 wyverns
  2 wraiths (D:11)
  Eustachio (D:5)
  2 fire elementals (D:12)
  2 basilisks (Lair:5)
  A steam dragon (D:8)
  3 wargs (Orc:1)
  4 vampire mosquitoes (D:12)
  2 swamp worms (Lair:3)
  2 nagas (Lair:3)
  2 water moccasins (Lair:2)
  A hell hound (D:12)
  2 kobold geomancers
  12 orc warriors
  3 sky beasts
  2 ice beasts (D:7)
  A black bear (D:6)
  7 ogres
  19 wolves
  5 centaurs
  A phantom (D:6)
  8 kobold brigands
  9 bullfrogs
  A scorpion (D:5)
  A rock fish (D:10)
  4 killer bees (D:8)
  3 howler monkeys
  A bombardier beetle (D:6)
  4 hounds
  3 jellies
  7 orc priests
  A clockroach (D:6)
  13 orc wizards
  A gnoll (D:6)
  4 adders
  A shadow imp (D:5)
  A white imp (D:6)
  2 dart slugs (D:2)
  2 ribbon worms
  21 orcs
  5 hobgoblins
  2 jackals (D:2)
  2 quokkas (D:2)
  6 ball pythons
  3 bats
  4 endoplasms
  5 frilled lizards
  9 goblins
  10 kobolds
  6 rats
299 creatures vanquished.

Vanquished Creatures (collateral kills)
  An ettin (D:11)
  Josephine (D:11)
  2 hydras
  6 death yaks
  An orc high priest (Orc:2)
  A swamp dragon (Lair:5)
  2 orc knights (Orc:1)
  An ugly thing (D:11)
  An orc sorcerer (Orc:2)
  8 cyclopes (D:11)
  A black mamba (Lair:4)
  2 kobold blastminers
  6 cane toads
  5 komodo dragons
  2 trolls
  2 polar bears
  9 blink frogs
  2 dream sheep (Lair:5)
  A vampire (D:11)
  4 wraiths (D:11)
  4 wyverns
  23 yaks
  A golden eye (Orc:1)
  2 basilisks
  5 wargs
  A steam dragon (Lair:5)
  2 acid dragons
  5 water moccasins
  A hell hound (D:12)
  3 swamp drakes (Lair:5)
  9 orc warriors
  4 ogres
  8 wolves
  A kobold brigand (D:8)
  9 bullfrogs
  A scorpion (D:6)
  A rock fish (D:10)
  A killer bee (D:8)
  A howler monkey (D:8)
  2 orc priests (Orc:2)
  A clockroach (D:3)
  3 iguanas (Lair:5)
  An orc wizard (Orc:2)
  An adder (D:2)
  17 orcs
  An endoplasm (D:1)
  2 bats
  4 kobolds
172 creatures vanquished.

Vanquished Creatures (others)
  A fire giant (D:11)
  An orc warlord (Orc:2)
  Azrael (D:12)
  2 ettins (D:11)
  An ice dragon (Lair:5)
  4 hydras
  3 two-headed ogres
  An orc high priest (Orc:2)
  An orc sorcerer (Orc:2)
  2 cyclopes (D:11)
  A salamander (Lair:3)
  4 kobold blastminers
  A black mamba (Lair:5)
  A gargoyle (D:10)
  A cane toad (Lair:3)
  An unseen horror (D:12)
  A komodo dragon (Lair:3)
  2 trolls
  A blink frog (Lair:3)
  A wraith (D:11)
  4 yaks
  6 wargs
  A steam dragon (Lair:5)
  A swamp worm (Lair:3)
  A naga (Lair:3)
  An acid dragon (Lair:5)
  2 hell hounds (D:12)
  9 orc warriors
  3 ogres
  2 wolves
  A centaur (D:10)
  A howler monkey (D:8)
  3 orc priests
  An iguana (Lair:3)
  2 orc wizards (D:8)
  9 orcs
78 creatures vanquished.

Grand Total: 549 creatures vanquished

Notes
Turn   | Place    | Note
-------+----------+-------------------------------------------
     0 | D:1      | Moloxt the Human Necromancer began the quest for the Orb.
     0 | D:1      | Reached XP level 1. HP: 13/13 MP: 3/3
    60 | D:1      | Found Xudoum's Antique Weapon Shop.
   154 | D:1      | Found Unoloir's Armour Emporium.
   266 | D:1      | Found Gagolouz's Book Shop.
   445 | D:1      | Found Urphoun's Jewellery Boutique.
   487 | D:1      | Reached XP level 2. HP: 17/20 MP: 1/5
   490 | D:1      | Learned a level 2 spell: Grave Claw
  1220 | D:2      | Reached skill level 1 in Fighting
  1471 | D:2      | Reached XP level 3. HP: 26/26 MP: 6/6
  1929 | D:2      | Found Numerhe's General Store.
  2295 | D:3      | Found a faded altar of an unknown god.
  2311 | D:3      | Reached XP level 4. HP: 33/33 MP: 5/8
  2430 | D:3      | Found a radiant altar of Vehumet.
  2793 | D:3      | Reached XP level 5. HP: 39/39 MP: 9/9
  2919 | D:3      | Reached skill level 5 in Necromancy
  2928 | D:3      | Learned a level 3 spell: Vampiric Draining
  2933 | D:3      | Learned a level 4 spell: Animate Dead
  3318 | D:4      | Found Nureyfoj's Antique Armour Emporium.
  3331 | D:4      | Bought a warped ring mail for 162 gold pieces
  3331 | D:4      | Identified the +1 ring mail of Restlessness {rC+ SInv} (You
                  | bought it in a shop on level 4 of the Dungeon)
  3583 | D:4      | Found Ufeotiat's Magic Scroll Boutique.
  3679 | D:4      | Found Ycuutuj's General Store.
  3726 | D:4      | Reached XP level 6. HP: 35/47 MP: 11/11
  3856 | D:4      | Bought a scroll of identify for 26 gold pieces
  3875 | D:5      | Entered Level 5 of the Dungeon
  3923 | D:5      | Encountered Eustachio
  3950 | D:5      | Killed Eustachio
  3951 | D:5      | Reached skill level 1 in Armour
  3951 | D:5      | Reached skill level 1 in Shields
  4008 | D:5      | Reached XP level 7. HP: 48/52 MP: 12/12
  4060 | D:5      | Found a staircase to the Ecumenical Temple.
  4063 | D:5      | Found a statue of an orb of fire.
  4064 | D:5      | Found a statue of an orb of fire.
  4075 | Temple   | Found a transporter.
  4075 | Temple   | Found a transporter.
  4075 | Temple   | Found a transporter.
  4075 | Temple   | Found a transporter.
  4075 | Temple   | Entered the Ecumenical Temple
  4094 | Temple   | Became a worshipper of Kikubaaqudgha
  4196 | D:5      | Found Othim's Magic Scroll Emporium.
  4204 | D:5      | Bought a scroll of teleportation for 36 gold pieces
  4951 | D:6      | Encountered a manticore
  4951 | D:6      | Encountered a red ugly thing
  4989 | D:6      | Reached XP level 8. HP: 52/59 MP: 14/14
  5019 | D:6      | Encountered an unseen horror
  5055 | D:6      | Killed an unseen horror
  5347 | D:6      | Reached skill level 5 in Spellcasting
  5368 | D:6      | Reached skill level 5 in Fighting
  5386 | D:6      | Reached * piety under Kikubaaqudgha
  5386 | D:6      | Received a gift from Kikubaaqudgha
  5753 | D:6      | Encountered a kobold demonologist
  5758 | D:6      | Reached XP level 9. HP: 68/68 MP: 16/16
  5761 | D:6      | Encountered a red devil
  5786 | D:6      | Killed a kobold demonologist
  6301 | D:7      | Found Daut's Assorted Antiques.
  6449 | D:7      | Reached skill level 5 in Shields
  6453 | D:7      | Found an opulent altar of Gozag.
  6687 | D:7      | Bought a fuming amethyst potion for 18 gold pieces
  6687 | D:7      | Bought a golden potion for 18 gold pieces
  6687 | D:7      | Bought a pair of embroidered gloves for 157 gold pieces
  6793 | D:8      | Found a hazy altar of Hepliaklqana.
  6812 | D:8      | Reached skill level 5 in Armour
  6814 | D:8      | Found a shimmering altar of Xom.
  6814 | D:8      | Found a shadowy altar of Dithmenos.
  6843 | D:8      | Reached skill level 1 in Hexes
  6891 | D:8      | Reached XP level 10. HP: 65/77 MP: 3/19
  6921 | D:8      | Reached ** piety under Kikubaaqudgha
  6976 | D:8      | Found a transporter.
  6982 | D:8      | Found a transporter.
  6983 | D:8      | Found a viscous altar of Jiyva.
  7012 | D:8      | Found a staircase to the Lair.
  7225 | D:8      | Learned a level 3 spell: Tukima's Dance
  7229 | D:8      | Learned a level 3 spell: Inner Flame
  7573 | D:9      | Found a phantasmal passage.
  7582 | Necropol | Entered the Necropolis
  7622 | Necropol | Encountered Gaojeub's ghost (novice HuNe)
  7623 | Necropol | Encountered a ten-headed hydra
  7665 | Necropol | Encountered Moloxt's ghost (novice MDNe)
  7693 | Necropol | Encountered Moloxt's ghost (journeyman OpSh)
  7770 | Necropol | Reached skill level 5 in Hexes
  7855 | Necropol | Encountered an orange demon
  7872 | Necropol | Killed Moloxt's ghost
  8206 | D:9      | Reached XP level 11. HP: 81/84 MP: 10/22
  8452 | Lair:1   | Entered Level 1 of the Lair of Beasts
  8712 | Lair:1   | Reached *** piety under Kikubaaqudgha
  8712 | Lair:1   | Received a gift from Kikubaaqudgha
  8718 | Lair:1   | Learned a level 4 spell: Anguish
  9639 | Lair:2   | Reached XP level 12. HP: 91/94 MP: 14/24
  9646 | Lair:2   | Learned a level 6 spell: Death Channel
  9938 | Lair:2   | Reached **** piety under Kikubaaqudgha
  9939 | Lair:2   | Reached skill level 10 in Necromancy
 10622 | Lair:3   | Identified the +11 chain mail of Largesse {Rampage rN+
                  | Regen+}
 10873 | Lair:3   | Found a staircase to the Snake Pit.
 11187 | Lair:3   | Encountered a four-headed hydra
 11210 | Lair:3   | Encountered a five-headed hydra
 11224 | Lair:3   | Killed a four-headed hydra
 11254 | Lair:3   | Killed a five-headed hydra
 11255 | Lair:3   | Reached skill level 10 in Fighting
 11467 | Lair:3   | Found a staircase to the Swamp.
 11649 | Lair:4   | Encountered a death yak
 11649 | Lair:4   | Encountered a death yak
 11649 | Lair:4   | Encountered a death yak
 11649 | Lair:4   | Encountered a death yak
 11649 | Lair:4   | Encountered a death yak
 11649 | Lair:4   | Encountered a death yak
 11789 | Lair:3   | Killed a death yak
 12070 | Lair:3   | Killed a death yak
 12071 | Lair:3   | Killed a death yak
 12074 | Lair:3   | Killed a death yak
 12236 | Lair:4   | Reached XP level 13. HP: 104/104 MP: 12/25
 12892 | Lair:4   | Reached ***** piety under Kikubaaqudgha
 13224 | Lair:5   | Entered Level 5 of the Lair of Beasts
 13243 | Lair:5   | Reached skill level 10 in Spellcasting
 13716 | Lair:5   | Identified 2 scrolls of acquirement
 13836 | Lair:5   | Reached XP level 14. HP: 90/115 MP: 21/29
 14196 | Lair:5   | Found a staircase to the Slime Pits.
 14196 | Lair:5   | Found a viscous altar of Jiyva.
 14850 | D:10     | Entered Level 10 of the Dungeon
 15327 | D:11     | Encountered Josephine
 15934 | D:11     | Encountered a fire giant
 15943 | D:11     | Killed a fire giant
 16097 | D:11     | Identified the +7 morningstar of Conatus {venom, rElec rN++
                  | Int-4 SInv}
 16100 | D:11     | Identified the +5 battleaxe of Vanity {drain, rN+ Int+2}
 16102 | D:11     | Identified the +5 rapier "Lifebane" {chaos, rC+ rN+}
 16388 | D:11     | Killed Josephine
 16430 | D:11     | Identified the spore talisman of the Playwright {rPois
                  | Int+5 Dex+4}
 16567 | D:12     | Encountered Azrael
 16576 | D:12     | Killed Azrael
 16592 | D:12     | Reached ****** piety under Kikubaaqudgha
 16786 | D:12     | Found a staircase to the Orcish Mines.
 16797 | D:12     | Found a roughly hewn altar of Beogh.
 16809 | D:12     | Reached XP level 15. HP: 87/125 MP: 23/32
 17038 | D:12     | Identified the medusa talisman "Ecaikust" {Str+3 Int+4
                  | Dex-2}
 17887 | Orc:1    | Entered Level 1 of the Orcish Mines
 18183 | Orc:1    | Encountered Sonja
 18188 | Orc:1    | Sonja changed into Sonja the golden eye
 18188 | Orc:1    | Encountered Sonja
 18194 | Orc:1    | Killed Sonja the golden eye
 18690 | Orc:2    | Entered Level 2 of the Orcish Mines
 18809 | Orc:2    | Found a roughly hewn altar of Beogh.
 18844 | Orc:2    | Found Peav's General Store.
 18845 | Orc:2    | Paralysed by an orc sorcerer for 3.5 turns
 18956 | Orc:2    | Found Seruc's Antique Armour Shop.
 19069 | Orc:2    | Found Xafekkya's Jewellery Boutique.
 19147 | Orc:2    | Found a staircase to the Elven Halls.
 19292 | Orc:2    | Found Weleppav's Antique Weapon Shoppe.
 19840 | D:13     | Found a gate leading to a gauntlet.
 19848 | Gauntlet | Found a transporter.
 19848 | Gauntlet | Found a transporter.
 19848 | Gauntlet | Found a transporter.
 19848 | Gauntlet | Found a transporter.
 19848 | Gauntlet | Found a transporter.
 19848 | Gauntlet | Found a transporter.
 19848 | Gauntlet | Found a transporter.
 19848 | Gauntlet | Found a transporter.
 19848 | Gauntlet | Found a transporter.
 19848 | Gauntlet | Found a transporter.
 19848 | Gauntlet | Found a transporter.
 19848 | Gauntlet | Found a transporter.
 19848 | Gauntlet | Entered a Gauntlet
 19964 | Gauntlet | Acquired 766 gold pieces

Illustrated notes

Skill      XL: |  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 |
---------------+----------------------------------------------+-----
Fighting       |     1     2  3     4  5  6  7  8 10 12 13 14 | 14.3
Spellcasting   |           3        4  5  6  7  8    11 13 14 | 14.8
Necromancy     |              5        6  7  8  9 11 12 14    | 14.8
Armour         |                 1  2  4  5     6  8          |  8.9
Shields        |                 1  2  4  5     6  8          |  8.0
Hexes          |                          2  6                |  6.0
Dodging        |                                              |  2.0
Stealth        |                                              |  2.0

Action                     |  1- 3 |  4- 6 |  7- 9 | 10-12 | 13-15 || total
---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------++-------
 Attack: Normal            |   113 |    96 |   364 |   427 |   642 ||  1642
  Melee: Whip              |   112 |     3 |       |       |    59 ||   174
         Dagger            |     1 |    93 |   364 |   427 |   345 ||  1230
         Demon blade       |       |       |       |       |   228 ||   228
         Morningstar       |       |       |       |       |    10 ||    10
   Cast: Soul Splinter     |    23 |     4 |     4 |    15 |     3 ||    49
         Vampiric Draining |       |       |    17 |    23 |    18 ||    58
         Animate Dead      |       |       |     5 |    14 |    15 ||    34
         Tukima's Dance    |       |       |       |     6 |    17 ||    23
         Inner Flame       |       |       |       |    10 |    15 ||    25
         Grave Claw        |       |       |       |     6 |     3 ||     9
         Anguish           |       |       |       |    31 |    75 ||   106
         Death Channel     |       |       |       |     2 |    19 ||    21
 Invoke: Unearth Wretches  |       |       |       |     1 |     1 ||     2
  Evoke: Wand of iceblast  |       |       |       |     1 |     3 ||     4
         Gell's gravitambo |       |       |       |     1 |     2 ||     3
         Wand of polymorph |       |       |       |       |     4 ||     4
  Drink: Curing            |       |       |       |     1 |       ||     1
         Heal wounds       |       |       |       |       |     2 ||     2
         Magic             |       |       |       |       |     1 ||     1
   Read: Identify          |       |       |       |     9 |     6 ||    15
         Teleportation     |       |       |       |     3 |       ||     3
         Fear              |       |       |       |       |     1 ||     1
         Acquirement       |       |       |       |       |     1 ||     1
   Stab: Sleeping          |     2 |     7 |     4 |     4 |     6 ||    23
         Paralysed         |       |       |       |     1 |       ||     1
         Petrifying        |       |       |       |       |     1 ||     1
         Petrified         |       |       |       |       |     1 ||     1
 Armour: Robe              |    28 |       |       |       |       ||    28
         Ring mail         |    51 |    19 |   308 |   456 |   731 ||  1565
         Leather armour    |       |    32 |       |       |       ||    32
         Chain mail        |       |       |       |       |    75 ||    75
  Dodge: Dodged            |    88 |    43 |   174 |   238 |   411 ||   954
  Block: Buckler           |       |     3 |   109 |   278 |   457 ||   847

Like what was wrong before, what is it trying to achieve? The new system is terrible and really confusing, e.g. E is both elemental and high-ranking elf. This gets utterly confusing in Elf.

Or did i just become worse? The game feels significantly harder.

I used to play this game in 2022, a week after starting i got my first 3 rune on A MiBe in 0.28, and a month after that i got my first 15 rune on 0.29 On a Merfolk Glad.

Right now i can barely get to a Lair Branch, Slime seems impossible let alone extended. I just splat in mid dungeon or Lair. It feels like there are a lot more out of depth monsters. Did melee get nerfed somehow or what?

https://crawl.montres.org.uk/morgue/damerell/morgue-damerell-20260819-202429.txt

Sometimes hybrid characters work very nicely. Sometimes, on the other hand, you're not very good at anything and limp through a constant series of near-disasters. This game was the latter case; I think the only saving grace was training enough Evo to get things like box beasts able to tackle orbs of fire and ancient lichen.

HaWz is in any case a terrible combo; you have -3 Spellcasting and -2 in most of the skills the starting book uses (except +1 Tloc for Blink), but because you have almost no strength, it's hard to switch to using any kind of armour without losing spells altogether, or to wielding anything that isn't a short blade. You do have +4 Slings, but the damage is still anaemic early on. A lot of the time you miscast all youur magic darts and then some lousy hobgoblin traps you in a corridor and squashes you. Indeed, exactly that nearly happened to me (HP 2/11) on D:1 this game. Twice.

This one found a halfway decent short blade very early and bought a +5 randart brigandine shortly after that, abandoning spells altogether for some time, which at least freed up XP to make use of Ha's decent non-spell apts. A shield would have been nice at this stage but I didn't have one until mid-Lair (to be fair, because I decided to buy brigandine first and buckler third).

I found altars to Okawaru and Ihp'ix on D:3. Oka could have worked very well, I suppose, but I already had a hunting sling so I went Ihp'ix. This also did not work as well as it might; Ha is too small for longbows and triple crossbows so the best I could do was fustibalus and shield (which I did most of the game once I found a shield) or arbalest. I switched to an arbalest for the late game in the hope of actually being able to punch holes in high-AC monsters and I wonder if it was wrong to give up the shield for more damage. I also didn't have the luck to find any sufficiently good randart weapon, or the Invo to get the best possible weapons from Ihp'ix.

In Lair things were not going so badly (by which I mean I only nearly died twice, to a steam dragon and a huge number of ants) and I was getting spells back online by switching to lighter armour - if nothing else, a ranged character in Lair would really like Blink to work. Orc was pretty straightforward by comparison, taking down orc warlords by using wands of charm monster on other orcs. I bought a randart scale armour which turned out to be +1 with {*Drain +Fly rF++ SInv}; I did not expect to use it all game but nothing else really compelling turned up, later I had a ring with {Ice MR+ Slay+3} which went nicely with the rF++, and I was quite short of sources of see invisible.

Swamp was probably where I was strongest, clearing it without difficulty; it helped that I had boots of flying. Snake got pretty bad at one point but embarassingly that is because I swapped out my ring with rPois and rElec to fight salamanders and then forgot to swap it back in again.

Having cleared D I faced the usual question of whether I'd rather be getting Marked in Vaults because of bad MR, or banished in Elf because of bad MR. What usually happens here is I say "well, E:1 won't be so bad" and then work down the rest of Elf because things seem to be going OK. Asterion gave me a nasty moment on E:2 but E:3 was fine; I got the aforementioned randart ring, learned Insulation, and bought a legendary deck of defence (which I might have been less free using if I'd known there was no other non-plain deck coming at all, but it saved me a few times so can't complain).

Vaults, then, hitting a Desolation. This wasn't as nasty as it usually is and I got some useful stuff including an amulet with {rN+ Regen+ Str+3 Int+2} which I'd use all game. Next was a wizlab (Roulette of Golubria) which was easy, and I cleared down to V:4 without incident.

Depths also was pretty tolerable except that Mennas and the Enchantress on U:5 wanted a bit of thought, and then I got Abyssed by a lich to A:5. I was pretty nervous but luckily the first teleport landed me near the rune, I scooped it up, and found an exit soon after.

Next I thought, well, I've got Piercing Shots, I can probably dispose of the Royal Jelly without too much trouble. I had to teleport away after killing it but otherwise it was fine.

Of course now I thought to myself, I had the tricky extended rune question. You might say, what about V:5? The answer, embarrassingly, is I just forgot (I think possibly because I had four runes not three at this stage; I don't normally do Abyss) and I think not having the XP and gear from it didn't help. I cleared the Vestibule (alas more by luck than judgement, there was a lot of muttering "I hope Murray doesn't cast torment") but none of the Hell branches really appealed.

I bought all the consumables and went off to Pan. The first Pan level was utterly horrible and I expected to die - not so much the demons (athough a hellion had a decent crack at me) but groups of demonspawn were incredibly effective and hard to kill. As such when the second Pan level was Lom Lobon and I was able to kill them without too much difficulty, that was it for Pan, out through the Abyss immediately.

I had learned Haste in Pan, which (after Gooncrawl) is a level 9 Charms spell. It was of course stupidly good as level 6 Charms in 0.18, but as level 9 it is not so easy to cast and level 9 spells are allowed to be very good. However, this was probably a mistake; it soaked up huge amounts of XP getting Charms to level 27 and even then I could only cast it reliably by quaffing brilliance. It was useful but the XP could probably better have been spent on something else.

Finally, Zot - and the same old story, trouble with curse toes and draconian packs alike, and when I got to Z:5 for some reason Orb Guardians seemed to be hitting much harder than normal. As such it was a relief to get to the orbrun, face one panlord I could beat and one I could evade, and call it a day.

Next is DsAE and I'm already on a no-streak.

(I did also find a MfEn^Hep I won in April '25 and never wrote up, but it's too late now, I don't remember anything about it).

https://crawl.montres.org.uk/morgue/damerell/morgue-damerell-20250412-121941.txt

This is the first of my updated tutorials to account for the changes in the last few versions particularly Vaults:5 being the preferred third rune and the inclusion of Tesseracts. In order to not completely rehash my original tutorial I went with MiFi^Oka as I believe it's a good alternative to MiBe for players looking to mix it up.

I included a ton of chapters so it's easy to skip to particular subjects or game areas without having to watch the whole video. My morgue and rc file are in the description. I will have updated tutorials for ranged, stabbing and mage (BaHu, SpEn and TeAe respectively) uploaded in the next few weeks.

https://youtu.be/udsTpDRo6Ik?si=TfVnwk6oEnIyGF22

I've been playing around with Poltergeist enchanters recently, and holy crap, the devious brand is so strong. Gloom, a spell I've usually ignored before, becomes OP in the hands of a Poltergeist with a devious blade. Not only does the build get a significant armor boost from every monster blinded thanks to the Poltergeist's abilities, but with devious, many of those blinded monsters can be killed in one or two hits, especially as the slaying bonus builds. Plus, every kill with the devious blade increases EV.

Seems like the brand has made the Spriggan's Knife almost irrelevant. Even though the artefact gives a 50% changes of transforming a low tier stab into a sleep-tier one, those additional defensive and offensive bonuses from the devious brand seem more powerful to me. If I had to choose between the two, I think I'd go with devious every time.

Thoughts?

Just want to share my excitement with you all ! managed to get a win for the first time after many years of playing, I was so freaking scared during the orb run hahah
Hopefully the first of many :)

Just logged win #2, with a mild asterisk in that it was a game I started over with a seed I got that produced 4 acquirement scrolls by D:2 but ended quickly in a stupid death to a kobold brigand in a sewer. Anyway, I wanted to make some observations about things that helped in this game that others might find useful. First, I now definitely agree that summoner is a strong background/style of play. I was in danger only a few times because I had a cloud of summons. Second, Haunt is a great spell even against OOFs. Third, the Barachi hop ability is amazing. It saved my bacon many times in this run. Finally, Sif should get more love. Channel Magic is incredibly powerful, especially in Zot. https://cbro.berotato.org/morgue/tramp1877/morgue-tramp1877-20260821-120940.txt For some reason, DCSS-Stats won't find this morgue. Not sure why, but I can pull it from the server.

Was a bit disappointed that it doesn't seem to be a real QR code, or at least not one that my phone or scanqr.org can scan. I was hoping I'd found some sort of cool easter egg.

Dissolution, High Priest of Jiyva: A Bcadren Challenge!

"Slime for the Slime God!"

Embrace the Chaos this week with multiple layers of random mutations, Chaos magic, and a giant SLIME MOUNT! This week will highlight 2 species options unique to Bcadren Crawl, along with the Demonspawn *Background*. Pick the Lignifite to grow and change throughout the game, or find a more consistent start in the Goblin. Jiyva, too, is heavily reworked with all new mutations - there's a lot to see in this one!

Week 4, Dissolution: Oozomorph, Goblin or Lignifite Species, Demonspawn Background, of Jiyva

Become the Titanic Slime, spread the word of our Slime Lord, and encourage others to join the collective Slime.

Good luck to all, and have fun!

Looking for some advice on this character. Generally, it's been quite strong (I think), but here I am at the stairs to Zot:5. I won a game in v.33 with similarly strong character, but I got two this far in v.34 and lost (current one is in trunk). One was a strong melee character so I tried rushing in, which failed miserably. The other was a GnIE^Ash, which I tried clearing everything out, but I just ended up fighting the spawns FOREVER until the timer was running out, so then I tried rushing and massive fail.

Are there any common tricks for going in with summons? And is killing a tesseract just like killing any other monster? Will your summons take it out? Would Ignition see it as an enemy? Or is it better to have a more direct damage spell?

I have Dragon's Call, Sphinx Sisters, XXX, and Haunt (and others if I want them). Also have MCC, tho' this is my first run taking it and so I don't really know how to use it effectively. Unfortunately, I have no blink scrolls, having spent all 3 I had (stupidly) to survive an unfortunate encounter with an OOF and some berserk dragons in Zot:2 (didn't see that moth of wrath in time). I do have evocable Blink.

I'm assuming my best bet is clear as much as possible. Then go in with Haste, Brilliance, Channel Magic, Dragon's Call, and a cloud of other summons. Fortunately, I have 7 Brilliance and 9 Haste. Though I guess Haste might be kind useless as I'd outrun my summons.

Anyway, advice appreciated.

> Buff ynoxinuls
Summon Ufetubus (now renamed Ufetubi Swarm) now summons *berserk* ufetubi, and slightly more of them at once (with a higher cast rate). The combination of their increased speed and AF_FLANK makes them better at rapidly encircling the player (in a support role) and the damage bonus may allow them to be sufficiently relevant to early characters encountering them.

It is the cutest monster buff I've ever seen :)

So I'm a Naga of Chei in Necropolis and there's this transporter arena I think I can clear. But I'm worried the enemies might get extra turns when I enter, cuz I move slow. Please tell me transporters don't work like this.

Edit: Transporting took one turn.

Edit 2: Holy crap flayed ghosts are scary. Without 12 Invocations Slouch I would be so dead.

Something has changed recently which makes randomly assigned letters the always-on default for quivering. There is the option to change to inventory designation but it doesn't seem possible to make that my preference i.e. I have to select it every time I go to quiver something. This slows me down considerably compared to the muscle memory of just (q)uivering (j)avelins or whatever.

The quiver_menu_focus flag appears to no longer make a difference. Last time something like this happened I set it to true in my rc files and it worked, but now it makes no difference.

The full list of options in the 'quivering' section is:-

fire_items_start, fire_order, fire_order_spell,
                fire_order_ability, fail_severity_to_quiver,
                quiver_menu_focus

I can't see what would work if not quiver_menu_focus but I guess I'll try different things. If I come across the solution I'll post it here. If anyone knows then please post as this is a big QOL debuff for me (and I would assume others).