Ancient Domains of Mystery, or ADOM for short, is a roguelike: one of the oldest and one of the best. Unlike most roguelikes, it was developed by one person and remains closed-source. To this day, there is a lot of mystery surrounding certain aspects of the game. It's huge, challenging, and jam-packed with places to explore and things to do.
Let's play ADOM!
Chapter 1: Character Creation
Character creation is one of my favorite parts of ADOM. That's good, because you end up needing to do it every time you die, which can be often.
You're assigned a starsign and then you pick a race and a class. Starsigns give various benefits, often intended to nudge you towards a certain kind of character. Some starsigns are better suited to mages, some better suited to warriors. They're almost all strictly good, though, so if you really feel like playing a certain character, the starsign probably won't stop you.
Suggest me a character. I'm looking for reader input on this LP. Bear in mind that while I have a good amount of experience with ADOM, I haven't actually beaten it yet. The more viable the character is, the better things will go. If you pick me a gray elf merchant, his lifespan will be measured in seconds. The races are fairly balanced, but not all classes are created equal. Pick something interesting!
Races
a- Human: average at everything. Ho-hum.
b- Troll: awesome regeneration, terrible terrible level gains. Short lifespan makes them vulnerable to aging attacks.
c- High Elf: fragile, but good with bows and magic.
d- Gray Elf: see High Elf. Virtually indistinguishable.
e- Dark Elf: the elf that kills things. Still fragile, but a good melee fighter.
f- Dwarf: stock stocky dwarfness. Notable for the Detect Traps skill.
g- Gnome: less fragile than elves, but still good with magic 'n stuff.
h- Hurthling: the not-a-hobbit. Really good at throwing rocks.
i- Orc: kills things. Shortest lifespan, narrowly edging out trolls.
j- Drakeling: spits acid, unremarkable otherwise. The acid spit is a godsend for otherwise melee-only classes.
Classes
a- Fighter: generic weapon user. Mid-tier.
b- Paladin: hybrid warrior/caster. Mid-tier.
c- Ranger: two-weapon class in a game where two-weapon fighting isn't recommended. Mid-tier.
d- Thief: great skills to offset lack of any real offense. Low-tier.
e- Assassin: a more combat-oriented thief. Mid-tier.
f- Wizard: arcane caster with a knack for finding spellbooks. Highest tier.
g- Priest: divine caster that usually doesn't start out with useful spells. Mid-tier.
h- Bard: grab-bag of skills, plus the ability to tame animals. Low-tier.
i- Monk: gets bonuses for fighting unarmed and unburdened. Mid-tier.
j- Healer: high HP regen makes this better than it sounds. Mid-tier.
k- Weaponsmith: can make some really good stuff if he survives long enough to find a forge. Low-tier.
l- Archer: rains pointy death. Highest tier.
m- Merchant: good at shopping? Low-tier.
n- Farmer: good at planting? Low-tier.
o- Mindcrafter: quirky psionics class. High-tier, if you can get them past level 5 or so.
p- Barbarian: brute force class. High-tier.
q- Druid: friend to animals, largely outclassed by priests. Mid-tier.
r- Necromancer: uses corpses as pets, not as useful as it sounds. Mid-tier.
s- Elementalist: learns spells as he gains levels. High-tier.
t- Beastfighter: the other unarmed fighter. Gets penalties for using weapons. High-tier.
Let's play Ancient Domains of Mystery
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Newbie Newtype
- Reigning Smash Champion
- Posts: 1873
- Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:44 pm
Troll healers do, in fact, regain health like crazy, even more so under the Candle birthsign. This becomes less useful in the midgame, when sources of healing become plentiful, but of course it never goes out of style.Baconlabs wrote:Wild guess: A Troll Healer will regain health like crazy.
Will this be useful? I have no idea.
Leaning towards the vanillariffic human fighter.
Candle is almost universally considered the best starsign. Its effects outmatch a maxed Healing skill.You are born in the month of the Candle on day 27.
Aspects: Hope, Life, Serenity, Tradition.
Game effects: Heals faster, the gods are more forgiving when asked for favors, one free talent.
I'm going with a male human fighter. There's very little difference between males and females: males get +1 St, females get +1 Dx. Males rely on charisma for store prices, females rely on appearance. Since I want the +1 St, I'll be male.
At this point I have the opportunity to answer questions to determine my starting stats, sort of like a personality test. I could use this to min/max my character a little more, but I'll pass. The questions are cool the first few times you play, but after awhile you just want to get started with the game.Your mother is a mighty enchantress. She is unmarried. Your father is living in the vicinity of your mother's tower. He is a humble shepherd.
As a child you lived through happy days. Your parents tried to ease your life as much as possible and gave you a lot of comfort.
In your youth you worked a lot to become rich and famous later. Consequently you rarely had enough time to play with other kids of your
age.
As a young adult you left your home because of trouble with your parents. They opposed your plans for the future without understanding your wishes. Thus you decided to live on your own. You wandered through the country for many years, growing older and wiser and learning many things.
You decided to become a Fighter.
I get three starting talents. Nice! Three is the magic number for characters who want to start with the Heir talent, which gives you a cool starting item. For fighters, it's a lousy eternium girdle. Eternium is the best substance in the game, but in girdle form, it doesn't do much -- +3 to PV is all. More on PV and DV in a bit.
I like talents that give me a little more survivability, so I'll dip into the PV line. This will eventually net me 4 PV -- not much more than the girdle, but it stacks with any girdle I manage to pick up, and I'll probably want to use my girdle slot for something other than protection anyway.
PV is the bee's knees in the early game. It's short for "Protection Value," and it reduces physical damage by 1 point each. Get a decent PV, and most enemies won't be able to touch you. Its partner is DV, which becomes more important later. Short for "Defense Value," DV determines your evasion. Since it's possible for enemies to pierce your armor -- and since there are enemies that automatically get this effect -- DV isn't something you can neglect. As a fighter, though, I'll be getting nice bonuses to PV as I level up, so I'm more interested in that.
My starting talents are:
- Tough (+1 to To; I picked this on accident
)- Hardy (+3 HP; I meant to pick this one, since it's a prereq for the next)
- Tough Skin (+1 PV; you can see why I got confused)
What is your name? KittenMaster
Looks like a good day for an adventure!The weather is mild and comfortable. A slight wind is blowing.
Chapter 2: Terinyo, Land of Many Quests
On the other hand, look at that PV! I've been mostly playing wizards and barbarians lately, so seeing a number above 2 there is a real welcome surprise. DV numbers tend to run higher, and 13 is about average.
First, we have the village elder, who asks us to save the village carpenter. Of course, he's in a cave not far away, one that's teeming with monsters. The carpenter himself and what he gives us are immaterial; the real prize is the Healing skill, obtainable from a healer on the fourth floor of the dungeon as a reward for "showing mercy." How can we show mercy? That's a tough one...
Next, we have the druid Guth'Alak. He asks us to slay an evil druid named Keethrax. Of course, he's in a cave not far away, one that's teeming with monsters. Guth'Alak lets us choose a reward of knowledge or power. Power gives us a spellbook of Frost Bolt and a wand of cold (which has the same effect as the spell). That's a nice reward, but knowledge nets us the Herbalism skill, which gives us an easy way to raise some important stats.
Third is the tiny girl. She mentions that her dog has gone missing. Of course, he's in a cave not far away, one that's teeming with monsters. This quest has a time limit: once four days of game time have passed, the dog dies if you haven't made it to him yet. There's no reward for this quest, though, aside from a notable alignment boost. I'm fine being neutral, but I might pick up this quest anyway just to give me access to the cave. I'm okay with the dog dying this time.
Finally, the sheriff asks us to slay Kranach the raider lord. Of course, he's in a cave -- no, wait. He's actually roaming the countryside, and running into him is a matter of chance. For a low-level character with no ranged attack, the battle is suicide: Kranach himself isn't too tough, but his entourage will quickly overwhelm an unprepared hero. The reward for this quest is 3000 gold and another alignment boost. Failing to pick up the gold grants a larger alignment boost, but the gold is significant for this point in the game.
The druid's quest and the elder's are the mutually exclusive two. Talking to one means the other won't assign his quest. Who knows why? The druid's quest is the tougher of the two, and it's tough to say which skill is better, especially for a Candle-born character.
So, what'll it be? Kill the druid or save the carpenter? KittenMaster's fate is in your hands.
I'm less than pleased with those stats, but that's what I get for playing as a human. This isn't D&D; I can and should start with something like 20 St and To, then work my way up from there. Trolls often start with 30+ To. You get a bonus to PV once your To goes above 20, not to mention extra HP.----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Character Information
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
KittenMaster St:14 Le:15 Wi:13 Dx:13 To:15 Ch: 7 Ap:12 Ma:12
Pe:12 N=
DV/PV: 13/8 H: 24(24) P: 3(3) Exp: 1/0 M: 0
On the other hand, look at that PV! I've been mostly playing wizards and barbarians lately, so seeing a number above 2 there is a real welcome surprise. DV numbers tend to run higher, and 13 is about average.
The first stop in most adventurers' lives (read: pretty much anyone who isn't doing a challenge game) is to stop by the small town of Terinyo. Terinyo is the source of several early quests, including two that are mutually exclusive. The rewards from those two quests are important, and KittenMaster lacks both!You enter Terinyo, a tiny hamlet consisting of a few primitive cottages, a shop, and a town hall. Trees grow peacefully between the small homes of the local populace. You feel at ease.
First, we have the village elder, who asks us to save the village carpenter. Of course, he's in a cave not far away, one that's teeming with monsters. The carpenter himself and what he gives us are immaterial; the real prize is the Healing skill, obtainable from a healer on the fourth floor of the dungeon as a reward for "showing mercy." How can we show mercy? That's a tough one...
Next, we have the druid Guth'Alak. He asks us to slay an evil druid named Keethrax. Of course, he's in a cave not far away, one that's teeming with monsters. Guth'Alak lets us choose a reward of knowledge or power. Power gives us a spellbook of Frost Bolt and a wand of cold (which has the same effect as the spell). That's a nice reward, but knowledge nets us the Herbalism skill, which gives us an easy way to raise some important stats.
Third is the tiny girl. She mentions that her dog has gone missing. Of course, he's in a cave not far away, one that's teeming with monsters. This quest has a time limit: once four days of game time have passed, the dog dies if you haven't made it to him yet. There's no reward for this quest, though, aside from a notable alignment boost. I'm fine being neutral, but I might pick up this quest anyway just to give me access to the cave. I'm okay with the dog dying this time.
Finally, the sheriff asks us to slay Kranach the raider lord. Of course, he's in a cave -- no, wait. He's actually roaming the countryside, and running into him is a matter of chance. For a low-level character with no ranged attack, the battle is suicide: Kranach himself isn't too tough, but his entourage will quickly overwhelm an unprepared hero. The reward for this quest is 3000 gold and another alignment boost. Failing to pick up the gold grants a larger alignment boost, but the gold is significant for this point in the game.
The druid's quest and the elder's are the mutually exclusive two. Talking to one means the other won't assign his quest. Who knows why? The druid's quest is the tougher of the two, and it's tough to say which skill is better, especially for a Candle-born character.
So, what'll it be? Kill the druid or save the carpenter? KittenMaster's fate is in your hands.
Last edited by Mogri on Fri Aug 06, 2010 4:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
Chapter 3: The Village Dungeon
Where am I heading first? None of those places. I'm going to the small cave, which is northwest of Terinyo. I don't plan to spend any time here, but I'm dropping in so that the level gets generated. Monsters in the small cave spawn at twice your level, so it's either go early or don't go at all. I'll come back later.
As a rough & tough fighter, KittenMaster has nothing to fear from the village dungeon, so we'll head there next to save the carpenter. It's best if we can complete the quest before gaining too many levels; this will let us put a lot of points into Healing early on. If that doesn't work out, no big deal -- KittenMaster knows plenty of other useful skills that we can level up, and the Candle starsign will keep us safe.
The jaunt into the small cave nets a bone helmet and our first kill: a goblin. The first kill is important for certain quests. Players looking to complete an "ultra ending" will want to kill something rare; for everyone else, it's best to kill something common. Goblins are all over the place.
KittenMaster dodges an orcish patrol in the wilderness on the way to the village dungeon. He could probably take them, but we're keeping his level low.
The first room of the village dungeon has a neutral-aligned altar, good news for our man. Altars are hard to do much with this early in the game, but KittenMaster makes a live sacrifice of a goblin. Istaria is pleased. Shortly thereafter, he gains his first level, then another. I increase his Archery, Athletics, Dodge, Find Weakness, Food Preservation, and Stealth skills. Having a decent Learning score pays off in skill increases. At level 3, I also acquire a new talent. I choose Iron Skin for another +1 PV.
KittenMaster descends a floor and reaches level 4. I'm leveling faster than I'd like, but it's not a big issue. Moving on to the fourth floor, I find Jharod the healer after kicking down a booby-trapped door. I make a mental note of his location and continue further in the dungeon. I reach level 5 before I reach the lowest floor of the dungeon, even though I'm trying not to kill anything.
I stumble into a gnoll tension room on my way to the carpenter. This is a room full of monsters -- sometimes they're mixed, but in this case, they're all the same. I find him while running away from a big group of them.
Level 6 brings with it the first class bonus. As a fighter, KittenMaster's level 6 bonus is a +7% PV increase from his armor. Roughly every 14 points of PV will result in an extra point from this ability. It's unlikely that this will do anything for him. I also get another talent at level 6, but KittenMaster's Toughness score is too low to get the next talent in the PV line. I take Shield Specialist instead, which increases his DV by 1 when he's wearing a shield. The later shield talents will bring more impressive boosts.
I lead Yrrigs back to level 4, then to our friend Jharod:
Let's talk to Jharod again.
I clear out the rest of the dungeon, getting to level 8. My Healing score is still pathetic for now, but then most of my skills are pretty mediocre. I'm decently equipped, though, and KittenMaster has a quest under his belt.
Next: Hole in the Wall
And just like that, KittenMaster has his first quest! He also chats up the tiny girl, opening up the puppy cave.You talk to Rynt, the village elder.
"Us village is pestered by critters from da cave to the southeast."
"The village carpenter tried to explore the dungeon but was not seen again."
"It would be great if ye could discover his whereabouts."
Where am I heading first? None of those places. I'm going to the small cave, which is northwest of Terinyo. I don't plan to spend any time here, but I'm dropping in so that the level gets generated. Monsters in the small cave spawn at twice your level, so it's either go early or don't go at all. I'll come back later.
As a rough & tough fighter, KittenMaster has nothing to fear from the village dungeon, so we'll head there next to save the carpenter. It's best if we can complete the quest before gaining too many levels; this will let us put a lot of points into Healing early on. If that doesn't work out, no big deal -- KittenMaster knows plenty of other useful skills that we can level up, and the Candle starsign will keep us safe.
The jaunt into the small cave nets a bone helmet and our first kill: a goblin. The first kill is important for certain quests. Players looking to complete an "ultra ending" will want to kill something rare; for everyone else, it's best to kill something common. Goblins are all over the place.
KittenMaster dodges an orcish patrol in the wilderness on the way to the village dungeon. He could probably take them, but we're keeping his level low.
The first room of the village dungeon has a neutral-aligned altar, good news for our man. Altars are hard to do much with this early in the game, but KittenMaster makes a live sacrifice of a goblin. Istaria is pleased. Shortly thereafter, he gains his first level, then another. I increase his Archery, Athletics, Dodge, Find Weakness, Food Preservation, and Stealth skills. Having a decent Learning score pays off in skill increases. At level 3, I also acquire a new talent. I choose Iron Skin for another +1 PV.
KittenMaster descends a floor and reaches level 4. I'm leveling faster than I'd like, but it's not a big issue. Moving on to the fourth floor, I find Jharod the healer after kicking down a booby-trapped door. I make a mental note of his location and continue further in the dungeon. I reach level 5 before I reach the lowest floor of the dungeon, even though I'm trying not to kill anything.
I stumble into a gnoll tension room on my way to the carpenter. This is a room full of monsters -- sometimes they're mixed, but in this case, they're all the same. I find him while running away from a big group of them.
Our carpenter-in-distress is out for blood! How do you cure a madman? I set KittenMaster's tactics to Coward. This decreases his damage and to-hit, but increases his evasion. I take an alternate route back to the stairs, but I have to kill a gnoll to get Yrrigs to follow me. This puts me at level 6.Yrrigs the carpenter, that's what they used to call him when he still was sane. But what you now face is more than an everyday carpenter. His clothes have already been soaked with the blood of the creatures he slaughtered. His hatchet is shining with a grim glow. Now you know what Chaos can do to a man.
Level 6 brings with it the first class bonus. As a fighter, KittenMaster's level 6 bonus is a +7% PV increase from his armor. Roughly every 14 points of PV will result in an extra point from this ability. It's unlikely that this will do anything for him. I also get another talent at level 6, but KittenMaster's Toughness score is too low to get the next talent in the PV line. I take Shield Specialist instead, which increases his DV by 1 when he's wearing a shield. The later shield talents will bring more impressive boosts.
I lead Yrrigs back to level 4, then to our friend Jharod:
Yrrigs leaves me a hatchet, a white potion (oil of rust removal -- don't drink that), and a huge manual (manual of bridge building). Bridge Building is a useless skill, especially for characters who know how to swim. That includes all humans.Jharod, the healer, touches Yrrigs, the mad carpenter.
Jharod, the healer, grunts: "Let me heal ye, friend."
Yrrigs, the mad carpenter, suddenly appears to be normal once more.
He bows to you and puts down some items before he leaves.
Let's talk to Jharod again.
For most characters, this is the easiest way to satisfy Jharod's requirement to show mercy. It's not the only way, though, and if you keep showing mercy, Jharod will keep rewarding you with healing potions. Since these can potentially increase your max HP, abusing Jharod was a key strategy in one player's remarkable level 1 victory. We don't need to do that, though, since fighters gain HP at a pretty nice rate.You talk to Jharod, the healer.
"Well met, brother!"
"Would you like to [l]earn or do you want to be [h]ealed?" L
"I will teach ye the art of Healing!"
Jharod, the healer, softly touches your forehead.
I clear out the rest of the dungeon, getting to level 8. My Healing score is still pathetic for now, but then most of my skills are pretty mediocre. I'm decently equipped, though, and KittenMaster has a quest under his belt.
Next: Hole in the Wall
Last edited by Mogri on Sat Aug 07, 2010 2:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
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FnrrfYgmSchnish
- Metal Slime
- Posts: 721
- Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2009 4:37 am
- Location: Middle of Nowhere, VA
Oh wow, ADoM!
I think this was the first roguelike I ever played... well, it was either ADoM or Rogue itself--I know I found them both on the same "500 Games on 1 CD!" thing I found in a K-Mart back in the mid-90s, but I can't remember which one of them I actually played first.
Don't think I ever got too close to the end of the game (furthest I've ever been was the floor of the main dungeon swarming with undead things and a sealed portal at the end that I never figured out how to open... can't remember what the floor number was, but it seemed like a pretty long way in at the time), but for some reason it's the only roguelike I've ever really sat down with for long periods of time.
It probably helped that, for some reason, dying early and having to start over again never really bothered me as much in ADoM as it did in a lot of the others.
I think this was the first roguelike I ever played... well, it was either ADoM or Rogue itself--I know I found them both on the same "500 Games on 1 CD!" thing I found in a K-Mart back in the mid-90s, but I can't remember which one of them I actually played first.
Don't think I ever got too close to the end of the game (furthest I've ever been was the floor of the main dungeon swarming with undead things and a sealed portal at the end that I never figured out how to open... can't remember what the floor number was, but it seemed like a pretty long way in at the time), but for some reason it's the only roguelike I've ever really sat down with for long periods of time.
It probably helped that, for some reason, dying early and having to start over again never really bothered me as much in ADoM as it did in a lot of the others.
Dying early's not so bad. Dying halfway through the game can be very disappointing, though.
Chapter 4: Hole in the Wall
There are two important things to do here: first, stop by the black market. The prices are jacked up in the black market: even if I had any significant amount of money, I probably couldn't afford anything decent. The important thing is to check out the wares there, since looking at them will identify them for if I ever see copies of the item later.
The other thing I want to do is apply for entry to the Thieves' Guild. I can't get in just yet; I need to prove myself first. How do I do that? By picking pockets, of course. But KittenMaster doesn't have Pick Pockets! That's okay. Yergius, head of the guild, will happily teach it to anyone who's not lawful. Pick Pockets in itself is a decent skill, but joining the Guild will let me buy the Detect Traps skill, without which the only way to detect a trap is with your face. I'll need 20 successful pickpocketing attempts before I'll be able to join. The victims don't actually have to have anything for me to steal, just as long as the attempt was successful.
The outlaw village is swarming with unsavory characters, some of whom see a big dollar sign when they look at you. The presence of assassins and other relatively nasty baddies makes this a potentially dangerous place for a starting PC, which is why I didn't come here earlier. (In a normal game, I might have, but I don't want my LP ending so soon.)
Sure enough, I have an outlaw and an assassin on my tail. Assassins can poison, but they have to hit me first. Killing the outlaw gives me level 9, and with level 9, I get another talent. I'll take Shield Expert since I'm still not tough enough for the PV talent. +2 DV, stacking with the last talent.
The leader of the outlaw village is Hotzenplotz. He wants me to kill the sheriff of Terinyo and our friend Jharod. Killing Jharod is the only way for chaotics to learn Healing, but the quest rewards are pretty insubstantial if you already have the skill. Killing the sheriff is difficult and not worthwhile. We won't be taking quests from Hotzenplotz.
The sheriff will ask you to kill Hotzenplotz once you reach level 10. You can do it before then, too. The actual quest rewards aren't much, but Hotzenplotz and his goons will drop a good amount of money. Fighting him in melee is suicide, though, and I don't have a bow yet. I might come back once I do.
I spend some time trying to pick the pockets of the locals. I succeed versus an outlaw leader, but he's not carrying anything. I spend about fifty turns trying to do the same to an assassin (who fortunately can't scratch me), but I eventually give up and kill him. The success was probably an anomaly, since my Pick Pockets skill is at a stellar 1 (out of 100).
Due to the way the monster inventory system works (read: there was no monster inventory system a few versions ago), pickpocketing actually creates items out of thin air when you get something. This is pretty weird, but it's the same thing most RPGs do.
KittenMaster's next stop is the Infinite Dungeon. It really is infinite! This is a great place for starting characters (and starting players), since the difficulty ramp-up is slow. The Infinite Dungeon plays a lot like more traditional roguelikes: there's no real goal, it gets harder the further you go, and you'll die after awhile. So you go into the Infinite Dungeon with a goal if you want to make it back out.
KittenMaster's goal is to find and consume a blink dog. They can be found just a couple levels in, and eating one grants intrinsic teleport control. Very useful. They don't always drop corpses, but hostile blink dogs will summon allies, so you can keep trying until you get one.
Another peculiar feature of the Infinite Dungeon is that levels aren't persistent. Go upstairs and come back down, and you'll find an entirely different level. A common (if slightly controversial) tactic is "stairhopping," repeatedly going upstairs and downstairs until you get some good treasure. This tactic is great for wizards, who will find lots of spellbooks to kickstart their casting career, but KittenMaster isn't as item-reliant, so I'm not going to bother.
I do need to explore levels 4 and 5 several times before I find my first blink dog. When I do, he doesn't really seem to mind me being there, so I give him a good kick to put him into combat mode.
Only the original blink dog can summon allies, so I 'n'ame him Fido to distinguish him from his companions. It takes a couple dozen blink dogs to generate a corpse. (It could have been worse -- fortunately, KittenMaster knows Food Preservation.) I munch it down for teleport control, then make for the surface.
Next: The Unremarkable Dungeon
Chapter 4: Hole in the Wall
KittenMaster doesn't head back to Terinyo just yet. He makes a pit stop in Lawenilothehl, more commonly referred to in its anagram form."Lawenilothehl", an outlaw settlement.
You enter a derelict and muddy settlement populated by equally derelict and muddy persons.
There are two important things to do here: first, stop by the black market. The prices are jacked up in the black market: even if I had any significant amount of money, I probably couldn't afford anything decent. The important thing is to check out the wares there, since looking at them will identify them for if I ever see copies of the item later.
The other thing I want to do is apply for entry to the Thieves' Guild. I can't get in just yet; I need to prove myself first. How do I do that? By picking pockets, of course. But KittenMaster doesn't have Pick Pockets! That's okay. Yergius, head of the guild, will happily teach it to anyone who's not lawful. Pick Pockets in itself is a decent skill, but joining the Guild will let me buy the Detect Traps skill, without which the only way to detect a trap is with your face. I'll need 20 successful pickpocketing attempts before I'll be able to join. The victims don't actually have to have anything for me to steal, just as long as the attempt was successful.
The outlaw village is swarming with unsavory characters, some of whom see a big dollar sign when they look at you. The presence of assassins and other relatively nasty baddies makes this a potentially dangerous place for a starting PC, which is why I didn't come here earlier. (In a normal game, I might have, but I don't want my LP ending so soon.)
Sure enough, I have an outlaw and an assassin on my tail. Assassins can poison, but they have to hit me first. Killing the outlaw gives me level 9, and with level 9, I get another talent. I'll take Shield Expert since I'm still not tough enough for the PV talent. +2 DV, stacking with the last talent.
The leader of the outlaw village is Hotzenplotz. He wants me to kill the sheriff of Terinyo and our friend Jharod. Killing Jharod is the only way for chaotics to learn Healing, but the quest rewards are pretty insubstantial if you already have the skill. Killing the sheriff is difficult and not worthwhile. We won't be taking quests from Hotzenplotz.
The sheriff will ask you to kill Hotzenplotz once you reach level 10. You can do it before then, too. The actual quest rewards aren't much, but Hotzenplotz and his goons will drop a good amount of money. Fighting him in melee is suicide, though, and I don't have a bow yet. I might come back once I do.
I spend some time trying to pick the pockets of the locals. I succeed versus an outlaw leader, but he's not carrying anything. I spend about fifty turns trying to do the same to an assassin (who fortunately can't scratch me), but I eventually give up and kill him. The success was probably an anomaly, since my Pick Pockets skill is at a stellar 1 (out of 100).
Due to the way the monster inventory system works (read: there was no monster inventory system a few versions ago), pickpocketing actually creates items out of thin air when you get something. This is pretty weird, but it's the same thing most RPGs do.
KittenMaster's next stop is the Infinite Dungeon. It really is infinite! This is a great place for starting characters (and starting players), since the difficulty ramp-up is slow. The Infinite Dungeon plays a lot like more traditional roguelikes: there's no real goal, it gets harder the further you go, and you'll die after awhile. So you go into the Infinite Dungeon with a goal if you want to make it back out.
KittenMaster's goal is to find and consume a blink dog. They can be found just a couple levels in, and eating one grants intrinsic teleport control. Very useful. They don't always drop corpses, but hostile blink dogs will summon allies, so you can keep trying until you get one.
Another peculiar feature of the Infinite Dungeon is that levels aren't persistent. Go upstairs and come back down, and you'll find an entirely different level. A common (if slightly controversial) tactic is "stairhopping," repeatedly going upstairs and downstairs until you get some good treasure. This tactic is great for wizards, who will find lots of spellbooks to kickstart their casting career, but KittenMaster isn't as item-reliant, so I'm not going to bother.
I do need to explore levels 4 and 5 several times before I find my first blink dog. When I do, he doesn't really seem to mind me being there, so I give him a good kick to put him into combat mode.
Only the original blink dog can summon allies, so I 'n'ame him Fido to distinguish him from his companions. It takes a couple dozen blink dogs to generate a corpse. (It could have been worse -- fortunately, KittenMaster knows Food Preservation.) I munch it down for teleport control, then make for the surface.
Next: The Unremarkable Dungeon
Hit '?' for the manual.
ADOM has a lot of buttons, but the important ones are the arrow keys, '<' and '>' to go upstairs and downstairs (or enter places on the overworld), 'i' to manage your inventory, and ',' to pick stuff up. You can figure out the rest as you go.
Chapter 5: The Puppy Cave
I lied about going to the unremarkable dungeon next. Let's hit up the puppy cave next; there are some levels to gain there and one or two important things to do.
The first level of the puppy cave has a river right down the middle. This could have ended my expedition immediately: while I can swim, my equipment isn't rustproof. Fortunately, both stairs were on the same side of the river.
The second level has a guaranteed ant hive. An eye of destruction destroys the cursed leather girdle I was wearing, so I replace it with a cursed adamantium girdle I found some time ago. It's +3 PV! This is why you don't waste talents on sucky Heir gifts. Since it's cursed, I can't take it off, but I don't need to.
I'm about to go kill some ants when I hear slurping sounds, which indicate that something's spinning webs. Spiders? In my dungeon? It's more likely than you think! I hate getting webs all over the dungeon, so I hunt down the source. It's a dumb dark elven something-or-other. They summon spiders just for fun and spite. The room's full of them now. The one nice thing about the spiders is that I can eat one of their corpses to get intrinsic poison resistance. Unlike other roguelikes, resistance is not immunity, but it still helps a lot. Multiple sources of resistance stack.
I got a spider corpse, but no ant corpses. An ant would've gotten me acid resistance. I also found a pool here. Pools are ADOM's equivalent of Nethack's fountains and sinks, but the results are even more varied and unpredictable. Pools in ADOM can grant or remove almost any intrinsic in the game. If you want to be permanently invisible, you want a pool. But they're risky, so for now, I'll leave it alone.
The next level has a neutral altar on it. I'm rethinking my pool policy, since if I can get my piety high enough, I can cancel out the worst of the pool effects. I corral some baddies to the altar and live sac them for a bit before continuing on.
Level four has another river, but again, both stairs are on the same side. There's a mixed tension room here that I clear out.
The fifth level of the puppy caves is always a cavernous level. This means that there are a lot of wide open areas and a higher monster spawn rate. Highly unfavorable conditions for an adventurer, so KittenMaster moves on as quickly as possible.
The sixth level is the last. The cute dog (corpse) is always found here, but so is a lesser vault. Vaults are like tension rooms, but they're much bigger and have a significantly higher item drop rate. This one's orcs.
I reach level 12 here and get my second class power:
Looting the vault gets me nothing. I take the cute dog corpse and head back to the third floor, where I round up more recruits for the Ishtaria Sacrifice Drive. I boost my piety a good amount and I feel ready to do some drinking.
Next: The Unremarkable Dungeon (for real)
ADOM has a lot of buttons, but the important ones are the arrow keys, '<' and '>' to go upstairs and downstairs (or enter places on the overworld), 'i' to manage your inventory, and ',' to pick stuff up. You can figure out the rest as you go.
Chapter 5: The Puppy Cave
I lied about going to the unremarkable dungeon next. Let's hit up the puppy cave next; there are some levels to gain there and one or two important things to do.
The first level of the puppy cave has a river right down the middle. This could have ended my expedition immediately: while I can swim, my equipment isn't rustproof. Fortunately, both stairs were on the same side of the river.
The second level has a guaranteed ant hive. An eye of destruction destroys the cursed leather girdle I was wearing, so I replace it with a cursed adamantium girdle I found some time ago. It's +3 PV! This is why you don't waste talents on sucky Heir gifts. Since it's cursed, I can't take it off, but I don't need to.
I'm about to go kill some ants when I hear slurping sounds, which indicate that something's spinning webs. Spiders? In my dungeon? It's more likely than you think! I hate getting webs all over the dungeon, so I hunt down the source. It's a dumb dark elven something-or-other. They summon spiders just for fun and spite. The room's full of them now. The one nice thing about the spiders is that I can eat one of their corpses to get intrinsic poison resistance. Unlike other roguelikes, resistance is not immunity, but it still helps a lot. Multiple sources of resistance stack.
I got a spider corpse, but no ant corpses. An ant would've gotten me acid resistance. I also found a pool here. Pools are ADOM's equivalent of Nethack's fountains and sinks, but the results are even more varied and unpredictable. Pools in ADOM can grant or remove almost any intrinsic in the game. If you want to be permanently invisible, you want a pool. But they're risky, so for now, I'll leave it alone.
The next level has a neutral altar on it. I'm rethinking my pool policy, since if I can get my piety high enough, I can cancel out the worst of the pool effects. I corral some baddies to the altar and live sac them for a bit before continuing on.
Level four has another river, but again, both stairs are on the same side. There's a mixed tension room here that I clear out.
The fifth level of the puppy caves is always a cavernous level. This means that there are a lot of wide open areas and a higher monster spawn rate. Highly unfavorable conditions for an adventurer, so KittenMaster moves on as quickly as possible.
The sixth level is the last. The cute dog (corpse) is always found here, but so is a lesser vault. Vaults are like tension rooms, but they're much bigger and have a significantly higher item drop rate. This one's orcs.
I reach level 12 here and get my second class power:
Not terrible. When I max out Dodge, it'll give me an extra +5 DV. I also get another talent, and I notice my Willpower is high enough to give me the Immune to Pain talent. It's part of the PV tree, but it doesn't exactly give PV: instead, it cancels out the first point of damage from any source. It's like a point of super-PV. I'll take it. I don't have enough shield ranks to get the next shield talent anyway.The effects of the Dodge skill are now increased by 50%.
Looting the vault gets me nothing. I take the cute dog corpse and head back to the third floor, where I round up more recruits for the Ishtaria Sacrifice Drive. I boost my piety a good amount and I feel ready to do some drinking.
Teleportitis! If I hadn't taken my side trip to the Infinite Dungeon, I'd have mixed feelings about this, but this is probably the best thing I could've gotten. Teleportitis means I randomly teleport every so often. A real annoyance in general that becomes awesome when you have teleport control. Now I randomly get this message:Do you want to drink from the pool? [Y/n] Y
You feel jumpy.
I'm so happy with this result that I abandon further pool-drinking endeavors. Another sip could take this away from me, which I'm not willing to risk.Move the cursor to the desired position and press [SPACE] when done. Press [Z] to abort.
Suddenly you stand elsewhere.
Next: The Unremarkable Dungeon (for real)
Chapter 6: The Unremarkable Dungeon
The normal conclusion of the puppy quest is that you bring the puppy (or its corpse) back to Terinyo and tell the tiny girl about your exploits. If the puppy is dead, you can present her with the corpse. She's sad about it, but you can spend some time with her to comfort her. This results in an alignment boost.
That's the logical way to end the quest, and that's exactly what I'd do if I weren't neutral. (Being chaotic mostly sucks.) But I'm N= right now, and that's exactly where I want to be. So I'm going to sell the dog's corpse to the shopkeeper and keep my journey a secret from the tiny girl. Oddly, this doesn't affect my alignment at all, but it's got the side benefit of letting me take the alignment boost anytime I want.
Now I go back to the small cave, which I peeked my head into back at the start of the game. The name of the game this time is find the stairs, quick. I don't have to look far: it's in the next room over. This is perfect in case I ever need to come back.
Below the small cave is what's referred to as the unremarkable dungeon. The name is misleading: it actually has the highest generation rate of dungeon features, such as herbs, forges, and altars. It's also a step above the other starting locations, so coming here first is only recommended for powerful PCs.
The first thing I find in the UD is a river. I'm about to turn around when I remember, hey, I can teleport! I wait around until it kicks in then warp to the other side. On the next floor, I find an adamantium longsword, which is great. I'm upgrading from 1d7+1 to 1d8+5.
On the fourth floor, I find my first herb bushes. If I had any Herbalism skill, I'd be able to tell how close the bushes are to withering away and maybe recognize them. I don't, so I gather a bunch of "strange herbs" which I'll have to ID later.
Herb bushes in ADOM reproduce according to Conway's Game of Life, which you've probably heard about in a math or comp sci class sometime. None of the herbs on this floor are in a position to make any good arrangements, so I just pick the floor dry.
I find a vault on the next floor, which yields a couple of nice goodies: bracers of protection [+2 PV] and a multi-colored cloak which turns out to be a cloak of protection [+3 PV]. I also pick up an adamantium spear that I'll probably sell.
A few uneventful floors later and I'm on one with two up staircases. The second one leads back to the lower right corner of the overworld: the high mountain village!
The normal conclusion of the puppy quest is that you bring the puppy (or its corpse) back to Terinyo and tell the tiny girl about your exploits. If the puppy is dead, you can present her with the corpse. She's sad about it, but you can spend some time with her to comfort her. This results in an alignment boost.
That's the logical way to end the quest, and that's exactly what I'd do if I weren't neutral. (Being chaotic mostly sucks.) But I'm N= right now, and that's exactly where I want to be. So I'm going to sell the dog's corpse to the shopkeeper and keep my journey a secret from the tiny girl. Oddly, this doesn't affect my alignment at all, but it's got the side benefit of letting me take the alignment boost anytime I want.
I take the opportunity to buy a few more food rations. I was hungry coming in, so I needed to eat two of the three I bought.Munxip, the human shopkeeper, mumbles, "I'd offer 24 gold pieces for yer cute dog corpse." Do you want to accept the offer? [Y/n] Y
Now I go back to the small cave, which I peeked my head into back at the start of the game. The name of the game this time is find the stairs, quick. I don't have to look far: it's in the next room over. This is perfect in case I ever need to come back.
Below the small cave is what's referred to as the unremarkable dungeon. The name is misleading: it actually has the highest generation rate of dungeon features, such as herbs, forges, and altars. It's also a step above the other starting locations, so coming here first is only recommended for powerful PCs.
The first thing I find in the UD is a river. I'm about to turn around when I remember, hey, I can teleport! I wait around until it kicks in then warp to the other side. On the next floor, I find an adamantium longsword, which is great. I'm upgrading from 1d7+1 to 1d8+5.
On the fourth floor, I find my first herb bushes. If I had any Herbalism skill, I'd be able to tell how close the bushes are to withering away and maybe recognize them. I don't, so I gather a bunch of "strange herbs" which I'll have to ID later.
Herb bushes in ADOM reproduce according to Conway's Game of Life, which you've probably heard about in a math or comp sci class sometime. None of the herbs on this floor are in a position to make any good arrangements, so I just pick the floor dry.
I find a vault on the next floor, which yields a couple of nice goodies: bracers of protection [+2 PV] and a multi-colored cloak which turns out to be a cloak of protection [+3 PV]. I also pick up an adamantium spear that I'll probably sell.
A few uneventful floors later and I'm on one with two up staircases. The second one leads back to the lower right corner of the overworld: the high mountain village!
Next: The High Mountain VillageA fortress-like village.
You enter a bustling village. Beings from all kinds of races abound and are scurrying about. Everyone seems to be very active.
Chapter 7: The High Mountain Village and the Caverns of Chaos
The HMV is a fascinating little place. So much mystery packed into one screen!
The first person I encounter on my way into the village is Hawkslayer, a burly adventurer who's here on cameo from Bard's Tale III. If I want to, I can recruit him as a companion once my level is much higher. For now, he has no interest in me.
I head immediately to the store, passing by the Oracle on my way. In Nethack, the Oracle plays a bigger role, but I've never had any dealings with him (her?) in ADOM.
I sell off some excess goods to the general store. There are two general stores in the game, not counting the black market, and they're a good source of revenue for packrat adventurers like myself. I also dip a cursed scroll of identify into a potion of holy water, then read it. This identifies my entire inventory. I have some pretty decent stuff. All of my herbs are cursed. This is what happens when you don't have Herbalism.
There's an ogre guardian in town, standing in front of a jail. He's not exactly a hard worker: one time, I opened up the jail, let the prisoners out, and killed them all. The ogre didn't bat an eye.
Another of the town's colorful inhabitants is Gaab'Baay, the old crone, who assigns chaotic characters several quests before finally yielding an otherwise useless item that is necessary for ultra endings. There are hidden passages on both sides of the village, and Gaab'Baay is in the one on the right.
A completely impassible chamber in the north center of the town holds two scrolls. One of them is very valuable (though initially cursed), the other has an enigmatic message that ADOM players have yet to understand. It's probably a red herring, or maybe an unimplemented feature. Just one of ADOM's many unsolved mysteries. This is the first time I've ever made it into this chamber: my lucky teleportation combo is very handy.
The far left secret passage contains a potion of ultra healing and a staircase back to the overworld. This staircase puts KittenMaster out west, or at least as far west as he's ever been. Conveniently, this puts him near the Caverns of Chaos (CoC for short), which is the main dungeon of the game and the ultimate goal of every adventurer. (Plot? There's a plot? Oh, right, I need to stop the incursion of Chaos into Ancardia. The source of the chaos is found in the deepest level of the CoC.) It took many dozens of slain adventurers before I was ever able to reach the Caverns of Chaos, and that's really just the start of the game.
The early levels of the CoC are not unlike the dungeons we've been in earlier. I pass by a pool on D:1, then encounter a large tension room on D:2. I gain some St by eating an ogre corpse. Nice. There's also another ant hive on this level. I eat an ant corpse and get that acid resistance I was hoping for. I bypass a river on D:3 with my teleportation.
An orc vault on D:4 gets me to level 14. I neglected to mention that I got a papyrus scroll upon reaching level 13 that invited me to Rehetep's pyramid. I'll definitely be going there at some point, but I'd really like Detect Traps first. Which reminds me... I pick the pockets of the rest of the vault's orcs. I'm still probably short of the full quota.
Actually, come to think of it, teleportation would take care of most of the pyramid. Just gotta find a way to kill Rehetep.
D:5 is the arena! Kill and get paid for it. What could be better for a fighter? It takes 20 wins to become the champion of the arena. I don't want to do that just yet, but I do get most of the way there.
D:6 has a gnoll/hyena vault. I get another weapon upgrade (1d7+7).
D:7 is the Big Room. Nethack has a big room, considered somewhat dangerous. ADOM's Big Room is the first (and only?) guaranteed source of herbs. I prune the herb bushes into stable formations, which is probably an exercise in futility, since without Herbalism, I can't guarantee that I won't pick a bush dry in one go. In exploring the Big Room, I get swarmed by a good number of monsters until I decide it's time to move on.
Next: The Si and Dwarftown
The HMV is a fascinating little place. So much mystery packed into one screen!
The first person I encounter on my way into the village is Hawkslayer, a burly adventurer who's here on cameo from Bard's Tale III. If I want to, I can recruit him as a companion once my level is much higher. For now, he has no interest in me.
I head immediately to the store, passing by the Oracle on my way. In Nethack, the Oracle plays a bigger role, but I've never had any dealings with him (her?) in ADOM.
I sell off some excess goods to the general store. There are two general stores in the game, not counting the black market, and they're a good source of revenue for packrat adventurers like myself. I also dip a cursed scroll of identify into a potion of holy water, then read it. This identifies my entire inventory. I have some pretty decent stuff. All of my herbs are cursed. This is what happens when you don't have Herbalism.
There's an ogre guardian in town, standing in front of a jail. He's not exactly a hard worker: one time, I opened up the jail, let the prisoners out, and killed them all. The ogre didn't bat an eye.
Another of the town's colorful inhabitants is Gaab'Baay, the old crone, who assigns chaotic characters several quests before finally yielding an otherwise useless item that is necessary for ultra endings. There are hidden passages on both sides of the village, and Gaab'Baay is in the one on the right.
A completely impassible chamber in the north center of the town holds two scrolls. One of them is very valuable (though initially cursed), the other has an enigmatic message that ADOM players have yet to understand. It's probably a red herring, or maybe an unimplemented feature. Just one of ADOM's many unsolved mysteries. This is the first time I've ever made it into this chamber: my lucky teleportation combo is very handy.
The far left secret passage contains a potion of ultra healing and a staircase back to the overworld. This staircase puts KittenMaster out west, or at least as far west as he's ever been. Conveniently, this puts him near the Caverns of Chaos (CoC for short), which is the main dungeon of the game and the ultimate goal of every adventurer. (Plot? There's a plot? Oh, right, I need to stop the incursion of Chaos into Ancardia. The source of the chaos is found in the deepest level of the CoC.) It took many dozens of slain adventurers before I was ever able to reach the Caverns of Chaos, and that's really just the start of the game.
KittenMaster sets foot in the Caverns for the first time, but he hasn't seen the last of the overworld, either.A forbidding tunnel leading into the depths of the world.
The early levels of the CoC are not unlike the dungeons we've been in earlier. I pass by a pool on D:1, then encounter a large tension room on D:2. I gain some St by eating an ogre corpse. Nice. There's also another ant hive on this level. I eat an ant corpse and get that acid resistance I was hoping for. I bypass a river on D:3 with my teleportation.
An orc vault on D:4 gets me to level 14. I neglected to mention that I got a papyrus scroll upon reaching level 13 that invited me to Rehetep's pyramid. I'll definitely be going there at some point, but I'd really like Detect Traps first. Which reminds me... I pick the pockets of the rest of the vault's orcs. I'm still probably short of the full quota.
Actually, come to think of it, teleportation would take care of most of the pyramid. Just gotta find a way to kill Rehetep.
D:5 is the arena! Kill and get paid for it. What could be better for a fighter? It takes 20 wins to become the champion of the arena. I don't want to do that just yet, but I do get most of the way there.
D:6 has a gnoll/hyena vault. I get another weapon upgrade (1d7+7).
D:7 is the Big Room. Nethack has a big room, considered somewhat dangerous. ADOM's Big Room is the first (and only?) guaranteed source of herbs. I prune the herb bushes into stable formations, which is probably an exercise in futility, since without Herbalism, I can't guarantee that I won't pick a bush dry in one go. In exploring the Big Room, I get swarmed by a good number of monsters until I decide it's time to move on.
Next: The Si and Dwarftown
Last edited by Mogri on Sun Aug 08, 2010 7:01 am, edited 1 time in total.