Am I ready for Ancient Dragon?

[TannyJ]

Hey Folks,

Great to find these forums

I'm currently playing Vanilla 3.0.7s3 on a Mac and I've run into my first chance again a Blue Ancient Dragon. He's in the middle of my first big vault, along with a Death Knight and some "i". (Just got done clearing out the value...the middle is all that's left).

If anyone could give me advice on whether i'm ready to fight the big D yet, it would be appreciated! (I have lightning resistance, but I'm not sure it's enough). And I literally just found 'Thalkettoth'...

Thanks!

[Angband 3.0.7s Character Dump]

 Name   Pimp McPimp                              Self  RB  CB  EB   Best
 Sex    Female            Age        44   STR:     18  +2  +2  +1  18/50
 Race   Dwarf             Height     44   INT:     14  -3  +2  +0     13
 Class  Ranger            Weight    125   WIS:  18/32  +2  +0  +3  18/82
 Title  Explorer          Status     42   DEX:     17  -2  +1  +0     16
 HP     415/415           Maximize    Y   CON:  18/76  +2  +1  +1 18/116
 SP     19/19             Preserve    Y   CHR:  18/90  -3  +1  +3 18/100

 Level           33       Armor     [30,+75]     Saving Throw     Superb
 Cur Exp     385434       Fight     (+3,+18)     Stealth          Superb
 Max Exp     385434       Melee    (+10,+26)     Fighting         Heroic
 Adv Exp     412500       Shoot     (+12,+9)     Shooting      Legendary
 MaxDepth    Lev 30       Blows       3/turn     Disarming     Excellent
 Gold         27350       Shots       2/turn     Magic Device     Superb
 Burden   102.0 lbs                              Perception         Fair
 Speed           +3       Infra        60 ft     Searching          Good

 You are the only child of a Dwarven Miner.  You are a credit to the
 family.  You have dark brown eyes, straight black hair, a three foot
 beard, and a dark complexion.


      abcdefghijkl@       abcdefghijkl@
 Acid:........+.... Blind:............+
 Elec:........+.... Confu:.........+...
 Fire:........+.... Sound:.............
 Cold:........+.... Shard:.............
 Pois:............. Nexus:.......+.....
 Fear:............. Nethr:.............
 Lite:............. Chaos:.............
 Dark:............. Disen:.............

      abcdefghijkl@       abcdefghijkl@
S.Dig:....+........ Stea.:.......+...+.
Feath:............. Sear.:.............
PLite:............. Infra:......+......
Regen:............. Tunn.:.............
Telep:............. Speed:.......+.....
Invis:...+......... Blows:+............
FrAct:......+...... Shots:.............
HLife:............. Might:.............


  [Character Equipment]

a) The Sabre 'Careth Asdriag' (1d7) (+7,+8) (+1)
   It increases your attack speed by 1.  It slays animals, orcs, trolls,
   giants, and dragons.  It cannot be harmed by the elements.  
b) a Long Bow of Power (x3) (+9,+9)
c) a Lapis Lazuli Ring of Damage (+13)
d) a Calcite Ring of See Invisible
   It grants you the ability to see invisible things.  
e) a Copper Amulet of Slow Digestion
   It slows your metabolism.  
f) The Phial of Galadriel
   It lights the dungeon around you.  It activates for illumination
   every 10+d10 turns.  It cannot be harmed by the elements.  
g) Augmented Chain Mail (Dwarven) (-2) [16,+18] (+1)
   It increases your strength and constitution by 1.  It increases your 
   infravision by 1.  It grants you immunity to paralysis.  It cannot
   be harmed by acid or fire.  
h) The Cloak 'Colannon' [1,+15] (+3)
   It increases your stealth and speed by 3.  It provides resistance to 
   nexus.  It activates for teleport every 45 turns.  It cannot be
   harmed by the elements.  
i) a Small Metal Shield of Resistance [3,+13]
   It provides resistance to acid, lightning, fire, and cold.  It
   cannot be harmed by the elements.  
j) The Metal Cap of Thengel [3,+12] (+3)
   It increases your wisdom and charisma by 3.  It provides resistance
   to confusion.  It cannot be harmed by the elements.  
k) a Set of Leather Gloves of Slaying (+3,+2) [1,+8]
l) a Pair of Metal Shod Boots of Stealth [6,+8] (+3)
   It increases your stealth by 3.  


  [Character Inventory]

a) 2 Books of Magic Spells [Magic for Beginners]
b) 2 Books of Magic Spells [Conjurings and Tricks]
c) 2 Books of Magic Spells [Incantations and Illusions]
d) a Light Blue Mushroom of Restoring
e) 3 Pieces of Elvish Waybread
f) 4 Dark Green Potions of Speed
g) 5 Pink Speckled Potions of Cure Critical Wounds
h) a Red Speckled Potion of Healing
i) 5 Scrolls titled "ivfri jocre" of Teleportation
j) 2 Scrolls titled "arguni valgar" of Teleport Level
k) a Nickel Rod of Recall
   It cannot be harmed by electricity.  
l) 2 Lead-Plated Rods of Fire Bolts
m) an Aluminum-Plated Rod of Cold Balls
n) a Titanium Wand of Teleport Other (4 charges)
o) a Lapis Lazuli Ring of Damage (+12)
p) The Leather Scale Mail 'Thalkettoth' (-1) [11,+25] (+3)
   It increases your dexterity by 3.  It increases your speed by 3.  It
   cannot be harmed by the elements.  It might have hidden powers.
q) 8 Arrows (1d4) (+4,+5)
r) 25 Arrows (1d4) (+0,+0)


  [Home Inventory]

a) 3 Books of Magic Spells [Sorcery and Evocations]
b) 2 Brown Mushrooms of Restore Constitution
c) 99 Pieces of Elvish Waybread
d) 15 Dark Green Potions of Speed
e) 16 Red Speckled Potions of Healing
f) 55 Scrolls titled "ivfri jocre" of Teleportation
g) 12 Scrolls titled "arguni valgar" of Teleport Level
h) 5 Scrolls titled "satbjor wunit" of *Identify*
i) 2 Scrolls titled "reion unmi nin" of Remove Curse
j) 61 Scrolls titled "marta petbot" of Protection from Evil
k) a Scroll titled "hyd eshgar" of *Destruction*
l) 4 Titanium Wands of Teleport Other (35 charges)
m) a Jet Ring of Protection [+15]
n) a Jet Ring of Protection [+13]
o) a Platinum Ring of Free Action
   It grants you immunity to paralysis.  
p) an Engagement Ring of Constitution (+2)
   It increases your constitution by 2.  It sustains your constitution.
   
q) a Lapis Lazuli Ring of Damage (+9)
r) a Pair of Soft Leather Boots of Free Action [2,+6]
   It grants you immunity to paralysis.  
s) a Whip of Westernesse (1d3) (+9,+9) (+2)
   It increases your strength, dexterity, and constitution by 2.  It
   slays orcs, trolls, and giants.  It grants you immunity to paralysis 
   and the ability to see invisible things.  
t) a Lucerne Hammer of Extra Attacks (2d5) (+7,+9) (+2)
   It increases your attack speed by 2.  
u) 19 Arrows (1d4) (+2,+5)


  [Options]

Adult: Allow purchase of stats using points  : no  (adult_point_based)
Adult: Allow specification of minimal stats  : no  (adult_auto_roller)
Adult: Maximize effect of race/class bonuses : yes (adult_maximize)
Adult: Preserve artifacts when leaving level : yes (adult_preserve)
Adult: Restrict the use of stairs/recall     : no  (adult_ironman)
Adult: Restrict the use of stores/home       : no  (adult_no_stores)
Adult: Restrict creation of artifacts        : no  (adult_no_artifacts)
Adult: Randomize some of the artifacts (beta): no  (adult_rand_artifacts)
Adult: Don't stack objects on the floor      : no  (adult_no_stacking)
Score: Peek into object creation             : no  (score_peek)
Score: Peek into monster creation            : no  (score_hear)
Score: Peek into dungeon creation            : no  (score_room)
Score: Peek into something else              : no  (score_xtra)
Score: Know complete monster info            : no  (score_know)
Score: Allow player to avoid death           : no  (score_live)

[Nick]

Originally Posted by TannyJ

I'm currently playing Vanilla 3.0.7s3 on a Mac and I've run into my first chance again a Blue Ancient Dragon. He's in the middle of my first big vault, along with a Death Knight and some "i". (Just got done clearing out the value...the middle is all that's left).

If anyone could give me advice on whether i'm ready to fight the big D yet, it would be appreciated! (I have lightning resistance, but I'm not sure it's enough). And I literally just found 'Thalkettoth'...

You should be OK to at least have a go. Single resisted it will do you (IIRC, roughly) 150-200 HP with a breath at full health. Put on Thalkettoth (if that doesn't lose you too many HP) and your boots of free action and quaff a !Speed first. Be prepared to teleport it (or the death knight, which is possibly more dangerous) away if things aren't going well, or to teleport level if it trashes your wand of teleport other And remember that you may not be able to melee because of fear - your archery should be pretty effective, though.

[Hugo]

Originally Posted by TannyJ

And I literally just found 'Thalkettoth'...

Hi Tanny,

Wear it. I don't know it's hidden powers off the top of my head (you can consult a spoiler -see my sig- if you want to know now, but if you prefer the gameplaying experience to be as intended, you can wait for *Identify*) - but even without knowing any of it's hidden powers, it's much better than your current armor.

Not because of it's slightly better AC, it's lower to-hit penalty, or it's lower weight, but because of the +3 speed bonus it gives you. This bonus will allow you to land more attacks against the dragon (or any other foes) before they get to chew on you. The +3 dex is a nice bonus, especially for a ranger whose primary weapon should be his bow.

I don't know how many HP you'll lose when you don the dwarven chain mail with it's +1 Con bonus, but I don't think you'll miss them once you've got the extra speed.

[Magnate]

Originally Posted by Hugo

Hi Tanny,

Wear it. I don't know it's hidden powers off the top of my head (you can consult a spoiler -see my sig- if you want to know now, but if you prefer the gameplaying experience to be as intended, you can wait for *Identify*) - but even without knowing any of it's hidden powers, it's much better than your current armor.

Not because of it's slightly better AC, it's lower to-hit penalty, or it's lower weight, but because of the +3 speed bonus it gives you. This bonus will allow you to land more attacks against the dragon (or any other foes) before they get to chew on you. The +3 dex is a nice bonus, especially for a ranger whose primary weapon should be his bow.

I don't know how many HP you'll lose when you don the dwarven chain mail with it's +1 Con bonus, but I don't think you'll miss them once you've got the extra speed.

Just one note of caution along with this advice: AFAICT the dwarven armour is your only current source of FA, so DON'T swap it out unless you're sure Thalkettoth gives FA (I'm not sure), or you find another source. You are now deep enough to meet monsters who can paralyse you from a distance, so FA is essential to your survival.

As soon as you have another source of FA (ie. when you recall to town), wear Thalkettoth as recommended.

Good luck,

CC

[Hugo]

Originally Posted by Magnate

Just one note of caution along with this advice: AFAICT the dwarven armour is your only current source of FA, so DON'T swap it out unless you're sure Thalkettoth gives FA (I'm not sure), or you find another source. You are now deep enough to meet monsters who can paralyse you from a distance, so FA is essential to your survival.

As soon as you have another source of FA (ie. when you recall to town), wear Thalkettoth as recommended.

Good luck,

CC

Oops, I completely overlooked that.

You are right. Tanny should defintiely NOT remove the dwarven armour before another source of FA is worn.

Checking the dump, I'd probably choose one of the following:
a) Whip of Westernesse for See Invisible, Long Bow of Power for killing foes, Ring of Con + Ring of Free Action, Thalkettoth for speed, Boots of Stealth; or
b) Whip of Westernesse for See Invisible, Long Bow of Power for killing foes, Ring of Con + (for now, until something better is found) either Ring of Protection or Ring of Damage, Thalkettoth for speed, Boots of FA.

The former is most appropriate for a ranger. A Ring of Damage only helps in melee, whereas a ranger would typically puncture their enemies from a distance with long bow and arrows; stealth helps here - though a dwarf will never be the most stealthiest character in town :-)
The latter, with even less stealth and either better AC or more damage bonus for melee will suit a warrior-like playing style of the ranger.

IMHO, all damage and protection rings (except the one worn in option b, if you choose that one) can be sold; you'll never want to wear them. Same goes for the Hammer of Extra Attacks - unless you REALLY want to play like a warrior!

[TannyJ]

Thank you all for your sage advice

I didn't have another piece of FA equipment in the Dungeon, so I left on the Dwarven for the fight. I sped up to +13 and teleported away the Death Knight as soon as I saw him.

On the face-to-face with big D, he bit me and the electricity toasted my teleport other wand right from the start (Bastardo!). ^^ After that, I just lit him up with arrows until he bit the dust (no breath!). Got the Flail "Totila" and Dwarven twice as powerful (and heavy) as the one I was wearing...

Big thanks for the suggestion for using Thalke. After swapping in the Con+ Ring and back to the Whip, I'm in much better shape (even 4 blows/per now), still tough on the AC side, with +6 speed. ^^ (I do run my ranger more warrior like than most ^^)

Thanks again!

TannyJ