Basic advice on Sangband?

[Estie]

What NotMorgoth says; I dont recall the exact name, but it was some blanket or such. It did exactly that - disenchanting everything by merely being in my inventory, unidentified. And it wasnt just removing a bit of ac either; pvals and (+x,+y) enchantments were all pretty much zero by the time I noticed it.

[Magnate]

Originally Posted by Estie

What NotMorgoth says; I dont recall the exact name, but it was some blanket or such. It did exactly that - disenchanting everything by merely being in my inventory, unidentified. And it wasnt just removing a bit of ac either; pvals and (+x,+y) enchantments were all pretty much zero by the time I noticed it.

My Lord, Leon was an evil genius. I had no idea blankets could be cursed - I've only ever found good ones.

[wobbly]

I'm a little confused about how the racial abilities( disarm, device, stealth etc.) interact with the skill. Is it basically additive or is it more like a multiplier (similar to the aptitude).

[Magnate]

Originally Posted by wobbly

I'm a little confused about how the racial abilities( disarm, device, stealth etc.) interact with the skill. Is it basically additive or is it more like a multiplier (similar to the aptitude).

It's a multiplier.

Every skill has a base cost, ranging from 4 IIRC (disarming?) to 16 (spellcasting).

This cost is multiplied by a racial aptitude, which ranges from 7 to 20 or so (I think - but you really want to avoid skills with racial aptitudes worse than about 12). Note that lower numbers are better: 10 is 100% of base cost, 7 is 70%, 20 is 200%.

This multiplied racial cost is then scaled with skill level to give you the cost of the next skill point.

[camlost]

Originally Posted by Magnate

It's a multiplier.

Every skill has a base cost, ranging from 4 IIRC (disarming?) to 16 (spellcasting).

This cost is multiplied by a racial aptitude, which ranges from 7 to 20 or so (I think - but you really want to avoid skills with racial aptitudes worse than about 12). Note that lower numbers are better: 10 is 100% of base cost, 7 is 70%, 20 is 200%.

This multiplied racial cost is then scaled with skill level to give you the cost of the next skill point.

Skill costs also have an impact on a skill's potency even at the same level. A gnome with 40 in wrestling and a strength of 18/100 is actually worse than a giant with the same stats. At least for weapon/martial skills.

[camlost]

Originally Posted by Malak Darkhunter

I think I *do* remember seeing that once, wonder if resist disenchantment nullifies the effects on the gear? Camlost could probably give more info here, or probably Magnate.

I don't recall if rDis is helpful for this. I'm pretty sure you would have gotten messages that this was going on. I high tail it to town if this is going on.

My Lord, Leon was an evil genius. I had no idea blankets could be cursed - I've only ever found good ones.

I hardly find any these days, and I do take care to id them. Priests can also cast OoD to destroy them as well, as they're cursed.

What NotMorgoth says; I dont recall the exact name, but it was some blanket or such. It did exactly that - disenchanting everything by merely being in my inventory, unidentified. And it wasnt just removing a bit of ac either; pvals and (+x,+y) enchantments were all pretty much zero by the time I noticed it.

I don't think pvals are affected, but plusses to hit, dam, and AC should all be fair game.

[camlost]

So my advice is, pick a race that is good at one of the martial arts (racial score under ten, preferably 8 or 7), and put your first ~20xp into it. Then you can start to pick up the basics like saving throw, perception, and whatever else you're going to develop (spells, devices, weapon skill, archery, burglary). Leave the forging/infusion skills until much later (this will hurt if you suffer from optimisation-OCD because the skill cost goes up, but it's negligible in the long run).

This is sound advice, but I don't usually have problems running melee weapons, either.

Archery and magic devices at the start are pretty painful to run, IMO. Devices are limited in charges and archery is horribly inaccurate. I wonder if I should make inaccuracy more fixed throughout the game and increase damage to compensate.

Pure magic is certainly possible, and there have been some changes to make it more plausible. If you do want to do this, take the oath at your first opportunity (school skill = 20).