Re: OT: Nethack
I went into what I think is the mines (orange rock type walls, instead of brick walls), fell down a hole and was forced to explore both levels in order to get back up and find my kitten. It wasn't bad really. I found some items and some experience.
I don't know what the tiles look like, but the mines are a second set of down stairs somewhere between levels 2 and 5 (iirc). They are set up like a big cavern rather than the room-and-halls scheme of the dungeons.
hp said:
I was cruising around on D5 a little later on, on my way to an Altar on D4 to B/U/C some stuff when I ran into a Rothe and some rats. I've killed Rothe before, so it seemed OK. I was in a hall (only within range of the Rothe) and my kitten (now a Large Cat) was out in the room, tanking the Rothe and the two rats. I attacked the Rothe a few times and then noticed my HP was at 6 of 86... "wtf?" I thought. "Maybe I should run away?" But I decided to pray instead... assuming that would restore my health, but it did not.... I began to pray, and then was promptly killed by the Rothe.
I assumed prayer was instant, but this is not actually the case? Do you have to retreat first?
Rothes can be dangerous - they're kinda mini-soldier ants (quick, painful, and frequently spawning in groups), though I'm guessing in this situation you'd been hurt some other way and just didn't heal up enough - a few hits does not do 80 damage. It's wise to keep an eye on your HP even if there isn't something actively trying to kill you - you can greatly extend your life expectancy by resting for a couple hundred turns in certain situations.
Prayer is not instant, but (almost any) prayer that is going to be successful includes a brief invincibility during the prayer, so it is absolutely not necessary to retreat before praying (though if you consider yourself capable of successfully retreating far enough to get out of danger, doing so followed by some rest may be preferrable so your prayer is still available when retreat is not an option). Generally speaking, if you attempt to pray but fail to receive the prayer invincibility, it's because the prayer was going to fail anyways.
hp said:
1) I find the lack of quests disturbing. Sometimes there seems to be more then one option for 'down' and I'm never too sure what I'm supposed to be doing and what is a side quest (or if there is even a difference for that matter!) Something that is learned in time I suppose, but no too helpful as a newb.
There's a variety of "side" things (of varying degrees of hidden, and not all of which appear in every game) that are not strictly necessary to win - e.g. the mines or sokoban - but that are a good idea. IMO it's more or less worthwhile to try to full clear just about everything just about every game (you don't need to hunt down every last newt, and things will keep spawning so you're basically guaranteed to leave some monsters unkilled, but at least
look at every room on every level). A few posts back, I posted the order in which I do the early game. I'd recommend following it for the moment - it's based on personal preference, so if you start finding it doesn't work for you, by all means, do stuff in a different order.
hp said:
2) I've become more adept at handling my pet, but now I'm struggling with items. I'm almost always on the verge of being 'burdened' and often find myself staring at the item screen, wondering what to drop. Even with just a sword, armour, helm, boots, and a few bits of food it seems like my Barbarian can't carry much more. I don't want to drop things that aren't identified, because they might be useful. I don't want to drop things that are identified, because they might be useful. I don't want to drop sharp things I can throw, because they might be useful. Is there a sort of keep/leave basic rule? Or are you destine to run back and forth with leaving one item behind to carry another item, and then go back to get the first item, etc.?
This is another big problem that newer players have, and that older players have, and that basically everyone has. The best practice here is to leave stashes for yourself every so often. Stuff on the ground (or, better, in a chest) will stay where it is permanently with two exceptions. Any level you're currently on, the monsters will be actively wandering around doing things. (1) If your stash is just on the ground, monsters with hands and other assorted body parts will pick up and use equipment. (2) Gelatinous cubes (which are a bit higher level than you're going to deal with in the immediate future) eat stuff on the ground, which annoyingly includes chests. However, none of this happens if you're not on the level with it, so what I generally do is just go up a level (or more if I've already got a stash in place, or I've got an altar or something) and make a pile right next to the down stairs. This way you never really spend any time on the level when you aren't immediately next to your stash, and you can access it easily.
A couple other comments about encumberance:
-It is not necessary to lug around all kinds of assorted crap. You pretty much should limit yourself to things you're actively planning on using (weapons/armor), utility stuff (pick axe/unicorn horn/etc), a bit of food (how much varies depending on how nourishing the corpses you're finding are), and a bit of emergency stuff in case you run in to something unexpected. Anything you're planning on using later (or that you need to identify) should be stashed until "later" comes up.
-Gold is heavy, particularly when you've got a lot of it. However, stashed gold doesn't help your score at the end. It's up to you whether you want to improve your chances of getting farther in the game by being less encumbered or whether you want to improve your score (assuming you die soon) by carrying around all your valuables.
-Heavy armor is rarely worthwhile. Basically splint, banded, and (bronze/crystal/regular) plate mail shouldn't really ever be used (if you've got a lot of strength and your alternative is leather, go for it, but in general stay away from the heavy armors). It's extremely difficult to remain unburdened even with no extraneous gear while wearing heavy armors. Being burdened is
significantly worse for your survival prospects than having a point or two worse AC.
-To the best of your ability,
never, ever, ever be burdened (at least if you're doing anything other than carrying stuff back to drop off to your stash). If you are hauling crap back to a stash and you get into a fight with anything tougher than a newt, take a moment to (D)rop a bunch of stuff so you can fight in real time. I recommend (D)rop rather than (d)rop because with the capital you can drop many items in one turn.
Remaining unburdened is one of those things like prayer-for-food that, once you get used to it and embrace it, will substantially improve your game. It makes a very large difference.
-CG
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