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Gnoll

2018-08-15T03:56:43Z

QuinnR: Update version tag, up to date

{{Version022}}
''This article covers the player [[species]]. For the monster, see [[Gnoll (monster)]]. For a list of all monstrous gnolls, see [[List of gnolls]].''
{{flavour|Gnolls are a race of caniform humanoids originally hailing from the arid deserts and grasslands of the east. In recent history they have become unusually attracted to the Dungeon, establishing tribes around and even inside of it. Unfortunately their long stay in the Dungeon has exposed their somewhat fragile minds to excessive amounts of its magic.

On the one hand, their bizarrely altered brains now have incredible proficiency at learning every skill. On the other, these same alterations have rendered Gnolls incapable of selective learning. They learn all skills equally at the same time, so it's hard for them to learn more about any one thing.

In order to survive with this limitation, Gnolls use their universal knowledge and excellent physical attributes of strength, intelligence, and dexterity to take advantage of every resource they find in the Dungeon. They also have powerful noses have adapted to the Dungeon's scents, allowing them to easily locate where treasures lay hidden.}}

==Innate Abilities==
*Gnolls' experience applies equally to ALL skills
*Gnolls have very sharp teeth ([[fangs]] 1)
*Gnolls' uncanny sense of smell can sniff out nearby items ([[strong nose]])

Gnolls have a base [[Strength]] of 10, [[Intelligence]] of 10 and [[Dexterity]] of 10 (before Background modifiers).

==Preferred Backgrounds==
*'''Adventurer:''' [[Wanderer]]
*'''Warrior-mages:''' [[Skald]], [[Transmuter]], [[Warper]], [[Arcane Marksman]]

==Level Bonuses==
*+1 [[strength]], [[intelligence]], or [[dexterity]] every 4 levels
*Average [[HP]] and [[MP]]
*+3 [[magic resistance]] per level

==Difficulty of Play==
{{Moderate}}

Gnolls are jacks of all trades, but masters of none, so using what the game provides you as far as items and spells is essential. On the other hand, you will always have skill with any great weapons you find, which makes gearing easier. Gnolls also have less difficulty with triple school spells than most other races due to training all the schools at once.

{{species_aptitudes|Gnoll}}

==Strategy==
Given that a gnoll's skills will be at around 16 at character level 27, going for level 9 spells will be a challenge and min delay with heavier weapons will not be possible without boosts from [[Okawaru]] or [[Ashenzari]]. This leads to a a hybrid character that should soften up targets with ranged weapons/spells before engaging in melee. You will also be able to use most buffing spells on yourself to enhance your combat. [[Okawaru]] is a popular god choice for gnolls because of his gifts and skill boosts. Since gnolls can use every weapon equally well, Oka's gifts are easier to use and never require retraining when you getting something absurdly powerful.

[[Cheibriados]]ʼ stat boosts enable a gnoll to comfortably use any item or spell the game throws at it, at the cost of slow movement speed. This speed penalty may be worth paying in exchange for being able to deal with practically any situation before it becomes dangerous.

The gnoll's ability to use all and everything has the downside that inventory management becomes even more of an issue than for all other characters.

==History==
Added in [[0.21]]

{{species}}

Acquirement

2018-08-15T03:54:35Z

QuinnR: Changing version tag, page appears to be up to date.

{{version022}}

An '''acquirement''' is a specific way of generating an item in ''Crawl'' that, unlike most item generation, is based in large part on your character's abilities and possessions. It is guaranteed to be usable or equippable. The item is biased towards being both good and useful to your character, but your luck may still vary. You may be given an item that allows you to win the game, or you may be given useless junk.

==Sources==
There are only a few sources of acquirements. Most are fairly rare, and those that are more common tend to be not as good. The sources are:

*Reading a [[scroll of acquirement]] gives the player an acquirement, with a choice of item type. These are quite rare and valuable.
*Three deities can give out acquirements:
**[[Okawaru]] gives out weapon, armour, and missile acquirements on a fairly regular basis at high piety. His weapons are biased toward worse item types than those created by other sources.
**[[Trog]] gives out weapons and missiles at high piety, similar to Okawaru. He is more likely to offer weapons with the [[antimagic]] brand. Similar to Okawaru, his items are biased towards having slightly worse base types than other sources of acquirements.
**[[Xom]] may occasionally give you acquirements, among all the other junk he throws at you.
*Items in [[vault]]s may be created using acquirement code; the most notable example of this would be items in [[treasure trove]]s. As these items are placed when the trove is created, the player obviously cannot choose their type, but they generally are biased toward your predominant skills. Not all excellent items found in vaults are necessarily acquirements, though.

==General Mechanics==
Acquirements are affected by a number of different factors:
*They are biased towards items that match your skills. For instance, a character who has heavily invested in [[Maces & Flails]] is fairly likely to receive a weapon in that category should they opt for a weapon acquirement. Similarly, a conjurer who uses mainly [[Fire Magic]] will likely find themselves receiving a spellbook with more spells from that school should they choose a spellbook acquirement.
*They are biased against items that you have already seen, the logic there being that if you have seen it, you're probably either using it or have decided it isn't useful. This usually includes items in shops, but those which are far too expensive for your character to buy at present are excluded from being "seen."
*The item is guaranteed to be usable. This means that you will be able to equip it, and using it will not incur penance with your current deity. Note that these guarantees are fairly minimal: acquirement may well give your [[Armour]]-based [[hill orc]] a robe (although it will be biased against doing so if you have invested in the Armour skill).
*The item will not be [[cursed]] (although it may curse itself upon being equipped, if it possesses that particular [[ego]]). Worshipers of [[Ashenzari]] will always receive cursed items.
*Your [[species]] and [[god]] may occasionally also cause changes in the items given. For example, [[Vampire]]s will receive [[potions of blood]] as food, and ghouls will receive [[chunk]]s.

Note that acquirements are ''not'' directly affected by your current depth or location. However, the bias against items you have already seen means that later acquirements do tend to give out rarer items, as the common ones have already been seen. This can often produce better acquirements later on, although how much better depends on the item type asked for, and saving an acquirement for later runs the risk of you dying due to poor equipment before you get the chance.

==Specific acquirement types==
=====[a] [[Weapon]]=====
You receive a [[brand]]ed, [[randart]], or even possibly [[List of unrands|unrandart]] melee or ranged weapon that usually belongs to the weapon schools you are skilled in. It helps if you are skilled only with weapons that you really want to use in combat.

=====[b] [[Armour]]=====
You receive a good or randart piece of armour or shield, with a small chance of an [[List of unrands|unrandart]]. The creation process does consider your skills and even mutations, but the item is not guaranteed to be useful for you. However, it will always be one that you are capable of wearing.

=====[c] [[Jewellery]]=====
You receive a random piece of jewellery, sometimes a randart. The game will try to give you something you have not identified yet, but there is no guarantee. The chance for a randart is flat and does not depend on the amount of jewellery you have identified.

=====[d] [[Book]]=====
You receive a randart [[spell book]] or [[manual]]. Melee/ranged combat players are less likely to receive spellbooks. Worshipers of [[Trog]] will always receive a [[manual]], but never one that trains magic. Randart spellbooks will tend to include spells from the player's most knowledgeable spell school.

=====[e] [[magical staff|Staff]]=====
You receive a magical staff based on the following conditions:
*If your best magical skill is [[Fire Magic]], [[Ice Magic]], [[Air Magic]], [[Earth Magic]], [[Poison Magic]], [[Conjurations]], [[Necromancy]] or [[Summonings]] you may receive the matching staff (50%), or a non-enhancer staff (a staff of wizardry, power, or energy).
*Otherwise you may receive completely random staff (33%) or a non-enhancer staff (i.e. your best skill is Spellcasting, or you already are carrying your best skill's staff).

=====[f] [[Evocable]]s=====
You either receive a random wand with a greater chance of receiving a wand you haven't identified yet or a powerful wand, or you receive a random [[evocable items|evocable]] item with the exception of [[Horn of Geryon]].

=====[h] [[Comestible|Food]]=====
[[Ghoul]]s receive [[Chunk#Chunks_of_flesh|chunks of flesh]]. [[Vampire]]s receive [[potions of blood]]. All other characters receive some [[ration]]s.

=====[i] [[Gold]]=====
You receive a large amount of gold, ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. This can help you go on a shopping spree in a [[bazaar]], obtain an expensive [[randart]] in a shop for a [[treasure trove]], or provide you with some opportunities to use [[Gozag]]'s abilities.

==Racial restrictions==
[[Felid]]s can only choose between: Jewellery, Book, Evocables, Food, and Gold.

[[Mummies]] cannot acquire food.

==History==
Prior to [[0.21]], Fedhas worshippers received fruit, and other species could get royal jellies as well as rations - this was removed when food was merged into rations.

In [[0.20]], wand and misc acquirement were merged into evocables

In [[0.19]], ammo acquirement was removed, and randart jewelry appeared twice as often as before. Prior to [[0.19]], rods were obtained through [e] Staff acquirement rather than [g] Misc Evocable

Identification

2018-08-15T03:53:09Z

QuinnR: Bring info up to date with 0.22

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{| style="float: right;"
| __TOC__
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Any item can be completely '''identified''' by reading a [[scroll of identify]]. While these scrolls are common, using them to identify every item you come across is wasteful; identifying items through other methods will leave you with more scrolls for later use.

==Checking items you have identified==
Press '''\''' for a list of items already identified. While viewing the list, the command '''-''' will toggle the view to items you have not yet identified.

==Pre-identified items==
Certain [[background]]s or [[species]] start with identifiable items in their inventory which they will recognize elsewhere:
*[[Fighter]]s start with a [[potion of might]].
*[[Warper]]s start with a [[scroll of blinking]].
*[[Artificer]]s start with a [[wand of flame]], [[wand of enslavement]], and a [[wand of random effects]].
*[[Wanderer]]s may start with scrolls or potions which they will then recognize.

Additionally, converting to [[Ashenzari]] will identify [[scrolls of remove curse]], if you haven't already identified them. Followers of Ashenzari can always tell if an item is cursed, and they will have a much easier time identifying other items as their piety rises.

==Identifying items in shops==
Anything bought from a non-antique [[shop]] will automatically be identified. This is especially useful for identifying harmful [[potions]] or [[jewellery]] (such as [[potions of poison]] or an [[amulet of inaccuracy]]), as all of these are quite cheap and identifying them this way will prevent you from harming yourself by experimenting with them.

==Identifying items through use==
If the item is a weapon, armour, ring or amulet, you may want to make sure that you can un[[curse]] it if you need to: a [[scroll of remove curse]] will always work. Some weapons and armour appear as shiny, runed, glowing, dyed, embroidered ''etc.'', while others are "plain". Plain equipment is always un[[brand]]ed and is generally +0, though it may be cursed (in which case it will often have a negative enchantment). Equipment with adjectives is often enchanted and may be branded but has a slightly higher chance of being cursed with negative enchantments. More exotic descriptors such as "ancient", "humming", or "distressingly furry" indicate [[artefact]]s, which can possess dramatic enhancements or maluses (sometimes both at once!) Even when unidentified, artifacts will appear in white in the inventory listing.

===[[Armour]]===
Armour is always fully identified when worn. The only risk with wearing unidentified non-artefact armour is being stuck by a curse with something suboptimal; there are no harmful armour [[ego]]s other than [[ponderousness]], which is exceedingly rare and not usually generated cursed. Wearing a piece of artefact armour will identify all of its properties, but some of those can occasionally be nasty: mutagenic radiation, teleportitis, and negative slaying are all possibilities. You should always have a scroll of remove curse handy when trying on unidentified artefact armour. Also note that some artifacts are generated with effects that harm you when you unequip the item, even after it is uncursed, including temporarily [[draining]] your stats.

===[[Weapon]]s===
Weapons are also fully identified upon wielding, including [[brand]], enchantment, and curse. The same applies to artifacts, which will have all of their properties identified when you wield it, though they may have negative properties and or be cursed, so be wary.

Weapons held by enemies will automatically have their brand identified on sight. The enchantment level and cursed status are not automatically identified this way.

Be careful when identifying weapons lying around the dungeon: weapons of [[distortion]] can have dangerous effects if you ''unwield'' them, such as dealing heavy damage, heavy [[glow]] or casting the user into [[the Abyss]].

===[[Jewellery]]===
All jewellery identifies when equipped. Amulets are generally safer to identify in this way than rings, since only a few of them can be harmful.
*[[Amulets of inaccuracy]] is the only truly harmful amulet. They are always cursed, so keeping a spare scroll of remove curse on hand for trying on unidentified amulets may be helpful.
*[[Amulet of Harm|Amulets of harm]] increases the damage you deal, but also causes damage done to you to be increased. It also causes [[draining]] on removal.
*[[Amulets of faith]] can be quite a boon, depending on which [[god]] you worship, but unequipping it will lower your piety by 1/3. If you already have high piety with your chosen god and do not plan to wear an amulet of faith for general purposes, consider using scrolls to identify unknown amulets to prevent hefty piety loss.
*[[Amulets of guardian spirit]] can be dangerous for spellcasters, as it will drain all your MP when put on. Don't try on unknown amulets in combat.

Rings can be more dangerous than amulets, but many of the same strategies apply.
*[[Rings of teleportation]] and [[rings of attention]] are always cursed. A cursed ring of teleportation can be especially hazardous on floors where moving slowly and carefully is a priority; if you're out of scrolls of remove curse, consider using scrolls to identify unknown rings or wearing an amulet of stasis.
*While [[rings of protection]], [[ring of evasion|evasion]], [[ring of strength|strength]], [[ring of intelligence|intelligence]], [[ring of dexterity|dexterity]], and [[ring of slaying|slaying]] often have positive modifiers, they may have negative modifiers, in which case they are often cursed.

Artefact jewellery will reveal all properties when worn; as always, exercise caution when trying on unidentified artefacts.

===[[Scrolls]]===
All scrolls identify when read, even if their effects aren't obviously perceived.

If you really want to optimize read-identifying scrolls, be sure that you:
*Are on an unexplored level, standing on stairs leading to a clear level (to retreat if it's a teleportation, noise, or another harmful scroll, and to make the most out of magic mapping)
*Test the most numerous unknown scrolls you have first (to make it more probable to discover the more common identify, teleportation, and remove curse scrolls first and to avoid wasting more valuable scrolls)
*Don't have any allies nearby (to not offend them and possibly your deity with fear, torment, or holy word)
*Are carrying at least one wand (recharging), one enchantable weapon, preferably unbranded or with a brand you'd like to replace (enchant weapon and brand weapon), and one piece of enchantable armour (enchant armour)

Conditions can be adjusted as your knowledge improves. For example, if you are playing as a [[formicid]], you don't have to worry about accidentally teleporting, due to the permanent [[stasis]] effect. Some of the less common scrolls are very valuable and therefore it is not wasteful to use a scroll of identify on single scrolls that have been single for some time (e.g. brand weapon).

Identifying scrolls is all about balance. On the one hand, you shouldn't waste scrolls of identify out of sheer curiosity, but on the other, it's massively annoying to die on level 3 with several scrolls of teleportation, fear, or blinking in your inventory. When read-identifying scrolls, watch out for the following detrimental effects:
*Scrolls of noise may attract unwanted attention to your position.
*Scrolls of immolation give all creatures in view the [[Inner Flame]] status condition, which causes them to explode violently upon death. If you have no way to kill things from a distance, keep away from your explosive foes until the status wears off.
*Scrolls of silence prevent all spellcasting in an area around you for some time. While this can be helpful for melee-based characters, spellcasters will essentially be rendered helpless for the duration.
*The scrolls of torment cause serious HP damage, though they are never directly lethal (deals half of your health, less if you resist negative energy). Scrolls of holy word cause similar damage to undead or demonic characters.
*If you have any allies in sight, reading a scroll of fear, immolation, or torment (or holy word, for undead/demonic allies) is liable to cause them to turn on you. On top of that, some [[god]]s get angry if you harm your allies.
*Scrolls of random uselessness may produce friendly butterflies, which can be troublesome for characters worshiping a god who dislikes the death of allies.

===[[Potions]]===
All potions auto-identify when quaffed, but some ([[potions of poison]] and [[potion of degeneration|degeneration]], for example) are seriously harmful. It may be sensible to wait until you have larger potion stacks before trying them, so that you are more likely to discover the [[potion of curing]], which is the most common potion and will cure poisoning and rotting. This also reduces the chance of wasting a valuable [[potion of cure mutation]]. Note that wearing an [[amulet of resist mutation]] or having [[poison resistance]] will ''not'' interfere with identifying the corresponding potions, but will protect you from their effects.

You will also automatically identify potions when you see a monster quaff them.

It is not cowardice to avoid quaff-identifying potions entirely. Scrolls of identify are common enough that using them on every unidentified potion you find is not unreasonable.

===[[Wands]]===
Wands will automatically be identified (along with their number of charges) when picked up, and stacked with other wands of the same type.

==History==
Prior to [[0.16]], wands did not automatically identify when picked up and the brand of weapons wielded by monsters did not identify on sight.

Prior to [[0.15]], most jewellery would not fully identify when worn, and scrolls of identify could occasionally affect multiple items.

Prior to [[0.14]], scrolls of curse weapon, armour, and jewellery could be found which would curse a random equipped object of that type. These scrolls are now obtainable only through [[Ashenzari]], and are therefore always identified. Also, weapons, wands, and scrolls would fully identify when used, some [[background]]s started with knowledge of items they did not possess, and potions of blood and porridge were not pre-identified.

Prior to [[0.10]], scrolls of enchant weapon, scrolls of fear, scrolls of holy word, scrolls of torment, and scrolls of vorpalise weapon would only identify when read if they affected something.

Prior to [[0.8]], wield-IDing [[magical staves]] would only work if the spellcaster's skills exceeded a certain value, much like with weapon enchantments.

Prior to [[0.6]] and the removal of the [[Divinations]] school of magic, you could also identify items using the [[Identify]] spell.

[[Category:Strategy Guides]]

Item generation

2018-08-14T22:09:52Z

QuinnR: Add additional info on item generation rates.

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==Base Type==
===Number of Items per Level===
Levels in [[Hell]], [[Slime Pits]], and the [[Ecumenical Temple]] are generated without any items on the floor. Other levels contain between 6 and 36 items lying on the floor, chosen as described below; after level 5, there's a very small chance (about 0.2%) to get a very rich level instead, which contains 11-100 items.

Some levels (fixed bottom branch, random mini-vaults...) may contain additional "fixed" items, defined in the vault layout.

===Type of Items Generated===

Items in the [[Orcish Mines]] are always piles of gold; other items are randomly generated with the following weights:

{| class="prettytable" cellpadding="2" border="1"
|- align="center"
! '''Item type'''
! '''Probability'''
|-
! colspan="11" align="center" |
|-
| Weapon
| 11%
|-
| Ammunition
| 15%
|-
| Armour
| 11%
|-
| Wand
| 3.6%
|-
| Food
| 7.1%
|-
| Scroll
| 16%
|-
| Jewellery
| 2.6%
|-
| Potion
| 9%
|-
| Book
| 1.5%
|-
| Magical staff
| 0.51%
|-
| Gold
| 22%
|-
|}

Miscellaneous invokable items may replace the generation of any item at item levels greater than 7.

If the item level is below 7 and the generator rolled a staff, a book or a wand, it may randomly change the item type to a potion or a scroll instead. Misc items ([[Evocable items#elementalevokers|elemental evoker]], [[Evocable items#summoningitems|summoning item]] or [[crystal ball]]) are only generated at item level 8 and after with a probability of 0.4% + 0.02% per item level.

Scrolls are generated with the following frequencies:

{| class="prettytable" cellpadding="2" border="1"
|- align="center"
! '''Item type'''
! '''Probability'''
|-
! colspan="11" align="center" |
|-
| Curing
| 18.37%
|-
| Heal Wounds
| 10.05%
|-
| Lignification, Flight, Haste
| 6.99%
|-
| Might, Degeneration, Agility
| 6.32%
|-
| Brilliance
| 6.32%
|-
| Mutation
| 5.07%
|-
| Invisibility, Resistance, Magic, Berserk Rage, Cancellation, Ambrosia
| 3.35%
|-
| Experience
| 0.002%
|-

|}

[[Category:Crawl]]