ARCHIVED Majang's Gargoyle Wizard of Vehumet Guide - Revision history

Qqqqwe2: Qqqqwe2 moved page Majang's Gargoyle Wizard of Vehumet Guide to ARCHIVED Majang's Gargoyle Wizard of Vehumet Guide: old, too many references to removed items/mechanics

2024-08-30T19:02:05Z

Qqqqwe2 moved page Majang's Gargoyle Wizard of Vehumet Guide to ARCHIVED Majang's Gargoyle Wizard of Vehumet Guide: old, too many references to removed items/mechanics

Majang: somewhat up to date now

2016-02-19T13:50:15Z

somewhat up to date now

Majang: /* What can kill you */ updates

2016-02-19T13:49:44Z

‎What can kill you: updates

Majang: updated to version 0.16

2015-03-16T11:10:47Z

updated to version 0.16

Majang: updated to 0.15

2014-08-30T20:25:34Z

updated to 0.15

Majang: /* What can kill you */ two rings of sustain abilities are no longer better than one

2014-08-30T20:24:59Z

‎What can kill you: two rings of sustain abilities are no longer better than one

Majang: /* Spells to learn */ No more sublimation of blood for Gargoyles

2014-08-30T20:22:01Z

‎Spells to learn: No more sublimation of blood for Gargoyles

Majang: /* Armour choice */ sticky flame no longer destroys scrolls

2014-08-30T20:20:07Z

‎Armour choice: sticky flame no longer destroys scrolls

Majang: /* God choice */ Vehumet may disappoint you sometimes

2014-08-30T20:16:20Z

‎God choice: Vehumet may disappoint you sometimes

Majang: /* Why a Gargoyle Wizard? */ adjusted statement to new 0.15 SH calculations

2014-08-30T20:12:46Z

‎Why a Gargoyle Wizard?: adjusted statement to new 0.15 SH calculations

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 {{advice}}
-{{version016}}
+{{version017}}
 This guide assumes that you want to win relying on high-end [[Conjurations]] spells, getting you to a 15 rune victory (including [[Ziggurat]]s) with a highly survivable character.

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 As long as you do not attract too many enemies at once, you should be pretty safe in almost all situations. But there are some monsters which can be lethal even for you gargoyle: In the beginning those are [[orc priest]]s, whose [[smite]] attacks don’t care about your armour protection. A few of those encountered at the same time can kill you fast. Use [[Mephitic Cloud]] against them, then run. [[Confused]] orc priests don’t smite! Later on you need to fear the following: [[unseen horror]]s are fast and eat quickly through your armour - try to find a source for [[see invisible]] before you get too deep into the dungeon; uniques ([[Wiglaf]], [[Mara]], [[Norris]], and their likes) can easily overpower you. Monsters with [[Earth Magic]] spells such as [[Shatter]] or [[Lee's Rapid Deconstruction]] find a particularly soft target in you. Kill them fast! And finally, [[hellfire]] can burn through your [[HP]] in no time at all. When you see hellfire-capable monsters, prioritize them quickly, as you have no protection whatsoever against them, except killing them before they kill you.
-Your [[torment]] resistance, and your immunity against [[rot]]ting allow you to spend more time in the [[hell]]s than other characters. You may want to explore all the levels to collect the experience. But you do need a [[ring of sustain abilities]], and you should have a few [[potions of restore abilities]] ready when you need them, or you may end up with [[stat zero]] in very inopportune places.
+Your [[torment]] resistance, and your immunity against [[rot]]ting allow you to spend more time in the [[hell]]s than other characters. You may want to explore all the levels to collect the experience. But you do need a [[ring of sustain attributes]], or you may end up with [[stat zero]] in very inopportune places.
 And you may also want to avoid getting yourself into [[the Abyss]], unless you are really, really strong. I would not volunteer to go there before I'm ready to enter [[the Realm of Zot]]. That place is just too unpredictable, particularly for casters, who may find themselves surrounded by foes and out of energy, with nowhere to go.
 [[Category:Character guides]]

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 {{advice}}
-{{version015}}
+{{version016}}
 This guide assumes that you want to win relying on high-end [[Conjurations]] spells, getting you to a 15 rune victory (including [[Ziggurat]]s) with a highly survivable character.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{advice}}
-{{version014}}
+{{version015}}
 This guide assumes that you want to win relying on high-end [[Conjurations]] spells, getting you to a 15 rune victory (including [[Ziggurat]]s) with a highly survivable character.

@@ Line 54: / Line 54: @@
 As long as you do not attract too many enemies at once, you should be pretty safe in almost all situations. But there are some monsters which can be lethal even for you gargoyle: In the beginning those are [[orc priest]]s, whose [[smite]] attacks don’t care about your armour protection. A few of those encountered at the same time can kill you fast. Use [[Mephitic Cloud]] against them, then run. [[Confused]] orc priests don’t smite! Later on you need to fear the following: [[unseen horror]]s are fast and eat quickly through your armour - try to find a source for [[see invisible]] before you get too deep into the dungeon; uniques ([[Wiglaf]], [[Mara]], [[Norris]], and their likes) can easily overpower you. Monsters with [[Earth Magic]] spells such as [[Shatter]] or [[Lee's Rapid Deconstruction]] find a particularly soft target in you. Kill them fast! And finally, [[hellfire]] can burn through your [[HP]] in no time at all. When you see hellfire-capable monsters, prioritize them quickly, as you have no protection whatsoever against them, except killing them before they kill you.
-Your [[torment]] resistance, and your immunity against [[rot]]ting allow you to spend more time in the [[hell]]s than other characters. You may want to explore all the levels to collect the experience. But you do need a [[ring of sustain abilities]] or two, and you should have a few [[potions of restore abilities]] ready when you need them, or you may end up with [[stat zero]] in very inopportune places.
+Your [[torment]] resistance, and your immunity against [[rot]]ting allow you to spend more time in the [[hell]]s than other characters. You may want to explore all the levels to collect the experience. But you do need a [[ring of sustain abilities]], and you should have a few [[potions of restore abilities]] ready when you need them, or you may end up with [[stat zero]] in very inopportune places.
 And you may also want to avoid getting yourself into [[the Abyss]], unless you are really, really strong. I would not volunteer to go there before I'm ready to enter [[the Realm of Zot]]. That place is just too unpredictable, particularly for casters, who may find themselves surrounded by foes and out of energy, with nowhere to go.
 [[Category:Character guides]]

← Older revision	Revision as of 19:02, 30 August 2024
(No difference)

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 From the starting spell book you learn [[Repel Missiles]], [[Conjure Flame]] and [[Mephitic Cloud]]. These will get you into the Fire and Air Magic spell schools, and provide you with the firepower to make it through the game until Vehumet gifts you more potent Conjurations spells. Mephitic Cloud is particularly useful against [[ogre (monster)|ogres]] and [[orc priest]]s, who can otherwise be serious threats for you. You will want to get Fire and Air spells as soon as possible, particularly [[Airstrike]], [[Sticky Flame]] and [[Fireball]]. With this under your belt, you will make it through [[the Lair]], the [[Orcish Mines]], and the two Lair side [[branch]]es. Although you have a very good aptitude for [[Earth Magic]], you should leave this alone until much later. One of your keys to success later on is the Tornado, which in combination with Fire Storm clears out any concentration of bad guys, including the worst of the [[Hell]]s, [[Pandemonium]], and the [[Ziggurat]]s. [[Shatter]] just isn’t half as useful, and [[Lehudib's Crystal Spear]] only hits single targets at a very high cost. You can actually get LCS later on with pretty low skill investment, once Conjurations and [[Spellcasting]] are maxed out (but that will be very late in the game).
-Other useful spells: [[Blink]] (already in your starting spell book), [[Apportation]], [[Bolt of Fire]], [[Orb of Destruction]] (you will need this against dangerous [[unique]]s such as [[Boris]], [[Mara]] or [[Norris]]), [[Sublimation of Blood]] (another way of [[channeling]] energy, but since you are a gargoyle, it does not work on yourself), and [[Regeneration]]. Later on you may want to replace Repel Missiles with [[Deflect Missiles]].
+Other useful spells: [[Blink]] (already in your starting spell book), [[Apportation]], [[Bolt of Fire]], [[Orb of Destruction]] (you will need this against dangerous [[unique]]s such as [[Boris]], [[Mara]] or [[Norris]]), and [[Regeneration]]. Later on you may want to replace Repel Missiles with [[Deflect Missiles]].
 ===Skill management===

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 You have a good shields aptitude, and it would be a pity to let this go to waste. When you find a buckler, use it! You will need a skill of 5 to use it without penalty, but don’t stop there! With a skill of 15, you can use a regular shield, but even much earlier the penalty will not stop you from using any of your spells, until you get to the level 9 spells. I usually go all the way to using large shields, but you may find some amazing [[artefact]] smaller shield, and that may be a good reason to save you the experience investment needed for using large shields.
-The most useful main body armor for you is probably the [[mottled dragon armour]]. It barely affects your spell casting, but gives you 12 AC when fully enchanted. The sticky flame resistance is actually quite useful for protecting your [[scroll]]s and even yourself. A [[swamp dragon armour]] is comparable in AC, but its brand is useless to you. [[Fire dragon armour|Fire]] or [[ice dragon armour]] have useful brands, but they require you to invest quite a lot into [[Armour skill]] before you can use them comfortably. Anything beyond that will be too heavy for you. In any case, the mottled dragon armor will give you a whopping 42 % GDR. You may still want to train some Armour skill levels for it, but can stop at about 6 or so. Unfortunately, it may be quite a while before you find a [[mottled dragon hide]] (in one game I did not find a single one until the end), so any other light armor will have to do until this happy moment. If you are lucky, you’ll find some nice artefact [[leather armour]] or [[ring mail]]. Don’t throw them away just because they may be negatively enchanted – with your massive AC boost you can afford to let go of a few points here, if it gives you some nice [[intrinsic]]s instead.
+The most useful main body armor for you is probably the [[mottled dragon armour]]. It barely affects your spell casting, but gives you 12 AC when fully enchanted. A [[swamp dragon armour]] is comparable in AC, but its brand is useless to you. [[Fire dragon armour|Fire]] or [[ice dragon armour]] have useful brands, but they require you to invest quite a lot into [[Armour skill]] before you can use them comfortably. Anything beyond that will be too heavy for you. In any case, the mottled dragon armor will give you a whopping 42 % GDR. You may still want to train some Armour skill levels for it, but can stop at about 6 or so. Unfortunately, it may be quite a while before you find a [[mottled dragon hide]] (in one game I did not find a single one until the end), so any other light armor will have to do until this happy moment. If you are lucky, you’ll find some nice artefact [[leather armour]] or [[ring mail]]. Don’t throw them away just because they may be negatively enchanted – with your massive AC boost you can afford to let go of a few points here, if it gives you some nice [[intrinsic]]s instead.
 ===Spells to learn===

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 Here, too, there are other options, or at least one other option, [[Cheibriados]]. His amazing stat bonuses make you extremely powerful after a very short time. The downside to this deity is not so much the speed penalty, but the lack of [[MP]] restoration and the lack of guaranteed access to [[Fire Storm]] and even [[Tornado]], the two spells around which your end-game revolves. In case these don’t materialize before you enter places like [[Zot:5]] or [[Vaults]]:5, your irresistible melee capacity may compensate for this somewhat, but I still prefer to be able to rely on the late-game nukes when I need them.
-Outside of Chei, Vehumet would be the only god I’d consider for the character. His spell gifts (you are guaranteed to get Fire Storm and Tornado, if you choose to train your skills accordingly), coupled with his MP restoration and spell aid abilities, make him the logical choice for a gargoyle wizard. Since you can add each stat increase exclusively to intelligence, you will not need Chei’s stat boosts to reach the intelligence levels you need to cast the high-end spells.
+Outside of Chei, Vehumet would be the only god I’d consider for the character. His spell gifts (you are likely to get Fire Storm and/or Tornado as his final spell gifts), coupled with his MP restoration and spell aid abilities, make him the logical choice for a gargoyle wizard. Since you can add each stat increase exclusively to intelligence, you will not need Chei’s stat boosts to reach the intelligence levels you need to cast the high-end spells.
 ===Weapon choice===

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 [[Poison]] immunity, [[electricity]] resistance, [[negative energy|rN]]+, [[torment]] resistance and immunity to [[rot]]ting eliminate or at least soften some of the most pesky threats a player must face during the game, on top of the mid-game ability to [[fly]] permanently. Then add the amazing [[AC]] and [[GDR]] bonus, and you have a character that, if carefully played, can handle all situations the game throws at you. Having all these resistances allows you to pile on other resistances and lots of [[INT]], without any headaches about choosing which slink in your armour you have to leave open to your enemies’ attacks.
-Gargoyles’ base stats allow you to go for the big offensive spells – as a wizard you start out with 18 intelligence, and none of the other stats below 8. That means that you can pour every stat increase into further intelligence, which will get you (together with the uncontrolled stat increases) around or even above 30 by the time you reach XL 27. Add then the odd INT brands on armour or [[jewellery]], and you have high-powered end-game spells with little or no hunger cost. But this does not leave you a glass cannon, such as [[Deep Elves]] or [[Spriggan]]s – you do all this with AC way above 30, even wearing a [[large shield]], with SH rates in the low fifties!
+Gargoyles’ base stats allow you to go for the big offensive spells – as a wizard you start out with 18 intelligence, and none of the other stats below 8. That means that you can pour every stat increase into further intelligence, which will get you (together with the uncontrolled stat increases) around or even above 30 by the time you reach XL 27. Add then the odd INT brands on armour or [[jewellery]], and you have high-powered end-game spells with little or no hunger cost. But this does not leave you a glass cannon, such as [[Deep Elves]] or [[Spriggan]]s – you do all this with AC way above 40, even wearing a [[large shield]], with obscenely high SH rates!
 As an illustration, you may want to look at [[Majang's Gargoyle Wizard of Vehumet Diary]] for a somewhat unlucky specimen of this build, which in spite of very poor equipment made it beyond [[Zot]]:5, even clearing out [[Cocytus]] before getting killed in [[Dis]]:7.