Onei's Velvet-Pawed Path to Immortality Walkthrough - FeSu^Kikubaaqudgha/Jiyva

Another contender! Will you prove worthy, or rot like the rest?

Through some unfathomable magical force, all DCSS characters are seemingly capable of learning any discipline in minutes while doing utterly unrelated things. In real life, it would be like mastering painting while going to do reps in the gym. Or getting an education while playing Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.

And yet, they pour all of that experience into knowing how to swing a metal stick really, really fast, or how to correctly pronounce "pew pew" while conjuring forth assorted metal pellets and crystal shards. But in their tutelage, they learn next to nothing about the omnipresent entity that is Death itself, and when the words "You die..." finally stain the bottom left corner of their screen, they are left powerless.

In this guide, we will not make the same mistake. We will learn to know Death until it becomes that friend we go to the movies with on rainy Sundays.

It's not "evil magic"! It's recycling. Those bodies would have gone to waste.

This build is, in my opinion, harder to play than the traditional FeSu experience of rushing Storm Form and tabbing through the entire game. I recommend this playstyle to players who have won at least one game, and would like to try out something a bit off the beaten path of the brute/blaster-caster duality. However, players still looking to snatch that elusive first win can also benefit, upgrade their threat assessment capabilities and significantly improve their tactics in such a way that may lead to victory, perhaps even with a completely different species/background combo!

Into Darkness (D:1 to Kikubaaqudgha)

Contrary to one's expectations, the best way to play a Necromancy-focused character is not to start as a Necromancer. This background is severely lacking in firepower, has spells easily resisted by a tenth of the Dungeon's population, and requires you to get into melee range half the time to give little kitty smooches with Vampiric Draining. I am sorry to say that all non-trivial monsters will not be receptive to your advances.

Not to mention that Kiku (no, I will not be spelling out the full name every single time, cope with it) is an excellent teacher, and will provide you knowledge of absolutely everything you require to initiate, grow and end your fantastical necromantic journey.

Untainted souls are so much more fun to corrupt!

Sorry, Kiku, we're not going to be exactly "untainted" here. We'll be engaging once more in the not-so-savoury practice of interdimensional kidnapping. Begin, of course, as a Felid Summoner.

Why are you so fluffy? I need goth elves and black mascara. I can't have my subordinates looking like this!

Unlike the puny little Edginess Beams that a Necromancer starts out with zapping everything they see until they die to the first White Imp, nothing in the Dungeon resists the gnashing of teeth and the blazing flames of exploding robots. For strategies on clearing Dungeon until you receive your first spell gift from Kikubaaqudgha, refer to the very first installment of my series on feline supremacy. Every section up to "Murder and Electrical Engineering" is relevant - though there are some differences in skill targets. Air Magic should be trained to level 5, not 7, and Spellcasting should get a target to 24, not 10. I know that's a lot of Spellcasting, but necromantic magic is particularly infamous for requiring boatloads of spell slots!

For any skilling questions, refer to the addendum at the end of this guide.

You are strongly encouraged to also add these same rc/init file options for quality of life when playing a Felid (you even get an Evilness bonus from using the black cat tile, essential for playing any villainous character!):

default_manual_training = true
show_more = false
fail_severity_to_confirm = 0
fail_severity_to_quiver = 5
tile_player_tile = tile:felid_3

And, of course, worship Kikubaaqudgha as soon as you find their altar.

"An evil god, Kikubaaqudgha requires worshippers to cause the death and destruction of as many creatures as possible." Well, that's rich. It's not as if almost every single other god wants the exact same thing. Why am I being singled out?

I would have liked to recommend a different background for a change, but in terms of bringing cats out of the early game, nothing even comes close to the power of friendship (Ice Elementalist is decent, but it still cannot compete!) As a Summoner, you will get a very early, abusable synergy with Anguish, one of Kiku's first potential spell gifts, and will also get a headstart on the late game spell Haunt, unilaterally seen by players as one of the best in the game.

Guilt Tripping & Betrayal (*.....)

Your run deviates from the traditional FeSu experience when the message

Kikubaaqudgha grants you a gift!

appears for the first time in the message log.

Gather up your lucky trinkets and your maneki-nekos, it's time for some Kiku Gacha Lootbox opening. Here are the three possible outcomes:

• Get Animate Dead & Anguish (50% chance) If you obtain this, turn on Hexes and Necromancy, and set a target to 10 for Hexes. Do not set a target for Necromancy.
• Get Animate Dead only (25% chance) If you obtain this, turn on Necromancy. Do not set a target.
• Get Anguish only (25% chance) If you obtain this, turn on Hexes and Necromancy, and set a target to 10 for Hexes. Do not set a target for Necromancy.

Naturally, you'll preferably want both of these incantations. The reason you can miss out on one of these two spells is because Kiku thought more appropriate to gift you Kitty Smooch The Ogre And Die (Vampiric Draining) or Press Button To Die (Sublimation of Blood).

Sublimation of Blood has its uses, but is mostly a suicide button this early into the game - it will be discussed later. Do not ever use Vampiric Draining or Necrotise. The former serves a purpose for other species, but certainly not when your HP bar is a wet paper towel. The latter is a consolation spell supposed to get a Necromancer out of the very early game. You are no weak Necromancer. It's a mystery why Kiku even gifts this spell this late into the game.

You ungrateful sack of fleas! Of all gods, I am the one to grant the most gifts to even my least precious followers, and you still have the nerve to be discontent?

You may have noticed that the many denizens of the Dungeon are very disrespectful of your Eminence, soon to be their overlord and army commander. Your first task will be to re-educate these ruffians into submission and obedience.

In a nutshell:

• Anguish brainwashes all enemies on the screen that fail a Willpower save to take exactly as much damage as they inflict to you, or one of your allies. This damage is irresistible and goes through all resistances.
• Animate Dead provides a buff lasting for about a dozen turns. Each enemy slain while this buff is active has a chance to betray their former allies and serve you as a... slightly more malodorous version of themselves.

The synergy here should be obvious. Initiate each battle with a batch of highly loyal summons praising how good of a slaver friend you are. Begin emanating such confidence with Animate Dead that the defeated will turn against their former companions in your name. Then, Anguish everything on the screen. Now, whenever a foe is slain, there is a high chance they will become an ally - and foes that strike their former ally will be wracked by Anguish, joining your army in turn, and so on, until all are at your beck and call. It's just like rolling a snowball!

The little militia that will now follow you around will act as a testament to your charisma, which you can exploit by using Anguish on the next foes you will encounter. As they strike your allies, they, too, will fall like the rest, horrified at how foolish they were to stand on the wrong side of the Felid-Zot war.

Recasting Animate Dead will, however, dismiss all of your current servants, with the hopes of replacing them with fresher, potentially more numerous ones. Therefore, it's great practice to cast Animate Dead when encountering a pack of enemies (yaks or bees, for example, are good fodder), and to only recast it once your lackeys are falling apart.

This is way too complicated for the fluffball that serves as your brain. Join me instead, and gain permanent reaping of the deceased instead of trying to emulate my power with puny magic!

Pah! Don't listen to my competitor. Their worshippers are brutes and thugs, whose first word at birth was "Axe".

Who is the Orc Priest Now? (Anguish)

Anguish is THE answer to everything a Felid despises - smiters of all flavours, centaurs, steam and acid dragons, boulder beetles... The list goes on and on! Enemies in DCSS generally have lower maximum HP than the player - yes, even a Felid - and this is especially true for ranged threats of all kinds, which very much sport the "glass cannon" style.

Early on, Anguish is particularly impressive when used against:

• Orc Priests - Very likely to oneshot themselves the second they dare invoke the word of Beogh against a creature as lovable as you are!
• Steam Dragons - They continue to torment themselves while you (or one of your companions) are standing in a steam cloud!
• Acid Dragons - Go ahead. Shoot me.
• Centaurs & Centaur Warriors - These aimbot hackers will finally feel the pain of the many kitties they have slaughtered! Warriors may take a few casts of Anguish to get them properly.
• Boulder Beetles & Hydras - These can be a little bit more resilient to your propaganda, but as any tyrannical regime would tell you, repetition is the key to domination! Simply cast the spell again until they are successfully cursed. Boulder Beetle self-oneshot as they roll-attack some hapless Golem is a very real thing!

Guardian Golems become a DEVOURER OF GODS when put against Anguished enemies, who will be blasted both by the immense guilt of damaging your precious robo-friend, and by the more literal explosion of blazing fire that will ensue.

It is worth noting that some enemies' willpower is nigh unbreakable - they probably really despise cats even through your most charismatic charms. Some early game culprits include:

• Death Yaks
• Catoblepas
• The Minotaur (at the end of a Gauntlet)

When casting Anguish, you can move the cursor around to any of the targeted enemies (outlined in yellow). In the message log, the probability that they will become cursed will be shown! Should you need a little bit more oomph on your Anguish curse probability, try a Scroll of Vulnerability - extremely effective for neutralizing a high Willpower unique, or the Minotaur that awaits at the end of a Gauntlet! Do be mindful that the scroll will also cause a lapse in your own self-confidence, rendering you vulnerable to hexes like Paralyze or Confuse - make sure that there aren't any of those around when committing to a Vulnerability Scroll play.

Brainless or artificial enemies (from gently gurgling jellies to the dreaded Orbs of Fire) have no concept of love, hate or righteousness, and will remain completely unaffected by Anguish. They won't be unaffected, however, by your swarm consuming them.

Recruiting Interviews 101 (Animate Dead)

Animate Dead is the first of the four ally-creating spells you will be encouraged to use in this guide, and should stay with you until the very end of the game.

Zombie Pros

• Unfalteringly loyal, will never leave you (as long as you do not use stairs!)
• 4 MP is all you need to recruit as many foes as you want in the service of their new feline overlord!
• Reasonably tanky, thus, pairs fantastically with Anguish!

Zombie Cons

• Low damage output, with some exceptions. Anguish will fix that!
• All zombies simultaneously disappear if Animate Dead is used again. Use Animate Dead on a big horde or one particularly fantastic harvest, and then do not use it again until either your squad has died, or you spotted a more lucrative group to collect.
• Not guaranteed to always harvest every slain enemy.
• Insubstantial enemies (like Will-o-Wisps from Swamp) and most undead creatures will never be recruited.
  • EXCEPTION: Vampire Mosquitoes and (much, much later on) Death Scarabs are undead, yet can still be turned! They both make for fantastic allies!
• Occasionally ugly. This is good for highlighting how majestuous you are in comparison to them, but have you seen the dream sheep zombie tile? Ugh. What even is that...

Who to recruit:

• High speed enemies, like bees, vampire mosquitoes, frogs or snakes. These will always catch up with you, and will swarm enemies before you even see them on your monitor! Boulder beetles are actually quite slow, and won't get to keep their signature rolling attack.
• High health enemies, particularly slime creatures. These have a great synergy with Anguish!
• Numerous enemies. If the screen is flooded with enemies and you aren't thinking of running away, use Animate Dead.
• Hydras. These will play the game for you.

Zombies can be a bit on the "slowpoke" side of the movement speed spectrum. Unlike you. This can get annoying if you have a big squad, press Autoexplore and now everyone is trailing behind when you have a spiny frog in your face. You can press "Ctrl-T" to set your autoexplore only speed to your slowest ally (or to swap it back to full kitty speed). I really enjoy using this feature, but it is optional - feel free to let your undead slaves do some exercising instead of stooping down to their level.

Undead... slaves? Pah! I am no slaver. They still have free will! They will turn against those who harm or mistreat them! Can Summoners say the same? I think not! And yet, I am the unholy one?! Disgraceful!

And while what Kiku just said is true, Zombies (and all other undead companions) have no comprehension of the concept of chains of command, and will think you completely innocent if you send forth a golem to blow up in their faces. They will also idiotically stand in the flame clouds and die, waiting for your next order. The Guardian Golem explodes extremely fast when using Anguish + Animate Dead strategies due to the damage being shared all over the place, and should only be used for initiating snowballs or taking down high priority targets once your necromantic journey has truly begun. Feel free to recast Guardian Golem if it is about to incinerate your army to get a fresher, less explosive specimen.

Addendum: From Lackey to Supervillain (Character Building)

For convenience, I will gather all skilling targets and the spell memorization order in this section. Feel free to return here as you need for quick reference!

Your Propaganda Arsenal (Spells)

Throughout this run, you will be encouraged to memorize, in this order, and approximately at these points of the game:

(Note: the "LV" numbers are how many spell slots you need for each spell, not your XP level. As for the locations on the right, you are expected to memorize the spells at these moments, not for them to be immediately usable!)

• LV 1 - Summon Small Mammal (D:1)
• LV 2 - Call Imp (optional - Necromancy is very tight on spell slots and Scrolls of Amnesia are precious, but this spell helps prevent early splats) (D:1)
• LV 3 - Call Canine Familiar (D:2)
• LV 3 - Summon Guardian Golem (D:2-D:3)
• LV 4 - Summon Lightning Spire (D:3-D:6)
• LV 4 - Anguish (D:5-Lair:2)
• LV 4 - Animate Dead (D:5-Lair:2)
• LV 5 - Borgnjor's Vile Clutch (Lair:1-Lair:5)
• LV 6 - Death Channel (Lair:3-Orc:2)
• LV 6 - Simulacrum (Orc:2-SBranch:2)
• LV 7 - Haunt (SBranch:1-SBranch:4)
• LV 8 - Infestation (Slime:4-Vaults:2)
• LV 8 - Necromutation (Vaults:1-Vaults:4)
• LV 4 - Dispel Undead (Vaults:4-Crypt:1)
• LV 9 - Death's Door (Tomb:1)
• LV 7 - Enfeeble (after Death's Door is at 8% fail rate or less)

Check your "M"emorization screen every so often. Whenever you have the spell slots required to memorize the next spell, do so immediately and, if it has an entry in the section below, adjust your skills appropriately.

Do note that Kikubaaqudgha will not necessarily grant you every single necromantic spell on this list every game. Their delivery service can be a little bit... lacking at times.

Running a forbidden knowledge book printing business isn't easy. I'd like to see you explain to your editor why blood sacrifices are essential to have in "Fun Necromantic Activities for Children"!

Skip to the next entry on the list if you are incapable of finding a spell anywhere in your game. As soon as you find a missing spell, however, you should add it to your repertoire as soon as possible to catch up. I strongly encourage you to cast every single one of these fantastic incantations at least once in your game!

Situationally, these spells may be useful as well.

• Blink (universally useful escape spell on any character)
• Sublimation of Blood (niche, dangerous spell that takes very few spell slots)
• Statue Form (will pave the way towards Necromutation, will be replaced after the latter is online)
• Ozocubu's Armour (easy to cast alongside Simulacrum's Ice Magic training. Great defensive replacement if Statue Form is not found!)

Of course, the Wilderness Trinity will never not be overpowered. If you fail to obtain one of the crucial Kiku spells, these can certainly come along as a replacement:

• Summon Forest (Translocations 8, Summonings 10)
• Summon Cactus Giant (Summonings 14)
• Summon Mana Viper (Hexes 10, Summonings 10)

Studying the Dark Arts (Skills & Training Targets)

As soon as you start your run, train these skills and set them to these targets, with the "=" button:

• Spellcasting: 24
• Summonings: 10
• Turn off Stealth and Dodging.

Right when Summon Guardian Golem has been memorized, add the following skills:

• Hexes: 5
• Fighting: 15
• Dodging: 19
• Forget Summon Small Mammal as soon as you can.

After Summon Lightning Spire becomes part of your kit, complement it with this:

• Air Magic: 5
• Forget Call Imp as soon as you can.

(OPTIONAL) - Blink will never not be useful, and can come along at any point in your run:

• Translocations: 8

Your necromantic journey can truly begin when Anguish (or failing that, Animate Dead) becomes memorized. You'll want to memorize Animate Dead right after Anguish.

• Hexes: 10 (only if you have found Anguish)
• Necromancy: 27

Sadly, some elemental magic will be required for Borgnjor's Vile Clutch.

• Earth Magic: 8

Simulacrum comes next, unfortunately requiring you to learn a thing or two about the structure of snowflakes:

• Ice Magic: 8

(OPTIONAL) - Should you find it, Statue Form will greatly enhance survival odds, and should be castable with your Earth Magic training, as long as you add in:

• Transmutations: 12

Haunt brings you back to your blessed origins of Summoner:

• Summonings: 14
• Forget Call Canine Familiar, Summon Guardian Golem and Summon Lightning Spire if you need spell slots.

Achieve your true final form with Necromutation:

• Transmutations: 17

Ultimately, after Death's Door has been acquired, you can iron out your last weaknesses with Enfeeble.

• Hexes: 16
• Fighting: 21
• Dodging: 21
• Forget Anguish if you need spell slots.