User:Hordes

Relevant credentials: Hordes (greaterplayer) | Moriya (greaterplayer #2) | HorDDes (tournament)

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Important links:

User:Hordes/Guide

• User:Hordes/Guide Appendix

User:Hordes/Basics Guide

User:Hordes/Talisman

(The rest of the page is just writing stuff that's WIP)

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Djinn have +11 aptitudes in magic, but are forced to train all skills equally. At the start of the game, this equates to training a single school at a -3.3 aptitude. But by the time a caster reaches mid-game, their effective aptitude is higher than -3 in practice. And, since every school is trained at once, dual- and triple-school spells are very easy to train. Overall, a dedicated mage will not have trouble casting spells.

Tengu are a versatile, but frail species. Their aptitudes are good across the board, with impeccably good skill in Conjurations and Air Magic. And with 2 auxiliary attacks, melee is not out of the question. However, Tengu are among the most fragile species in the game: they have -20% HP and can't wear helmets/boots.

Note that, despite being described as "agile" and "light", Tengu do not get any special bonus from the Dodging skill. It is true that Acrobatic and Evasive Flight grant EV, however, these bonuses are unaffected by skill or armour encumbrance. Therefore, wearing heavy armour is not out of the question.

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Form	Min Dmg	Max Dmg	Min Skill	Max Skill	Dmg/level	Special
Normal	3		N/A		N/A	N/A
Beast	3		0	7	N/A	Extra slaying to all melee combat
Flux	3		6	13	N/A	x66% melee damage; contaminating melee
Blade	14	18	10	19	0.88	Extra offhand punch damage
Maw	5		10	19	N/A	Maw auxiliary attack
Serpent	10		10	19	N/A	Constriction
Dragon	24	33	16	25	1	+10 strength; 2 auxiliary attacks
Statue	12		10	19	N/A	x150% melee damage; all actions x150% slower
Storm	24	30	23	27	1.5	Electrocution brand; cleaving
Death	9		23	27	N/A	Melee inflicts drain, slow, weak

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Talisman Forms:

Form	Skill	Melded Gear	Offense	Defense	Resist	Other
Beast Form	0-7	Helmet Cloak Gloves Boots	+0-4 slaying in melee	100% HP	-	-
Wisp Form	6-14	Weapon & shield Body armour	×66% melee dmg First hit on foe: Corona Third hit on foe: malmutate, extra damage	100% HP +4 EV	-	-
Blade Form	10-19	Weapon & shield Gloves	15-19 UC base damage +Offhand punch damage	100% HP Lose 100%-0% AC from body armour	-	-
Maw Form	10-19	Body armour	5 UC base damage Maw auxiliary attack	100% HP	-	Heal on kill
Serpent Form	10-19	Weapon & shield All armour	10 UC base damage Constrict +5 strength	120% HP 9-15 AC	rPois Amphibious Cold blooded	Sets move delay to 1.0 Large
Dragon Form	16-23	Weapon & shield All armour	24-33 UC base damage 2 auxiliary attacks +10 strength	150% HP 12-18 AC	rF++ rC- rPois	Breathe Fire ability Sets move delay to 1.0 Giant, Flying
Statue Form	16-23	Body armour Gloves Boots	12 UC base damage ×150% melee dmg	130% HP 27-38 AC	rPois∞ rElec rTorm rPetrify Nonliving	All actions ×150% slower Sets move delay to 1.0 (slowed to 1.5) Vuln. to LRD/Shatter
Death Form	23-27	None	9 UC base damage Melee inflicts slow, drained, weak	100% HP	rC+ rPois∞ rN+++ rTorm∞ Will+ Undead	Siphon Essence ability
Storm Form	10-19	Weapon & shield All armour	24-30 UC base damage Electrocution, cleaving	100% HP 12-15 AC +20-27EV	rPois∞ rElec Insubstantial	Blinkbolt ability Sets move delay to 1.0 Flying

Bad Forms:

Form	Melded Gear	Offense	Defense	Resist	Other
Bat Form	Weapon & shield All armour Rings	1 UC base damage 20% dmg from skill	100% HP	-	Move delay set to 0.6 No spellcasting Tiny, Flying
Fungus Form	Weapon & shield All armour Rings	12 UC base damage Confusion melee	100% HP	rPois rTorm∞	Move delay set to 1.0 Cannot move if foe in sight Tiny
Pig Form	Weapon & shield All armour Rings	1 UC base damage 20% dmg from skill	100% HP	-	Move delay set to 0.7 No spellcasting Little
Tree Form	All armour	12 UC base damage	150% HP 20 + XL/2 AC EV = 2	rPois rTorm∞ rDrown	Cannot move Cannot teleport or blink Large
Wisp Form	Weapon & shield All armour All jewellery	5 + XL/2 UC	100% HP 5 + XL/2 AC	rF++ rC++ rPois∞ rElec rN+++ rTorm rCorr Insubstantial	No spellcasting Flying

Misc Forms:

Form	Melded Gear	Offense	Defense	Resist	Other
Shadow Form	None	×50% melee dmg Spellpower--	100% HP ×50% damage taken Invisible	rPois∞ rN+++ rTorm∞ Will∞ rPetrify	Create smoke when damaged Drained when damaged ×2 Stealth

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List of gods, sorted by "when you get the first strong perk". (IMO)

Gods that benefit you on first worship:

• Ignis (Ignis)
• Lugonu (Exit the Abyss)
• Uskayaw (Uskayaw)
• Yred (Reaping; resets on new floor)

Gozag has gold distraction (maybe worth listing here?), Fedhas pacifies sleepcaps

Gods that benefit you at 1*:

• Ashenzari (ID items)
• Gozag (Potion Pet)
• Hep (Ancestor)
• Nemelex (1st set of cards)
• Okawaru (Heroism)
• Trog (Berserk)
• Sif Muna (MP recovery)
• TSO (Halo, Divine Shield)

IMO these gods don't provide good benefit at 1*, but provide some benefit: Ely Purification, Zin Recite, Makh heal on kill, WJC Lunge/Whirlwind, Dith stealth, Kiku Wretches (hard to use w/o good spell).

Gods that benefit you at 2*:

• Beogh (Smite)
• Elyvilon (Heal Other)
• Fedhas (Briars)
• Qazlal (Upheaval)

Gods that benefit you at 3* or more:

• Kiku (Variable; based on skill training)
• Vehumet (Variable; based on skill training)
• Makhleb (3*; Lesser Servant)
• Ru (3*; Draw Out Power)
• WJC (3*; Serpent's Lash)
• Zin (3*; Imprison)
• Dithmenos (4*; Shadow Mimic)

Gods that hurt you on first worship:

• Chei (Slow)
• Jiyva (Eats items, usually comes late)
• Xom (Xom)
• TSO (Halo messes with stealth)

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When you start with a melee-oriented background, you'll get a starting weapon of choice.

Simple Starting Weapon

Used by most weapon-wielding backgrounds.

• Short sword - Short Blades aren't great at regular combat, though they are good at stabbing. Uses dexterity instead of strength.
• Mace - Maces & Flails are the strongest "strength" weapon, at least in terms of stats.
• Hand axe - Axes have the ability to cleave. In addition to hitting a "main" target for 100% damage, they'll hit every monster adjacent to you for 70% damage. However, axes deal less damage than other weapons.
• Spear - Polearms have reaching - they can attack from an extra tile away. Despite their worse stats, spears are the best option to fight single targets, due to their extra range.
• Falchion - Long Blades are similar to Maces; higher base damage, but no gimmick. They use dexterity instead of strength.
• Unarmed Combat - Unarmed Combat is usually the weakest of the available "weapons". Certain species, like Trolls and Ghouls, receive special bonuses to Unarmed attacks. Unarmed can become strong at high skill, but that's a long while away.

Good Starting Weapon

Fighters and Gladiators start with a better ("good") starting weapon than other backgrounds.

• Rapier - Short Blades are good at stabbing, but weaker at plain combat. Rapiers are the only "good" weapon that stats below 1.0 attack delay, meaning monsters won't get a chance to hit you twice.
• Flail - Maces & Flails have higher base damage, but no special gimmicks.
• War axe - Axes can cleave, but deal less single-target damage. Great option for strong species, like Hill Orcs and Minotaurs.
• Trident - Polearms can attack from a tile away. Like the spear before it, tridents are usually the best option against single targets.
• Long sword - Long swords are slightly more powerful than flails, though long swords use dexterity instead of strength.
• Quarterstaff - Quarterstaves deal more damage/turn than any other option, but they are two-handed, meaning you can't wear a shield with one. Because of this restriction, only Gladiators and Formicid Fighters can start with one. In addition, Staves are rarer than other weapon types.
• Unarmed Combat - Unarmed Combat is usually the weakest of the available "weapons". Certain species, like Trolls and Ghouls, receive special bonuses to Unarmed attacks. Unarmed can become strong at high skill, but that's a long while away.

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