ADOM - tips & strategies

[AgingMinotaur]

I utterly agree with you Curseman. Having said that, ADOM is still one of my favourite RLs, and I think it's ironic that some of the game's strong points are also its weaknesses. Like the cat stuff -- I think it's a fun idea, and it gives a sense of an actual setting, as well as possible references to great writers like Poe and Lovecraft[1]. BUT it means that most unspoiled players will lose their first really good character to a pointless death, and probably abort a couple of promising characters, that get trapped between two cats or something like that. I can think of a few midgame encounters that are nearly guaranteed deadly unless you perform ritual X. You'll soon get into the habit of spoiling yourself or save scumming. The latter alternative may even result in the most enjoyable game.

I also like/dislike how herbs are done. If I find a level with good herbs, I think on the one hand: "Yay! Limitless food and healing, and I'll soon be crowned as the champion of my god", but on the other hand, it means I'll have to hang around to grind for herbs as long as my patience permits me.

And as you mention, trekking around the wilderness for a tolerable first kill, that you write down in an external editor ... not my idea of a good time.

I could go on and on. Come to think of it, there are so many things I dislike about ADOM, God knows why I even bother playing it. It has some ideas with real flair, executed in a really grindy way.

As always,
Minotauros

[1] Well, Lovecraft is maybe not that "great", in the classical sense, but still bloody fun and quite visionary. Anyway, I digress

[getter77]

One thing I've wondered for awhile now, and maybe not quite possible, but still:

What're the odds on some crack team manifesting to pretty well accurately "clone" ADOM via modding Elona?

[Vanguard]

I also like/dislike how herbs are done. If I find a level with good herbs, I think on the one hand: "Yay! Limitless food and healing, and I'll soon be crowned as the champion of my god"

Are herbs a good source of favor when you sacrifice them or something?

Also: mine are always cursed.  I assume this is normal, but should I be expending potions of holy water to improve them, or should I go ahead and use/sacrifice them in their cursed conditions?

[corremn]

Also: mine are always cursed.  I assume this is normal, but should I be expending potions of holy water to improve them, or should I go ahead and use/sacrifice them in their cursed conditions?

You need the Herbalism skill otherwise all herbs will be cursed, higher the better for getting blessed herbs. I never play a character without it.  Generally I choose the druid quest to get it.   This skill *may* also lessen your change of herbs withering and dying but I cant remember.

[AgingMinotaur]

Are herbs a good source of favor when you sacrifice them or something?

Gods love (preferrably blessed) stomafillia herbs. And as corrmemn pointed out, you want herbalism to farm herbs in the best way. In addition to giving you a better cursed/uncursed-ratio, you can apply the skill whilst standing on a patch of herbs to identify it. This will let you know before the bush withers and dies, making herb farming much more efficient.

It's definitely better to use uncursed/blessed herbs than cursed ones. Some herbs have adverse effects when cursed, and others have a much weaker effect.

As always,
Minotauros

[Vanguard]

I'm a level 14 monk with no spells, though I found a book store and could learn a few if I needed to.  Do you think I'm ready to go after the evil druid to get the herbalism skill, or if not, at what point do you think I would be ready to do that?

Edit:

Nevermind, I just kicked his butt.

[corremn]

I'm a level 14 monk with no spells, though I found a book store and could learn a few if I needed to.  Do you think I'm ready to go after the evil druid to get the herbalism skill, or if not, at what point do you think I would be ready to do that?

Edit:

Nevermind, I just kicked his butt.

Probably too late, but grab his corpse and give it back to the druid.  Get some spells too. 

[Vanguard]

Probably too late, but grab his corpse and give it back to the druid.  Get some spells too. 

I did do all of that, but I eventually died in an unfortunate incident of carelessness involving a barbarian emperor.  Oh well.

I wish ammunition weren't so annoying.  Archers are clearly ridiculously powerful, but collecting ammo all the time is such a pain that is isn't worth it to me.  Half of the reason I took up playing monks were because they're convenient - they need half the food, their super speed and ability to kick walls down let them get around efficiently, and if it ever actually generates spellbooks for them (it never does) they can cast competently as well.

I think I like the candle star sign the best.  The raven seems pretty awesome, but apparently a high speed rating lowers the amount of experience you get or something?  That's not cool.

Also, I've heard that the good learner talent is bugged and awards exorbitant amounts of experience.  I haven't been using it, but I'm wondering if I should.  What do you think, is it more honorable to avoid taking, because it's supposedly a bug, or is it okay to take it, because it's there in the game, or that the game comes as close as it can to cheating against the player without actually doing so, and a solid portion of your chance at success comes from exploiting game mechanics as much as possible?

Edit:

Berserker Emperors do not mess around.  My two best characters were both one-rounded by them.

[Omnivorous]

This topic has been debated countless times and over and over on the adom.de forums, so lets not start here. Lets just put it plainly: Most ADOM players are divided in two groups when it comes to which skills to choose. One always play with "Treasure Hunter" the other group -never- do.

Play with TH: Convenience. Less scumming. Less "basic-supply" hunting.
Play without TH: A "perfect" character, as for skills and strenghts.

If you want Treasure Hunter, you -NEED- to choose Alert as your first skill. Then Miser. (I think, the one that give you increased gold-drops.) Also, if you are going this path, it's worth getting miser before killing the bandit-boss in the town south-west if you plan to spend some money early on in game.

And yes, that skill is bugged. As in, it's useless/make your game crash.

I personally always get TH. Convenience. Lots of ammo, lots of scrolls of identify, lots of holy water. I'm sure I suffer abit for it in tough fights, but.. *Shrug* I wouldn't be playing it as much as I do if I had to scum and grind for basic supplies.

[Z]

Herbalism is very good, if you have it at 100, most of your herbs will be blessed, and you will have lots of them. If you have no herbalism, you will have much less, and they will be cursed. That's why I never played without Herbalism (or at least a plan to get it from the druid), and I never considered herb farming boring

But if they are cursed, you can uncurse all of them easily with a (blessed) scroll of uncursing. If they are uncursed, you can bless a stack of them (i.e., all herbs of one kind) using a trick with two scrolls of repair, unholy water, and holy water.

[Vanguard]

The good learner talent is broken, and by far the best talent in the game.  It goes a long way towards dealing with the weirdness that comes from monsters getting stronger as you kill them.  Now, I understand this as an anti-grind measure.  I'm as anti-grind as they come, but in a game where, through no fault of your own, you sometimes find yourself faced with multiple summoners creating hundreds of the same type of creature, so you end up with superpowered enemies that offer virtually no exp, it's just not a good system.

One easy way to justify taking it if you feel it isn't "honorable" is that you can't take the "good book learner" talent, which caster and hybrid caster characters may want, without it.

[Omnivorous]

Ah I was mistaking it with "Skilled". That skill is just broken. Are you sure the 'Good learner' skill is broken? I don't think 2% xp sounds very much. Besides, in some points (and I -never- grind/scum either) of the game it's almoast a problem that you level up too quickly. (Not after pyramid though I guess)

[Vanguard]

I don't think 2% xp sounds very much.

2% isn't very much, but the description is wrong.  It actually give ~40% more experience.

I saw that online somewhere, and I've confirmed it with my own testing.  Try it out - make a character, kill a monster, and record how much experience you get.  Then make as close to an identical character as possible, but this time, take the good learner trait, and kill the same type of monster.  The difference will be a lot more than 2%.

[Munxnip]

I have an important question about the control layout of Ancient Domains of Mystery...

How, exactly, does one type a "/Co"? Those types of commands have evaded my understanding so far, and I would really like to try playing a Mindcrafter sometime.

Also, more generally, I made the mistake of playing a Rogue-like on a laptop computer with no numberpad. Is there some way I can change the controls so I can walk diagonally?

[Omnivorous]

I think "/C" just means hold down Ctrl.