Complete N00b's Journey: The Series

[wizard44]

Complete N00b’s Journey: Prologue

Hello everybody. This is a n00b who was recommended to play this free game by the denizens of r/brogue after I escaped with the amulet of Yendor on Brogue. Below is my roguelike resume:

Outstanding Nethack experience: Managed to ascend every role at least once in 3.4.3, and still have an excellent playing record in the 3.6 versions.

Exceeds Expectations ADOM experience: Achieved several ultra endings back when it was free and before Steam came into the scene. Haven't played the Steam version due to pricing though.

Exceeds Expectations DoomRL experience: Fully won the game several times, but only up to the Ultra-Violence Difficulty (I like being able to save my games, thank you very much, so hard pass to Nightmare) and even managed to obtain two Diamond Medals from my efforts there.

Acceptable ZAP'M experience: Won a couple of games, but I got bored of that real fast.

Acceptable Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup experience: Escaped with the Orb in a 3-rune game as a Demigod Fighter after four attempts with randomly generated characters.

Acceptable Brogue experience: Escaped with the Amulet of Yendor once after 10 tries.

Acceptable Rogue experience: The deepest I got was level 16 I think.

Poor experience with PRIME: Haven't made it into the robot town.

So now I am delving deep into (Vanilla) Angband 4.1.3, under a series titled "Complete N00b's Journey" where I create a character at random, and hope for the best, because that is just what I do and random generation is my thing. In this series, the number before the hyphen will signify the attempt that I am playing, and the number after the hyphen signifies the goal that I have completed. The first goal that all characters will focus on is to get to the level that one can be typically expect to reach on the first dive? This series will continue until I finally kill Morgoth with a character.

My questions before I begin this game:

First of all, what should be the tactic for the first dive? Take the downstairs the first moment you find it and aggressively dive, or linger in a shallow level to play it safe? If the former, which dungeon level do you shoot for? D:8? D:10?

What does the “Start with a kit of useful gear” birth option give you? Are you better off having that option removed and following your own shopping list? And if that option is selected, then do you typically have enough gold to pick up some other consumables? If so, what would you typically get to supplement a first dive to the dungeon? I’ve heard that it’s best to have at least a majority of the following items:

3+ Scrolls of Phase Door
1 Scroll of Recall
1 Potion of Cure Light Wounds
1+ Potion(s) of Cure Serious Wounds
1 Potion of Heroism

Do you still try to buy flasks of oil to weaken and kill a unique? I’ve heard that it’s a good idea to buy ~5 for killing dangerous monsters. In that respect, are Iron Shots still worth buying at the start to deal with stat drainers or acid attackers?

Do monsters pursue you if you go up or down a staircase? The way that monsters pursued me in games like Brogue when you went up the stairs often led to some pretty cheap deaths there.

Which pieces of weapons and armor should I look for in the early game? And do you equip these items as soon as you get them and take a risk knowing that they are cursed, or do you wait until your equip-id marathon in D:4 or until your pack is full?

Is the rest command (‘R’) reliable? Or does it often lead to more trouble?

The only thing I might consider changing from the birth options is “Don’t show level feelings”. I’ve heard arguments about both options for both “yes” or “no”. Some players choose “no” because level feelings help them decide to look for valuable items/avoid dangerous monsters. Others choose “yes” since they want to play the game than worry about whether or not they’re going to find something interesting and want to be surprised by something interesting and/or dangerous things instead of actively looking for them. I’ve heard that the algorithm for selecting feelings isn't necessarily accurate, on that regard.

Are lots of early equipment cursed in general? Do you usually wait until the “pseudo-id” mechanic kicks in before trying it on or using the consumable? Which types of consumables is a good class to use-id, and when?

One final question: Would you be okay with having a separate thread for each character that I test in Angband, or should I keep all characters and their trials to this thread? I hope to be respectful to the community present in these forums, and will abide by their rules.

Any other tips are appreciated!

[Grotug]

Hi and welcome!

I like to play Half-Troll Warrior because it levels quickly, regenerates quickly, sustains strength and has the most hitpoints. I prefer my games to get progressively more difficult as I play them (rather than the opposite, which is the case with some of the fragile caster classes).

I think the tactic one employs on first dive is going to vary a lot based on the race/class combo. Half-Troll Warrior can dive very quickly because of its high damage output and high constitution. Mages and the like need to play very carefully and very deliberately.

The options I play with are forced descent (meaning I can never take an upstair and I can never play a dungeon depth twice). Every time I enter the dungeon, it's one level deeper, no matter how I enter the dungeon.

Starting gear gives you useful gear relating to your Race/Class. It's probably a good idea to have it on your first few games. I think all classes get a dagger when they start out with this setting on. Personally I play with no useful starting gear, because if I turn it off there is a chance I'll find a better weapon in the store than the default dagger. I basically put all my gold into ?phase doors and cure light wounds. Buying one !Heroism is a good idea, though. If you start with no useful gear, you will also have to buy a word of recall (and some food). If a light weapon is available I'll buy it, but if it's too expensive it's not worth it (you shouldn't spend much more than 100 gold on a weapon at the start).

I buy bolts (around 20) since they only cost 1 gold piece and do the most damage of all the missile types (1d5). They are also lighter than iron shots. You can also collect weapons you find in the dungeon and use them for throwing at enemies, but bolts are probably your best bet.

When you find weapons in the dungeon you can look at them and it will tell you how much damage they do per round.

Monsters cannot take stairs in Angband.

I don't buy flasks of oil since they have 100% chance of breaking. But it's not a bad idea to buy two or three of these as well. I suppose they are effective against the very weakest of uniques, but Wands of Wonder are much better for killing uniques early on in the game. They can be useful for the first quarter or even first third of the game. I wouldn't buy one, but I always hold onto them when I find them in the early game. They are very powerful, but also a bit dangerous and unreliable.

The Rest command is more useful/safer the more stealth you have. When I play HT/Warrior I almost never Rest. The faster (ahem, fewest turns) you can get through a level the safer you will be. This actually may be the single most important tip you can heed. Basically what should always be in the back of your mind is "I need to kill as much as I can and obtain as much as I can as quickly as I can." The better you get at this the longer lived you will be. Figuring out the best way to do this is half the fun of the game and something that is very difficult to master, but is the key to success.

It's good to try on armor and weapons with (??). Often times if an item is cursed you'll learn about it immediately. Other times, though, you'll learn about it in such a way that it causes you to die! If you are wearing armor or weapon that you think might be cursed (it had curses you learned immediately and still has ?? on it) then you may not want to risk wearing said armor or weapon. If cursed equipment otherwise looks very promising you may want to try to identify the other curses and remove them (you can buy remove curse scrolls from the store, but they only work on relatively weak curses). Reading a ?phase door while wearing an item you think may be cursed may be a good idea.

Armors you are looking for early on the game are basically any non-cursed armors you can find. The more AC the better; that's basically it. You also want to find amulets of resist acid (generally more important than any other elemental resistance for the first 25 levels or so). There is about a 50% chance an amulet you put on that doesn't id for anything after wearing it for a short while is resist acid.

Basically you learn how to ID stuff by playing the game a lot. I read scrolls to ID them. This is mostly fine early on in the game but gets more tricky once you start encountering vaults (bye bye vault!) Potions you can pretty much use by ID without any major problems. There's a couple bad potions; basically you want to have at least some food at all times. Scrolls are more dangerous than potions, though. It's a good idea to read scrolls while on stairs in case you get something very problematic: you can just go down/up the stairs. You should never ID stuff while monsters are nearby (even sleeping ones). Another reason I like HT Warrior is because deep descent scrolls are a boon rather than a bust (they are very dangerous scrolls for the more fragile/weaker classes).

I like playing with level feelings so that I don't just skip a level with a 5/8 or linger on a level with a 5/1 feeling. There isn't really any reason to play with them off. But you should be aware that it's true that they are not entirely reliable and they do give bad leads at times. But as a general guide they are useful to have.

I often have one thread for several characters. If you are going to be dying a lot and your characters' stories are going to be short, then this is a good idea. If you are not going to be posting new character stories very often, and their stories are going to be long and detailed then you should create a new thread for each character.

Some other tips:

Remember not to rush through dangerous situations to get them over with. I often do this because I don't want to dwell on how dangerous a situation is and then psych myself out. It's a good way to die. On the other hand, if you get yourself too worked up about a situation your judgment about what is actually the least risky way to get out of said situation may get clouded. Sometimes taking a 9% chance of dying by using the staff of teleportation is the best course of action, even if other immediate responses to the situation don't have a 9% risk of failure tied to them (like !healing or !speed or ?phase if you aren't confused).

Pay attention to how ?phase doors work. The better your understanding of ?phase door behavior, the better your judgment will become on when to use ?phase door. (I believe ?phase door always teleports @ ten squares away). An example of using ?phase door to maximum effect: let's say you are being chased down a corridor by a dangerous melee foe (but not breather/spell caster). Now let's say the chase ends up in a room (a common scenario). When you are 9 squares away from the farthest corner of the room is a great time to ?phase, because you will not ?phase to the end of the room. Instead you will most likely ?phase out of the room into another corridor. Now if the enemy chasing you is more than 5 squares away from you, you probably want to let him get close to you before ?phasing.

[Sphara]

Welcome to the forum. Recognized you as I gave you some pointers during your first DCSS attempt and I believe I also recommended trying Angband next

Originally Posted by wizard44

Complete N00b’s Journey: Prologue

Which pieces of weapons and armor should I look for in the early game? And do you equip these items as soon as you get them and take a risk knowing that they are cursed, or do you wait until your equip-id marathon in D:4 or until your pack is full?

Are lots of early equipment cursed in general? Do you usually wait until the “pseudo-id” mechanic kicks in before trying it on or using the consumable? Which types of consumables is a good class to use-id, and when?

All Grotug's advice is solid there. Just wanna clarify just in case you didn't know yet: in Angband cursed items can be removed. There are very few specific artifacts that cannot be removed if worn. Also, unlike in DCSS, item switch takes one turn, even with heavier items like mithril plate.

Early curses on items can kill a low hitpoint character. Beefier guys have it easier. A full hitpoint warrior can tolerate pretty much every curse once, unless it's a teleport curse and it happens to land you in a VERY unlucky spot. In general item curses are not very dangerous for a cautious player, they can just make the item useless.

[fph]

Also, note that the ID system has changed radically pretty recently (~1 year ago? How long has it been?), so most old advice regarding pseudo-ID, cursed items and identify scrolls is now outdated.

TL;DR: it's more or less safe to id-by-use everything. Try scrolls and staves while you are on stairs (just in case they are summoning scrolls), potions and mushrooms while you are in a safe place outside of combat (just in case it's blindness / confusion or something like that), and wands on weak monsters (just in case they're speed or heal monster).

Sticky curses don't exist anymore. Curses usually aren't an immediate danger, so don't be afraid to equip unkown items with {??} (unless you already know they are cursed). Once you get to know items, you'll figure out several cases when {??} is likely to mean a curse.

[wizard44]

Thank you guys for the tips.

So after some deliberations, I decided to post the initial setup of each character in this thread. Because a lot of my characters will most likely die in the early game, the character will only get its own thread when it passes the first goal, the exact nature of which will depend on what the character's race and role is.

For my random character generation, I also chose to leave every birth option at default (so level feelings are on), and randomly rolled my first character, which gave me a Human Mage. Being the random oriented character that I am, I chose to do the standard roller to keep in theme of this series (generate everything randomly by default) and gave my character a random name. In the future, I might change the "start with a kit of useful gear" option to maximize the degrees of random freedom that I have with my character.

Complete N00b's Journey: Character #1

So, say hello to Astin, the Human Mage! Below is the status of my character!

                                                                                                                                                         
Human                                    #                                                                                                               
Novice                 ###       #####    #####        ##################                                                                                
Mage                   #.##      #...######@###       ##...##...........#                                                                                
LEVEL      1          ##..########...##...#.###       #.................##                                                                               
NXT       13          #....##...##....#......######   #..................#                                                                               
AU       375         ##.........#.............##..######...:.............##                                                                              
|    ~               #................3##..........#......::..............#                                                                              
STR:       8         ####.............###.................:...........###.##                                                                             
INT:      13           #..............###.............................2##..#                                                                             
WIS:      13          ##..................###.........###...###.......###..##                                                                            
DEX:      12          #...................##1.........###...4##...::........#                                                                            
CON:      14          #....###............###..##5....#7#...###...::........#                                                                            
                      #....##8.......:.........###...............:::.......##                                                                            
Cur AC     0          ##...###......:::........###........................##                                                                             
HP   10/  10           #..............:...................................#                                                                              
SP    2/   2           ####..................................##..####....##                                                                              
                          #......................#6#.........###.#  ####.#                                                                               
                          ##....#........#.......###.....##..# ###     ###                                                                               
                          #....###....#..#.......###.....#####                                                                                           
                          ##..####..###.###............#.#                                                                                               
                           ##.# #...# ### #...........####                                                                                               
Town                        ### #####     #############                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                         
             Study (1)                                                                                                                                   

  [Angband 4.1.3 Character Dump]

 Name   Astin        Age             18          Self  RB  CB  EB   Best
 Race   Human        Height        5'9"   STR:     11  +0  -3  +0      8
 Class  Mage         Weight   11st 12lb   INT:     10  +0  +3  +0     13
 Title  Novice       Turns used:          WIS:     13  +0  +0  +0     13
 HP     10/10        Game            11   DEX:     12  +0  +0  +0     12
 SP     2/2          Standard         1   CON:     16  +0  -2  +0     14
                     Resting          0

 Level                  1    Armor        [0,+0]    Saving Throw     31%
 Cur Exp                0                           Stealth         Poor
 Max Exp                0    Melee        1d4,+0    Disarm - phys.   32%
 Adv Exp               13    To-hit        11,+0    Disarm - magic   37%
                             Blows      1.0/turn    Magic Devices     38
 Gold                 375                           Searching        11%
 Burden            7.7 lb    Shoot to-dam     +0    Infravision     0 ft
 Overweight      -52.2 lb    To-hit         7,+0    Speed         Normal
 Max Depth           Town    Shots        0/turn

 You are one of several children of a Serf.  You are a credit to the
 family.  You have brown eyes, straight auburn hair, and an average
 complexion.


rAcid:............. Nexus:.............
rElec:............. Nethr:.............
rFire:............. Chaos:.............
rCold:............. Disen:.............
rPois:............. pFear:.............
rLite:............. pBlnd:.............
rDark:............. pConf:.............
Sound:............. pStun:.............
Shard:............. HLife:.............

Regen:............. Stea.:.............
  ESP:............. Sear.:.............
Invis:............. Infra:.............
FrAct:............. Tunn.:.............
Feath:............. Speed:.............
S.Dig:............. Blows:.............
ImpHP:............. Shots:.............
 Fear:............. Might:.............
Aggrv:............. Light:.............


  [Character Equipment]

a) a Dagger (1d4) (+0,+0)
     An inheritance from your family
     
     Combat info:
     1.0 blow/round.
     With +10 STR and +0 DEX you would attack a bit faster
     With +12 STR and +0 DEX you would get 1.1 blows
     With +0 STR and +5 DEX you would attack a bit faster
     With +10 STR and +5 DEX you would get 1.1 blows
     With +0 STR and +8 DEX you would get 1.1 blows
     Average damage/round: 2.5.
     
f) a Wooden Torch (5000 turns)
     An inheritance from your family
     
     Radius 1 light.
     




  [Character Inventory]

a) a Book of Magic Spells [Magic for Beginners]
b) a Ration of Food
c) a Scroll of Word of Recall




  [Character Quiver]



[Player history]
      Turn   Depth  Note
         0      0'  Began the quest to destroy Morgoth.


  [Options]

  [User interface]

Use the roguelike command keyset             : no  (rogue_like_commands)
Use sound                                    : no  (use_sound)
Show damage player deals to monsters         : no  (show_damage)
Use old target by default                    : no  (use_old_target)
Always pickup items                          : no  (pickup_always)
Always pickup items matching inventory       : yes (pickup_inven)
Show flavors in object descriptions          : no  (show_flavors)
Highlight target with cursor                 : yes (show_target)
Highlight player with cursor between turns   : no  (highlight_player)
Disturb whenever viewable monster moves      : yes (disturb_near)
Show walls as solid blocks                   : no  (solid_walls)
Show walls with shaded background            : no  (hybrid_walls)
Color: Illuminate torchlight in yellow       : no  (view_yellow_light)
Color: Shimmer multi-colored things          : no  (animate_flicker)
Center map continuously                      : no  (center_player)
Color: Show unique monsters in purple        : no  (purple_uniques)
Automatically clear '-more-' prompts         : no  (auto_more)
Color: Player color indicates % hit points   : yes (hp_changes_color)
Allow mouse clicks to move the player        : yes (mouse_movement)
Notify on object recharge                    : no  (notify_recharge)
Show effective speed as multiplier           : no  (effective_speed)

  [Birth]

Generate a new, random artifact set          : no  (birth_randarts)
Generate connected stairs                    : yes (birth_connect_stairs)
Force player descent (never make up stairs)  : no  (birth_force_descend)
Word of Recall has no effect                 : no  (birth_no_recall)
Restrict creation of artifacts               : no  (birth_no_artifacts)
Stack objects on the floor                   : yes (birth_stacking)
Lose artifacts when leaving level            : no  (birth_lose_arts)
Show level feelings                          : yes (birth_feelings)
Increase gold drops but disable selling      : yes (birth_no_selling)
Start with a kit of useful gear              : yes (birth_start_kit)
Monsters learn from their mistakes           : no  (birth_ai_learn)
Know all runes on birth                      : no  (birth_know_runes)
Know all flavors on birth                    : no  (birth_know_flavors)
Persistent levels (experimental)             : no  (birth_levels_persist)

I am absolutely new if this is the correct way to the current status of my character, so do let me know If there is a better way to do this, or if there is another way to post more detailed information such as spells learned and other miscellaneous stuff. The book allows me to learn Magic Missile, Detect Monsters, Phase Door, and Light Area. I'm guessing the plan is to learn Magic Missile to have an attack spell, so I decided to learn it. The 22% fail rate and my low SP really makes me wary, however, so I'm prioritizing a backup plan of attack. Are flasks of oil the best option for this, or should I try to find and buy an attack wand for this? I'm thinking I also buy a potion of Cure Light Wounds and ~6 scrolls of Phase Door.

Based on the advice here and the guides I've read, the plan is to restrict myself to the first three floors until one of two things happen:

1. I run out of Phase Door Scrolls, curing potions, or backup attack options.
2. I get enough gold to buy the next spellbook sold in town. (at least 100 AU?)

If I live long enough for one of the first two things to happen and successfully make it back to the town, I will proceed to make a new thread exclusively for this character, since it means that I'm getting enough of a hang of this game for my Mage to go far.

During this first cautious run, I do quaff-id potions, but not read-id scrolls due to the existence of Scrolls of Deep Descent.


Which monsters should I aim to kill in the first three floors, and which should I avoid at all costs?


Answers to above questions, critiques to the rough game plan that I have, and other tips are highly appreciated.

[Derakon]

You're right that you can't rely on the Magic Missile spell alone to get you to level 2+. It's possible, but it's also entirely possible to find yourself with 0 mana and an angry kobold bearing down on you. I'm fond of buying a Wand of Magic Missile, as it has good accuracy, range, and damage. But flasks of oil are certainly a lot cheaper and give you more budget to spend on things like Phase Door or book #2.

Personally I'd go ahead and read un-ID'd scrolls. If/when you find Deep Descent, it'll be a fun challenge to either make it back up to earlier levels, or try to survive deeper than you're comfortable with. Ultimately you will have to leave your comfort zone; trying to beat Angband by grinding until you feel safe is a recipe for boredom-caused deaths. But it is also true that mages are quite fragile, especially early on. They're definitely a contender for "hardest class".

[Nick]

Welcome to the Angband leg of your adventure, I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out, and hearing any comments you have on the game compared to other roguelikes.

Originally Posted by wizard44

So after some deliberations, I decided to post the initial setup of each character in this thread. Because a lot of my characters will most likely die in the early game, the character will only get its own thread when it passes the first goal, the exact nature of which will depend on what the character's race and role is.

Two things here I would recommend:

1. The best place to put your posts is probably the AAR section of the forum. I've taken the liberty of moving this thread there - hope that's OK
2. Once you get characters to the point of being worth their own thread, it would be good to also post them to the ladder - see the tab at the top of the page

Good luck, have fun!

[wizard44]

Thank you so much for moving this thread to the correct place! I didn't even know of the existence of the AAR forum from my brief glance of the forums. Just goes to show you how much of a n00b I am!

I have an update regarding the first goal of this character:
There was no attack wand that I could buy with my starting gold, so I ended up getting 6 scrolls of Phase Door, a potion of Cure Light wounds, and a potion of Cure Serious Wounds. There were no attack wands that I could buy, so I instead opted to buy 5 Flasks of Oil as my backup plan. I used the remaining gold to buy an additional ration of Food, 2 Torches, and the book of Conjurings and Tricks spell.

Because of this adjustment, the second point of the first projected goal for this character is adjusted to getting to the 400 AU mark, which is the price for the next spellbook.

[Pete Mack]

Originally Posted by wizard44

Thank you so much for moving this thread to the correct place! I didn't even know of the existence of the AAR forum from my brief glance of the forums. Just goes to show you how much of a n00b I am!

I have an update regarding the first goal of this character:
There was no attack wand that I could buy with my starting gold, so I ended up getting 6 scrolls of Phase Door, a potion of Cure Light wounds, and a potion of Cure Serious Wounds. There were no attack wands that I could buy, so I instead opted to buy 5 Flasks of Oil as my backup plan. I used the remaining gold to buy an additional ration of Food, 2 Torches, and the book of Conjurings and Tricks spell.

Because of this adjustment, the second point of the first projected goal for this character is adjusted to getting to the 400 AU mark, which is the price for the next spellbook.

If you are winning rogue and ADOM, angband will be pretty easy. You might want to try Sil after you win a game or two.

[wizard44]

YASD #1: Failure to Understand The Abilities of Monsters/Uniques Cost Me Big Time.

Well, this character is dead without even making it to D:2 due to insane levels of bad luck. On the first level, I nearly had my life ended by a small kobold, after magic missile failed to outright kill it. I ended up using one of my scrolls of phase door and my cure light wounds potion to get out of the kobold’s way. Eventually, I was able to recover enough SP to kill the kobold, but not before using another scroll of phase door to get out of the “something touches you” scare that I had. Whew. After surviving that close call, I was able to level up to cl 2 and learn detect monsters. I had an absolute close call of an encounter with a crowd of soldiers, yellow centipedes, and a mushroom patch that I did not encounter. I ended up using all of my scrolls of phase door and potions of cure wounds and decided to go back up the stairs and to the town to buy another potion of cure light wounds and 3 more scrolls of phase door. The gloves and robe that I found were cursed, so I dropped them and was forced to run with 0 AC. In my second run, I ran into Grip, Farmer Maggot’s Dog in the first run, which really caused problems and forced me to a scrolls of phase door to escape. Unfortunately, it took me RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of a floating eye, who proceeded to paralyze me and ensure my quick death. Didn’t know they could fucking do that without being attacked. Christ.

[Angband 4.1.3 Character Dump]

 Name   Astin        Age             18          Self  RB  CB  EB   Best
 Race   Human        Height        5'9"   STR:     11  +0  -3  +0      8
 Class  Mage         Weight   11st 12lb   INT:     10  +0  +3  +0     13
 Title  Novice       Turns used:          WIS:     13  +0  +0  +0     13
 HP     -2/13        Game         20493   DEX:     12  +0  +0  +0     12
 SP     0/3          Standard      2058   CON:     16  +0  -2  +0     14
                     Resting        386

 Level                  2    Armor        [0,+0]    Saving Throw     32%
 Cur Exp               28                           Stealth         Poor
 Max Exp               28    Melee        1d4,+0    Disarm - phys.   33%
 Adv Exp               32    To-hit        12,+0    Disarm - magic   38%
                             Blows      1.0/turn    Magic Devices     39
 Gold                   8                           Searching        12%
 Burden           29.4 lb    Shoot to-dam     +0    Infravision     0 ft
 Overweight      -30.5 lb    To-hit         7,+0    Speed         Normal
 Max Depth      100' (L2)    Shots        0/turn

 You are one of several children of a Serf.  You are a credit to the
 family.  You have brown eyes, straight auburn hair, and an average
 complexion.


rAcid:............. Nexus:.............
rElec:............. Nethr:.............
rFire:............. Chaos:.............
rCold:............. Disen:.............
rPois:............. pFear:.............
rLite:............. pBlnd:.............
rDark:............. pConf:.............
Sound:............. pStun:.............
Shard:............. HLife:.............

Regen:............. Stea.:.............
  ESP:............. Sear.:.............
Invis:............. Infra:.............
FrAct:............. Tunn.:.............
Feath:............. Speed:.............
S.Dig:............. Blows:.............
ImpHP:............. Shots:.............
 Fear:............. Might:.............
Aggrv:............. Light:.............


  [Last Messages]

> The floating eye gazes at you.
> You resist the effects!
> The floating eye gazes at you.
> Grip, Farmer Maggot's Dog bites you.
> The floating eye gazes at you.
> *** LOW HITPOINT WARNING! ***
> You can move again.
> Grip, Farmer Maggot's Dog bites you.
> *** LOW HITPOINT WARNING! ***
> The floating eye gazes at you.
> *** LOW HITPOINT WARNING! ***
> You are paralysed!
> Grip, Farmer Maggot's Dog misses you.
> Grip, Farmer Maggot's Dog bites you.
> You die.

Killed by Grip, Farmer Maggot's Dog.

  [Character Equipment]

a) a Dagger (1d4) (+0,+0)
     An inheritance from your family
     
     Combat info:
     1.0 blow/round.
     With +10 STR and +0 DEX you would attack a bit faster
     With +12 STR and +0 DEX you would get 1.1 blows
     With +0 STR and +5 DEX you would attack a bit faster
     With +10 STR and +5 DEX you would get 1.1 blows
     With +0 STR and +8 DEX you would get 1.1 blows
     Average damage/round: 2.5.
     
f) a Wooden Torch (3161 turns)
     An inheritance from your family
     
     Radius 1 light.
     




  [Character Inventory]

a) 2 Books of Magic Spells [Magic for Beginners]
b) a Book of Magic Spells [Conjurings and Tricks]
c) 2 Rations of Food
d) 5 Flasks of oil
e) a Potion of Cure Light Wounds
f) 2 Potions of Neutralize Poison
g) 3 Scrolls of Phase Door
h) a Scroll of Word of Recall
i) a Wooden Torch (5000 turns)
     Bought from a store
     
     Radius 1 light.
     




  [Character Quiver]



[Player history]
      Turn   Depth  Note
         0      0'  Began the quest to destroy Morgoth.
       358     50'  Reached level 2


  [Options]

  [User interface]

Use the roguelike command keyset             : no  (rogue_like_commands)
Use sound                                    : no  (use_sound)
Show damage player deals to monsters         : no  (show_damage)
Use old target by default                    : no  (use_old_target)
Always pickup items                          : no  (pickup_always)
Always pickup items matching inventory       : yes (pickup_inven)
Show flavors in object descriptions          : no  (show_flavors)
Highlight target with cursor                 : yes (show_target)
Highlight player with cursor between turns   : no  (highlight_player)
Disturb whenever viewable monster moves      : yes (disturb_near)
Show walls as solid blocks                   : no  (solid_walls)
Show walls with shaded background            : no  (hybrid_walls)
Color: Illuminate torchlight in yellow       : no  (view_yellow_light)
Color: Shimmer multi-colored things          : no  (animate_flicker)
Center map continuously                      : no  (center_player)
Color: Show unique monsters in purple        : no  (purple_uniques)
Automatically clear '-more-' prompts         : no  (auto_more)
Color: Player color indicates % hit points   : yes (hp_changes_color)
Allow mouse clicks to move the player        : yes (mouse_movement)
Notify on object recharge                    : no  (notify_recharge)
Show effective speed as multiplier           : no  (effective_speed)

  [Birth]

Generate a new, random artifact set          : no  (birth_randarts)
Generate connected stairs                    : yes (birth_connect_stairs)
Force player descent (never make up stairs)  : no  (birth_force_descend)
Word of Recall has no effect                 : no  (birth_no_recall)
Restrict creation of artifacts               : no  (birth_no_artifacts)
Stack objects on the floor                   : yes (birth_stacking)
Lose artifacts when leaving level            : no  (birth_lose_arts)
Show level feelings                          : yes (birth_feelings)
Increase gold drops but disable selling      : yes (birth_no_selling)
Start with a kit of useful gear              : yes (birth_start_kit)
Monsters learn from their mistakes           : no  (birth_ai_learn)
Know all runes on birth                      : no  (birth_know_runes)
Know all flavors on birth                    : no  (birth_know_flavors)
Persistent levels (experimental)             : no  (birth_levels_persist)

Where is the most accurate database to look up monsters? Do you have a wiki somewhere that is up to date? Thanks!

So now we move on to another character. May the RNG grant me a better combination.

Complete N00b’s Journey: Character #2:

Say hello to Nedandon, the High-Elf Priest! Upon starting, I obtained the prayer of Remove Fear, which was of somewhat okay use to say the best.

  [Angband 4.1.3 Character Dump]

 Name   Nedandon     Age            109          Self  RB  CB  EB   Best
 Race   High-Elf     Height        9'1"   STR:     17  +1  -1  +0     17
 Class  Priest       Weight   14st 11lb   INT:     11  +3  -3  +0     11
 Title  Believer     Turns used:          WIS:     12  -1  +3  +0     14
 HP     12/12        Game            11   DEX:     14  +3  -1  +0     16
 SP     2/2          Standard         1   CON:     13  +1  +1  +0     15
                     Resting          0

 Level                  1    Armor        [0,+1]    Saving Throw     54%
 Cur Exp                0                           Stealth         Fair
 Max Exp                0    Melee        2d4,+2    Disarm - phys.   32%
 Adv Exp               22    To-hit        20,+1    Disarm - magic   31%
                             Blows      1.0/turn    Magic Devices     52
 Gold                  91                           Searching        21%
 Burden           21.5 lb    Shoot to-dam     +0    Infravision    40 ft
 Overweight      -92.4 lb    To-hit        20,+1    Speed         Normal
 Max Depth           Town    Shots        0/turn

 You are one of several children of a Telerin Mage.  You have light
 grey eyes, straight black hair, and a fair complexion.



rAcid:............. Nexus:.............
rElec:............. Nethr:.............
rFire:............. Chaos:.............
rCold:............. Disen:.............
rPois:............. pFear:.............
rLite:............+ pBlnd:.............
rDark:............. pConf:.............
Sound:............. pStun:.............
Shard:............. HLife:.............

Regen:............. Stea.:.............
  ESP:............. Sear.:.............
Invis:............+ Infra:............+
FrAct:............. Tunn.:.............
Feath:............. Speed:.............
S.Dig:............. Blows:.............
ImpHP:............. Shots:.............
 Fear:............. Might:.............
Aggrv:............. Light:.............


  [Character Equipment]

a) a Mace (2d4) (+0,+0)
     An inheritance from your family
     
     Combat info:
     1.0 blow/round.
     With +3 STR and +0 DEX you would attack a bit faster
     With +7 STR and +0 DEX you would get 1.1 blows
     With +0 STR and +1 DEX you would attack a bit faster
     With +3 STR and +1 DEX you would get 1.1 blows
     With +0 STR and +4 DEX you would get 1.1 blows
     Average damage/round: 7.1.
     
f) a Wooden Torch (5000 turns)
     An inheritance from your family
     
     Radius 1 light.
     




  [Character Inventory]

a) a Holy Book of Prayers [Beginners Handbook]
b) a Ration of Food
c) 2 Potions of Cure Serious Wounds
d) a Scroll of Word of Recall
e) a Wooden Torch (5000 turns)
     An inheritance from your family
     
     Radius 1 light.
     




  [Character Quiver]



[Player history]
      Turn   Depth  Note
         0      0'  Began the quest to destroy Morgoth.


  [Options]

  [User interface]

Use the roguelike command keyset             : no  (rogue_like_commands)
Use sound                                    : no  (use_sound)
Show damage player deals to monsters         : no  (show_damage)
Use old target by default                    : no  (use_old_target)
Always pickup items                          : no  (pickup_always)
Always pickup items matching inventory       : yes (pickup_inven)
Show flavors in object descriptions          : no  (show_flavors)
Highlight target with cursor                 : yes (show_target)
Highlight player with cursor between turns   : no  (highlight_player)
Disturb whenever viewable monster moves      : yes (disturb_near)
Show walls as solid blocks                   : no  (solid_walls)
Show walls with shaded background            : no  (hybrid_walls)
Color: Illuminate torchlight in yellow       : no  (view_yellow_light)
Color: Shimmer multi-colored things          : no  (animate_flicker)
Center map continuously                      : no  (center_player)
Color: Show unique monsters in purple        : no  (purple_uniques)
Automatically clear '-more-' prompts         : no  (auto_more)
Color: Player color indicates % hit points   : yes (hp_changes_color)
Allow mouse clicks to move the player        : yes (mouse_movement)
Notify on object recharge                    : no  (notify_recharge)
Show effective speed as multiplier           : no  (effective_speed)

  [Birth]

Generate a new, random artifact set          : no  (birth_randarts)
Generate connected stairs                    : yes (birth_connect_stairs)
Force player descent (never make up stairs)  : no  (birth_force_descend)
Word of Recall has no effect                 : no  (birth_no_recall)
Restrict creation of artifacts               : no  (birth_no_artifacts)
Stack objects on the floor                   : yes (birth_stacking)
Lose artifacts when leaving level            : no  (birth_lose_arts)
Show level feelings                          : yes (birth_feelings)
Increase gold drops but disable selling      : yes (birth_no_selling)
Start with a kit of useful gear              : yes (birth_start_kit)
Monsters learn from their mistakes           : no  (birth_ai_learn)
Know all runes on birth                      : no  (birth_know_runes)
Know all flavors on birth                    : no  (birth_know_flavors)
Persistent levels (experimental)             : no  (birth_levels_persist)

So the plan is to buy 3 Scrolls of Phase Door and a potion of cure light wounds, and 5 flasks of oil as a backup plan to take out a Unique in the first three levels. What sort of diving strategy should priests generally follow? Do they play it conservatively by staying on the first three floors or so, or dive aggressively? Any items that I should get instead with the budget that I have?

For the first goal for this character, I'm thinking I just take the first downstairs that I take since it look like I'm sort-of melee oriented, and just solely focus on diving until I run out either flasks of oil, healing potions, or scrolls of Phase Door.

Any tips here are especially welcome.