Altar weirdness

[Addison]

I honestly don't understand the first thing about altars.

I'm neutral+ so I thought I would just simply dump all of my junk on it and see what all was either blessed or cursed.

Instead, everything pretty much got caught on fire and I'm now in this sad room of unhappiness.



Is there an easy rule or something to remember on what to do with altars?

Well, I'm off to watch my character suffer a soon to be, horrible, searing death. :)

[Silfir]

... Pure white marble denotes a lawful altar. You are neutral, by your own admission. So, what exactly is the source of your puzzlement?

Just to cover it, black obsidian = chaos, gray granite = neutral, white marble = lawful. Only drop stuff on altars of your own alignment!

[JellySlayer]

Some more details...

You can change your alignment by offering (press O) small amounts of gold on the altar (1 at a time as fine). At some point, you'll receive a message saying "Welcome believer!" which indicates that your alignment now matches that of the altar. You can also change the alignment of the altar to your own by offering a large sum of gold (3000 at minimum). This carries slightly more risk, as the deity that you are trying to change might get pissed at you.

If a monster is standing on an altar, you can try to sacrifice it to your god by pressing O as well. Only do this if the altar is aligned with you (the only thing you can do with an unaligned altar is convert yourself or it). Even then, it might not work, as gods don't like all types of sacrifices. Be warned... if YOU are standing on an altar and a monster of the right alignment comes around, it can sacrifice you, prematurely ending your career. This is particularly true of chaotic altars, where monsters can sacrifice you even if your alignment is also chaotic (lawful and neutral gods won't accept sacrifices of their own alignment).

[Addison]

Wow. That seems to make easy sense to me now.

Not sure why altars always had me so confused.

Anyway, my character is currently stripped competely of all things.

When it would state that something burned and asked me if I wanted to continue my behavior of dropping all my junk on the altar, I kept replying with a "'Yes".

Why?

Because F him, that's why.

Well, since I'm in trouble now, would it still be okay to pray?

I haven't done this yet in the game.

Cheers.

[Silfir]

Technically, if you haven't switched alignments yet, your neutral god should still be best buddies with you for a prayer or so.

[Addison]

Wow, I actually escaped all of that happiness with only 1 hit point remaining.

So I've done the butcher and puppy cave now.

This is probably one of my best runs so far.

What should I do or get next guys?
http://ancardius.ath.cx/adom_users/james/james.slg

A link or copy and paste from somewhere would be fine.

I'm not expecting anyone to type a bunch of junk out just for me.

Cheers!

[JellySlayer]

The most logical place for you to head is probably the caverns of chaos (CoC). It's approximately in the middle of the map (it's not on the road; if you go into a cave and find a teleport traps everywhere, you're in the wrong place). This is the main/largest dungeon in the game, and the difficulty ramps up slowly so you should be able to safely explore many levels. The best bet is to head south from Terinyo, then west around the river. You can go due west, but crossing the river may damage your items, particularly your spellbooks.

Other places of some interest...

Northwest of Terinyo is a "small cave". The monsters there get stronger as you level (and faster than you), so it is dangerous to go there at your level, but if you are lucky, you might be able to find the down stairs quickly. Only the first level is very dangerous; the rest should be safe enough for your level. It may be better to wait until you have the ability to teleport or make yourself invisible before venturing in.

The cave with the teleport traps that I mentioned is along the small road on the south side of the board. There is a powerful magic item here, but it is concealed in a hidden, inaccessible, room somewhere on the levels with the teleporters. If you can think of a way to find/reach its location, then you can get this excellent magic item. The third level of this cave (after the magic item) is very dangerous for someone your level.

There's a small area in the forest south of the CoC where you'll get a quest and is a safe place to stash items. There's a small area north of the CoC where you can get some clues. If you have a lot of deaths, there is another area just west of there. The monsters are dangerous in melee and quite fast, but are good xp. The lower level here is also very dangerous.

There's a cave in the mountains in the southeast corner of the map. It is infinite in extent, and every time you go up/down a stairs, it always generates a completely new level. This is a good place to fight around if you just want some xp. The monsters increase in difficulty as you descend. The loot here is always well below average for the difficulty of monsters you fight, however.

There's a dungeon south of the caverns of chaos along the mountains. It is fairly dangerous for your level and abilities, but there is a lot of excellent loot on the (very dangerous) lower level.

In the far southwest corner is a small dungeon that is a kind of puzzle. Bring a light source.

There's a red circle just west of the CoC. This is a very dangerous place.