Assassin: Drakeling, Troll, or Hurthling? (spoily content)

[santamaria]

I want that food preservation... I like being able to keep a corpse for longer than 10 turns or so without it rotting away. I especially like being able to store 5 extra blink dogs at the nearest shop with ease. Or a pixie corpse before I get my blink dog corpse. And then there's the ones I can get potions for, which I can't reach without good food preservation.

So I've narrowed it down to three races ('cause I just flat out don't play humans for some reason).

I want a drakeling, troll, or hurthling assassin.

A) Hurthling

I like the hurthling's gardening, cooking, food preservation combo, but the strength is so piddly. I want to hit like a truck, and my hurthling would be more dependent on missile use because of high dexterity. Eventually I'd get that strength up with expensive means or lucky potion drops, or maybe some special corpses. Not sure how corpses and stat potential works in pre23. Don't usually get too far with a hurthling to try various giant corpses anyways.

B) Drakeling

I all around like drakeling, and will have to accept that I won't have a massive plantation of herbs. Good general stats, metabolism boost from offensive alchemy. Extra alertness training, and swimming to get across those pesky rivers. Will have better luck than a hurthling getting that initial blanket too.

C) Troll

But Trolls... Trolls hit like a truck do they not? Very nice strength and toughness off the bat, and athletics. Got gemology to raise that tiny bit of learning before I hit the max, and for greed's sake too. Would grab herbalism quest for easier hunger management, alchemy ingredients, and the usual benefits (if I get the right herb patches or play with holy water). Would probably smash keethrax to a pulp in melee. Only really interested in that level 12 class power, crowning gift, and skillset, so slow leveling shouldn't hurt. Easy to get the blanket with a troll. Waltz in and take it.

I'm leaning toward the troll. Since I got executor with a drakeling, I've liked the feeling of pounding my way through opponents with a powerful weapon. Trollish high strength could be very satisfying with one of those crowning gifts, or failing that, there's always the maze.

Arguments for these races or other races?

[santamaria]

Just made a troll assassin to test out this feeling.

Rolled a couple candleborns till I got decent stat distribution. Just noticed now I was lucky enough to get a [+0, +5] on my furs. And next to the blanket was a cloak of protection with [+0, +3]. Looks promising for a start, overkill even. I have a goblin rockthrower statue in the missile slot and it's not really weighing me down yet with 4 large rations from Muxnip.

Should go smash keethrax in the face with the statue in melee.

[Soirana]

I want that food preservation...

So I've narrowed it down to three races ('cause I just flat out don't play humans for some reason).

A) Hurthling
Eventually I'd get that strength up with expensive means or lucky potion drops, or maybe some special corpses. Not sure how corpses and stat potential works in pre23.


C) Troll

But Trolls...

But trolls need like quadrillion experience to even open the maze don't they?

Hobbits problem is strength potential up to point that wishing for stat potential pots might be taken over saving Khelly.
[Well, whips presumably uses dex instead of strength, but they are sucky weapon class].
Pre23 I think corpses do not increase strength potential like ever [stuff like giant boars or high end giants [like lords and jarls and a like] seem to increase potential in later versions]. Pre23 is already point where Garth does not work on potentials.

So assuming human is not an option, that simply leaves drakes as the winners...

[santamaria]

Oh right nevermind the maze for the troll...

I guess I'll do more drakes than the others.

[Cactus]

Hurthling assassins used to be extremely cool with the boomerang, but in the new versions these are getting destroyed almost immediately.

[Dlightfull]

But trolls need like quadrillion experience to even open the maze don't they?

Hobbits problem is strength potential up to point that wishing for stat potential pots might be taken over saving Khelly.
[Well, whips presumably uses dex instead of strength, but they are sucky weapon class].
Pre23 I think corpses do not increase strength potential like ever [stuff like giant boars or high end giants [like lords and jarls and a like] seem to increase potential in later versions]. Pre23 is already point where Garth does not work on potentials.

So assuming human is not an option, that simply leaves drakes as the winners...

dark orcs raise potentials in pre23. giants, even jarls, don't really work, at least that's my experience with them, but perhaps i had very high strength when i started eating giants.

[santamaria]

I could swear I was getting gains from some monsters. At least noticed the dark orc gave me strength.

As for boomerangs getting destroyed, I think it would be cool if you could find material boomerangs beyond just wood. Having a few eternium boomerangs handy would rock.

[BenMathiesen]

It's still possible to increase your potential by eating giants, just rare.
If you do the ice queen's quests, for example, you can probably get a couple of points of strength out of the giants even if you're maxed at 14/14. Just don't forget to bring your stomacaemptia!

[_Ln_]

It's still possible to increase your potential by eating giants, just rare.
If you do the ice queen's quests, for example, you can probably get a couple of points of strength out of the giants even if you're maxed at 14/14. Just don't forget to bring your stomacaemptia!

As far as my observation goes (although it is for r51, not p23, so I might be completely misleading), that is not the case.
There are several types of corpse effects in ADOM. Some grant stat increases following the universal ADOM chance progression (dark orcs, stone giants, great wyrms and others). Most giants (frost and fire) and ogres have their own chance progression which does not seem to affect the stat at the potential.

Just yesterday I was clearing a GUV with a mist elf bard and food preservation. My To was 11/11 and went up to 22/22 after all munching and some morgia during longer periods of vanquishing.

Also, in case some people don't know - you can get intrinsic cold immunity from frost salamanders. I managed to get it with the same bard and currently feeling like bragging Plans for later include grinding for lightning lizards and giant slugs and get crowned with a perfect set of immunities.

[Blasphemous]

Doesn't eating the =cold granting ice lizards or salamanders reduce speed by 5 points?
As far as I know the immunity is not guaranteed upon consumption of the corpse while the speed penalty is.
You could in theory get a couple of speed decreases and still no immunity, isn't that right?