A favorite starting path...

[Rick]

After a lot of fate-generated PC resulting in a lot of quiet really insta-death, last one I run is still alive and incredibly strong. Fate generated for me a perfect male Human Duelist, sign of the candle, all cap-stats above twenty (even mana and Le, only poor Pe), starting with a sword and not some kind of butter-knife…manage to easily scout SMC, found the blanket, and down toward UD found first altar at level two with tension room full of orcs (jackpot!) crowned at exp.level 8 with gauntlets of montojja (or what’s their name, that’s first time I have it, GREAT gift), second altar UD level 6 (converted from chaotic) lost a bit of time for second holy-gift at exp.level 11 (this time nature’s companion), then a third altar in DD gave him his third holy gift at exp.level 14 (and at last the PURIFIER! Very good, but for a duelist??)..very easily killed the Druid, at this point he has 100 find weakness (my favorite abilty) and Dodge. Gained herbalism skill that was missing, now the ability set is complete, he finished one of the best start-game I remember…six exp.levels and a lot of mangled heap later, he’s level twenty, embarassing strong melee (well, around 65 DV at normal, 40 DV at berserker, 100 or more at coward, with the Purifier this man kick asses, cuts through rooms filled of fire elmentals and Liches run away at sight), orbs of fire and water gained even too easily…now is just waiting for that stupid decision that will surely kill him (with stupid decision I mean visit the dwarven mystic with no way to come back… teleport control and ONE scroll of teleportation are not enough…).

At this point I realize the problem of previously dead PC’s…you really need some numbers to go through SMC and UD (or some luck), not ALL generated PC’s can stand this route, but that’s my way and is hard to change, so my promising high elven wizard that in mid-late game would be a god, starting with 8 at both St and To, much likely won’t exit the SMC alive, and anyone will never know how much a god he would become...

I go through this for two reasons: first the blanket, I don’t know why, but I feel extremely uneasy without…second reason is that SMC really SCARES me, If I don’t go in at exp.level 1 I’m sure will never enter again to scout UD..(Hell is a blanket in your pocket and a Blink Dog between you and the stairs)…

So what’s your limit to run a PC trough SMC and UD? I run trough with EVERY PC, maybe I'm wrong but I think that a char. that manage to pass through this and live deserve to go on and save the world..

[sweetnothing]

Any magic character with good ranged offensive spell should pass SMC fine since he will one-shot enemies. For melee character you do not have such luxury in the beginning of the game, so you need to pass it fast or die trying.
That's my thinking.

[blunk]

In a good run I'm lvl 4-6 and when I've passed smc into ud1, thats enough to have some hps.
The big problem (which isnt too uncommon) is reaching ud1 w/o healing/candle, no offensive spells, almost no pv and no ammo.

[ghostjghost]

The path I take at start generally depends on what I'm playing as.

If I play as an Elementalist, my first stop is to Lawenilothehl, where I kill via frost bolt, the master thief, leave to recharge pp, enter kill hotzenplotz and his bouncers, and then go kill the mad doctor, depending on if I managed to survive so far or not. (I always get my elementalists or wizards the "Charged" talent right away as it helps a great deal early game)

If I play a melee class I do the druids dungeon first.

If I play a magic or mixed class I do the Village Dungeon first.

If I play a mist elf I go to the small cave and dive down first.

[Rick]

Yes much of the runs is die trying, luck is important anyway, in my experience best chance was for good melee in berserker killing fast..the Problem is exactly to have or not healing skill or the candle, and I think that find weakness make the difference for that way of play...my problem with spellcasters (worst if elven) is that I saw too many of them slowly die of poison in the UD below...last one roll a 5/8 To (), starting with maybe 10 Hp, at level five was 15, and that's what I mean with numbers. Just for the challenge I manage him down the UD to see him die of poison and no prayer could save him even with healing skill...well, personal opinions, anyway I think that luck has the most important role, much more often you have to scout the entire SMC or you don't find any altar on the way...

[boat]

Almost all PC's I take through the SMC to the hmv at the very start. I prefer fun gameplay over grinding, and the challenge is fun. Having a shop at the end to cash out and get some more useful stuff is awesome and another reason.

[asdalol]

I usually go to the SMC to fetch the blanket, then I decide if I want to tackle the UD... If I have healing I can try it, if not I usually get the skill first and come back later (when doing the Griffyard and the Pyramid, more or less) to go to HMV, depending on the position of the stairs and if I have teleport/invisibility.

[sylph]

I tend to go for SMC, blanket, then druid dungeon, raider quest, puppy cave, CoC, but I vary it depending on situation, and often end up in the HMV before dwarftown.

[fir]

I got two mian scenarios:
go to lavientohill kill bandit or outlaw as a first kill take pick pockets if avaliable and
2) go to smc for a short and then to a puppy cave then druid cave then COC and dwarftown
1) go to smc and down below (only for strong characters, though recently it seem i learnt to play better and move character to level 15 exp is much more easier now) then dwarftown

sometimes i also may use third scenerio for weakest chars

3) go to smc for short then directly to COC and dwarftown

the scenario no 1 is probably most attractive as it is quick
and not so workish (nice vaults of orcs gnolls or zombies are fun and good stuff and leveling)

reaching dwarftown is milestone end of early game part
- then adom began to be worse for me as i often die after
dwarftown (just right now in 3 hours i get good character
lvl 15 died in underground of dvarven graveyard by instant stone
block on my head (it must gave about 100 damege in one stone block shot or i missed some damege form some previous trap as i was completly
surprised)

there are also two other possible starting scenarios for me

0) lure monsters in wilderness till i get level 8 or 10 or so
(i once tried it though i dont quite remember right now
what i think on it)
4) go to druid duungeon or carpenter dungeon or id or this nev
cheap dungeon (NEVER tried it dont know why)
5) level a bit in smc or wilderness go to the steel golems
dungeon to slauhter them - i sometimes try it though with not so
much succes, but think it is about to be managable

[Rick]

My route usually is this: SMC, UD till the village, back in Terinyo for Healing or Herbalism depending what's missing, Puppy Cave the last and ONLY if I need Lawful boost from C (don't like chaotic), or in the hope for an altar if I didn't find any on the way. Then CoC for the Dwarf quests and the rest. Well, there is a lot that I have to see still, never won the game in less than a year that i'm playing, but a lot of things I learned here made me progress a lot ...until I discover the real power of the potions of booze, for example, was a problem to have enough wands of digging, so sooner or later the route will be complete.