Roleplaying newbie

[aj_]

Is there any chance for a newbie to roleplay in this game and succeed? I want to play a sword + dagger ranger, but reading about dual-shield-wielding wizards and other oddities has me more than a little worried. Is powergaming a necessity in ADOM if you don't know the game inside out?

[spectre]

Don't forget it's a hack and slash first.
You can role play, of course, but you'll need to play it safe and learn a few tricks along the way.
For newbies, it is a actually best to powergame, because the game does not give you too many chances.

You know, truth be told, if you're just beginning, be prepared to fail quite a bit (understatement, this is), so you might as well enjoy it, while you learn the ropes. If that means roleplaying for you, gofer it.

[RndmNumGenerator]

Roleplaying is fine. I do it all the time. I've never powergames actually, not even once. Won twice, once normal with a Gnomish Elementalist and one Ultra Chaos God with a High Elven Archer.

If you want to play a dual-wielding ranger, however, I would suggest either dual-wielding swords or dual-wielding daggers. Not one of each. The way ADOM's skill system works, you're best off to specialize in a single weapon type.

Overall, swords are generally better. They do more damage and there is a greater variety to chose from. However, heavier weapons suffer penalties when dual-wielded, and swords weigh more than daggers. While daggers don't have as great a variety, there are still quite a few good ones, and you'll love Needle & Sting when you get them, which I think are only trumped by the Trident of the Red Rooster in terms of power.

EDIT: I should note, I was playing ADOM on-and-off for five years before I got my first win with that Gnomish Elementalist. This isn't unusual, even for people who do powergame with wizards. ADOM has a steep learning curve and a single bad roll of the dice and kill you, no matter how well you've prepared.

[Al-Khwarizmi]

You can roleplay, I do it most of the time too and I've finished the game.

That said, it would be probably easier for you to get far in the game if you roleplay an easier character, like a wizard. Ranger is a quite hard class to play, roleplaying or not, and dual-wielding weapons is not a very efficient strategy.

[moomoo]

You could easily roleplay some classes. Like dwarven paladins or drakeling druids.

I don't roleplay that much unless you consider going for stylish characters roleplaying but I don't "powerplay" either

[RndmNumGenerator]

You can roleplay, I do it most of the time too and I've finished the game.

That said, it would be probably easier for you to get far in the game if you roleplay an easier character, like a wizard. Ranger is a quite hard class to play, roleplaying or not, and dual-wielding weapons is not a very efficient strategy.

Ranger is actually a very balanced class. They have good melee abilities, good ranged abilities, average magic abilities, a good skillset and are easy to play for a beginner(survival saved me a lot when I just started playing the game. Food can be hard to come by early on, especially for beginners).

While you're right that dual-wielding is usually a poor idea, with 100 Two-Weapon Combat and Ranger's class abilities, it can be deadly and efficient. As I mentioned earlier Needle & Sting is one of the best weapons in the game, regardless of class. It's even better for rangers, though you'll only ever get that late in the game.

[aj_]

Well I went ahead with my sword + dagger ranger (incidentally, he started off with a short sword and dagger equipped :P). I got some quests in town, and went off to a nearby cave to save some girl's dog. After messing about with the keybinds I died to some ants after an unsuccessful getaway. It was very hard to hit them, and when I did hit them, it did no damage.

I read some guides and got very interested in a beastfighter, so I rolled a dwarf (will roleplay him like a Battlerager, for you DnD folks). Can they wear heavy armour?

[Erik Piper]

Heavy armor as a distinct type doesn't exist in ADOM - just progressively lighter and heavier armours. That said, monks (not beastfighters) do need to watch their armor weight (and, separately, their overall weight) - read a monk guide for details before any eventual decision you might make towards a monk.

You might say that ADOM monks nosedive if *not* roleplayed.

[RndmNumGenerator]

Well I went ahead with my sword + dagger ranger (incidentally, he started off with a short sword and dagger equipped :P). I got some quests in town, and went off to a nearby cave to save some girl's dog. After messing about with the keybinds I died to some ants after an unsuccessful getaway. It was very hard to hit them, and when I did hit them, it did no damage.

I read some guides and got very interested in a beastfighter, so I rolled a dwarf (will roleplay him like a Battlerager, for you DnD folks). Can they wear heavy armour?

I believe Beastfighters can wear any armor they want, up to and including Plate Mail. Possibly even Moloch Armor, but I never see anyone use that except for EXP gain. In fact, I think Monks are the only class that need to watch weight.

As for why your ranger failed... Well, Ants have a high armor value. It can be difficult to damage them, especially at a low level. What was your Strength? This is a primary component of damage; most characters can get up to 16 easily, just by carrying stuff around. Secondly, the Puppy Cave is a rather difficult cave to start in; for beginners, I would suggest the Infinite Dungeon, SSE of Terinyo(SE of Bandit Town). Easy monsters there, decent loot, and if you encounter something problematic you can run away.

[Twinge]

There are no armor restrictions anywhere, really. Monks get a DV *bonus* for wearing certain kinds of light armor (not all), but they get no penalty for wearing heavy. Likewise Monks get no penalty from using weapons, they just get a bonus if they choose to fight unarmed. (Beastfighters DO get a penalty to fighting with weapons, though.)

As for Rangers, IIRC your ToHit will be best if you're using one semi-heavy weapon and a lighter offhand weapon, so mixing weapon types is fine. Ants have strong PV defenses that can be tough to break through; you might try berserking them, or just trying to avoid them until you're stronger.