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Thread: A Beginner's Guide to Pools

  1. #1

    Lightbulb A Beginner's Guide to Pools

    There is a strong debate on the relative value of drinking from pools. In my mind, there are two times during the game that drinking from pools is worthwhile. The first is during early game when you are willing to endanger a weak character to make it playable. The second is mid-game, when you are able to counter most of the possible negative effects. An especially popular time for players going for an 'ultra ending', which requires an amulet of life saving fairly early, is reaching Khelvastar. He represents an impassable wall in descending the CoC until an amulet of life saving is obtained. Since drinking from pools sometimes provides wishes (about 1 wish from darkforge every other game average), players will sometimes travel to Darkforge where there is a room filled with roughly 5-10 pools for the specific purpose of obtaining the AoLS.

    First, the things you need to drink semi-safely.
    -semi tough character - you may summon poisonous snakes or water elementals. Getting into darkforge requires some wherewithal.
    -curaria mancox - A herb that cures sickness. there are other sources of removing sickness, but they are rarer.
    -teleport control - Eat a blink dog. Have a ring\amulet. Trust me.
    -'very close' status with your god and an altar- the cursed and doomed intrinsics are dangerous and common to get from pools. If you are doomed, you cannot get a wish from pools. giving your god $1 will remove doomed and cursed status when you are 'very close'.
    -knowledge. there is an adom wiki describing the messages from pools and their effects. A good way to sift through it is to use Ctrl f or F3. This brings up a text box that you can use to find text in the page. Meaning, for example, typing in 'you are moved by the sheer pleasure of this sip of fluid' will show that you've gained paralyze resist, the coolest of all resistances.
    -a potion of youth - this would be nice, as you are sometimes aged by a pool (very dangerous for trolls and orcs). However, this is pretty rare, so its not really required.

    The advantages - you can get wishes at a time when they save a lot of trouble (by wishing for amulet of life saving (for Khelevastar. even if not going for an ultra ending players like to save him; he gives several spellbooks, scrolls of chaos removal, and some other nice items), rings of ice for the Tower of Eternal Flames, or seven league boots to save on travel time), useful and lifesaving status effects available nowhere else (para, death, petrification, stun, sleep resist), a special quest for lady characters, and stat buffs. You can also get some nice resistances\intrinsics available elsewhere - teleport control, elemental resist, see invisible.

    The disadvantages/stuff to be ambivalent about - the loss of intrinsic resistances, teleportitis (interferes with reading spellbooks, super annoying without teleport control, still useful to escape from monsters or travel through levels fast), intrinsic invisiblity (slower shield progression, cannot fight in the Arena, most monsters won't come to you, still nice for early and midgame survival), Dooming and cursing, stat loss.

    Most of the negative effects can be reversed. Teleportitis is the most valid concern for prepared players: wizards especially can be frustrated by inability to read the tougher spellbooks like Wish with this intrinsic. I suggest drinking from pools after completing the arena quest, as Bart provides very nice skills to anyone giving him the golden gladius, the reward for the 20th arena fight.

    In conclusion: drinnnnnk. you know you want to.

  2. #2
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    I'd say it depends heavily on your situation.

    Early game it is very high risk. There's a decent chance that vipers/snakes could probably kill you, or you get doomed or whatever. If you don't care about your characters all that much, I guess there's little harm in it, though it is, in my experience, usually a losing proposition by a fair margin to do this. But there's the odd chance you could get lucky. As an aside, on your list of "things you need to drink semi-safely", I'd be tempted to add a waterproof blanket, or at least remember to set aside your gear that can rust or get drenched. Particularly relevant at low levels.

    Midgame, I'd say it depends a lot on what intrinsics you already have, and your race:

    Losing teleport control is the obvious worst case scenario and most players are aware of this risk (though they may try to sip anyway).

    Losing acid resist can be problematic at times. Most players probably don't bother to save an ant corpse from the PC, none of the usual items that give elemental resistance grant it (elem. gauntlets, RoTHK, etc.), and there are few other monsters in the game that give it (basically just ankhegs, unless you find another ant hill or get lucky with a giant slug). There are only a few items that give this resistance natively, and they either occupy fairly desirable slots (rings, gauntlets) or are pretty rare (BDSM). I've had characters who experimented with pools early in the game find themselves taking 500+ damage from ancient black dragons in the endgame. It's not a huge problem, but something to think about.

    Losing intrinsic fire resistance can have implications for the Tower, though admittedly finding the right corpse is considerably easier here.

    For short-lived races, pool sipping in midgame is somewhat high-risk due to aging. Potions of youth/longevity are really rare, so if you get a bad bout of aging, it's doubtful you'll have the resources to reverse it unless you've already been fairly lucky, or can alchemy some pots of longevity up.

    Considering that only really desirable intrinsics that you can get from pools that can't easily be obtained elsewhere are Paralysis Resist and Invis, unless you are desperate for a wish, I think it's probably safer just to ignore pools entirely. Admittedly, both Para and Invis are very nice intrinsics, but I'm not going to gamble a good PC on getting them.
    Hoping to win with every class, doomed. Archer, Barbarian, Bard, Beastfighter, Druid, Elementalist, Farmer, Fighter, Monk, and ULE Priest down.

  3. #3
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    Just a idea to improve your guide, which is great so far, but could you also mention the eye color fortune cookie pool message. Basically it mentions eye color being related to better luck with pools. Unfortunately it was never implemented. The fortune cookie message is still in the game though. Also maybe explaining the frog quest would be nice. Its one of a few easter eggs players have found and with corruption being affected by apperance now it actually affects pool sipping in mid late game. Trying not to be spoily but rewards for frog quest can be better then wish from a pool if you take into account odds of getting frog compared to wish. Honestly its the best optional quest for ultra players so long as your female and not a elf.

  4. #4
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    I usually stash a blink dog corpse and a spider corpse in an easily accessable shop (usually HMV and Dwarftown) and have an altar near the surface with Very Close+ relationship with my god before I start pool sipping. That way I can replenish Tele Control and Poison Res, and remove Dooming. It's super important to be able to remove Dooming, aside from the usual various horrible effects, as I believe you can't get a wish from pools once you're Doomed.

    I also have arena to at least 19 wins, if not complete, so that if I become permenantly invisible, I can get the golden gladius with only 1 potion of visibility.

  5. #5
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    Aside from wishes, paralyzation, death ray and petrification resistances are the best things from pools.
    -para leaves the amulet slot to your disposition, to use ankh there or an amulet of the eye.
    -deth opens up the armor slot since you don't need AMW anymore, that 5 PV can turn into 13 from an eternium plate mail or 10-12 from dragon scale mails
    -petr also leaves the amulet slot free, you don't have to juggle amulets whenever nasty stuff is encountered.
    Personally, as of pre23 I think invisibility is not as desirable anymore. Monsters are way too adept at finding the PC and shopkeepers will notice you almost instantly.
    Everything else is obtainable. Acid immunity is almost guaranteed if you generated the druid dungeon instead of village dungeon.
    Giant slugs spawn regularly at the bottom level.
    Another useful intrinsic is the see invisible. Eventually you either get the mino axe or cat ring both of which grant it, but until then you have to rely on rings or amw.
    AMW is the single item that makes ogre magi a non-threatening monster, but invis stalkers can be nasty.
    "Hell is empty and all the devils are here."

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by kevintrimble View Post
    Just a idea to improve your guide, which is great so far, but could you also mention the eye color fortune cookie pool message. Basically it mentions eye color being related to better luck with pools. Unfortunately it was never implemented.
    Sounds like a decent RFE.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Blasphemous View Post
    Aside from wishes, paralyzation, death ray and petrification resistances are the best things from pools.
    -para leaves the amulet slot to your disposition, to use ankh there or an amulet of the eye.
    -deth opens up the armor slot since you don't need AMW anymore, that 5 PV can turn into 13 from an eternium plate mail or 10-12 from dragon scale mails
    -petr also leaves the amulet slot free, you don't have to juggle amulets whenever nasty stuff is encountered.
    Personally, as of pre23 I think invisibility is not as desirable anymore. Monsters are way too adept at finding the PC and shopkeepers will notice you almost instantly.
    Everything else is obtainable. Acid immunity is almost guaranteed if you generated the druid dungeon instead of village dungeon.
    Giant slugs spawn regularly at the bottom level.
    Another useful intrinsic is the see invisible. Eventually you either get the mino axe or cat ring both of which grant it, but until then you have to rely on rings or amw.
    AMW is the single item that makes ogre magi a non-threatening monster, but invis stalkers can be nasty.
    "Almost guaranteed"? I've been playing this game for 10+ years and have seen maybe... 3 giant slug corpses.
    Hoping to win with every class, doomed. Archer, Barbarian, Bard, Beastfighter, Druid, Elementalist, Farmer, Fighter, Monk, and ULE Priest down.

  8. #8
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    You could easily farm giant slugs in the bottom level of the DD. It's easier to go to PC: 2 and eat an ant though.

  9. #9
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    I've seen at least three giant slug corpses this very month. With food preservation 60 or higher chances are not that bad and with slaying ammo they are actually quite good.

    Talking about pools, I have almost completely stopped drinking from them after a Vanquisher-wielding Orc Barbarian aged to death in darkforge. Maybe I'll change that when I seriously try to go for an ultra again, but for an ordinary ending it's just not worth the risk in my eyes.
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  10. #10
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    >slaying ammo

    you mean hunting ammo? also anybody know if a bow of hunting and arrows of hunting stack?

    about pools i always drink them dry in darkforge but i never played seriously anybody whose lifespan was less than 600 years either, and other stuff except aging is manageable

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