TIL: Yugalash can summon quickling queens

[gilesc]

Very promising Dwarf Paladin. Crowned with Hammerhead, which was annoying at first, but I used it to heavily smith. Found BoW in Casino, and had 80/70 DV/PV on Aggressive going into Air Temple. My weapons were nothing fantastic -- the Rolf duo, but nothing could hit me, or significantly hurt me if it did.

So I thought.

Normally, in Air Temple, I have experienced Yugalash periodically summoning groups of medium-difficulty monsters. This time, he went berserk, and summoned every turn, and one of those groups was 5 quickling queens. A very crucial mistake I made was leaving my wands on the stairs to prevent them getting destroyed, but really I didn't have any that would have helped. I had 150 DV (!!) on Coward, 7LBs, and it took me at least 4 prayers to get back to the stairs, being walloped all the way. I feel that 95% of characters would have died long before that. But this one survived, with about 100 HP, and went downstairs.

So, then I quick picked my items up (";" key), and died immediately of poison. So, either: A) quick picking takes more than one turn (I had thought it only takes one), or B) I had a LOT of poison stacks. I think (A).

[Arctic]

I think B) is correct in this case. Quickling queens aren't in the "most dangerous monsters" category for nothing. And once quicklings get enough experience they go from "nuisance" to "unstoppable".

[gilesc]

Do you happen to know if there is somewhere that it is recorded what exactly he can summon? Honestly, I would have preferred even Greater Molochs or Balors to QQs.

It doesn't seem quite right that he can summon really high-tier monsters like QQs, or (if he can) Doppleganger Kings or Emperor Liches. It turns that level into just a small random chance of certain death. The vast majority of deaths in ADOM are fair, but this one didn't feel that way. One or two of those monsters is a pain, and dangerous, but 5 instantly appearing behind you in a no-teleport zone is too much.

One possible fix would be to make it so he summons 5 monsters at a time, but all independently randomly generated. That way, you don't get 5 top-tier monsters appearing at once.

[auricbond]

Does seem rather unfair, doesn't it. I honestly never thought of the eventuality of quickling queens, so what can I say, glad it didn't happen to me. Also reminds me of someone else recounting how they ran into a threat room of quickling queens. Pretty much game over once they were alerted.

The last two times I fought the summoner I got ice wyrms and karmic wryms. The problem with the queens is their bypassing pv + ignoring armour + poison stacks limitlessly (my hard lesson learning that was with the assassin prince, I think I dropped instantly like a sack of potatoes from 200 or more hp... this was over a decade though so my memory might be sketchy).

As you pointed out, i'm not sure there was much you could have done. Sometimes you simply don't have the means to take every precaution, and it's not as if your defenses were trivial. the game threw something at you that only powerful ball spellcasters could properly defend against, and since you weren't that...

[Soirana]

Do you happen to know if there is somewhere that it is recorded what exactly he can summon?

Pretty much anything that could be generated on level at random?

I think safest way is to kill right side of outer mobs, turn invisible, open temple and get back into tunel leading to temple [preferably not straight one]. Between seeing invis and monster AI differences Summoner should follow into corridor with not so much delay. Kill him, get orb, create multiple locked doors to isolate temple.

Usually works as charm.