ToME: the Tales of Maj'Eyal

Here is a DitL, or Day in the Life, of one of my ToME characters. This thread will contain spoilers. I already dive into the source code during chapter 1.

Chapter 1: Picks and Probabilities, Burglars and Burrows





A Death sword killed Edaymar, the high-elven priestess, as I tell in The DitL of Edaymar. Now Edaymar is my previous ToME character, and my first character to play with ironman_rooms, but I might create a better character.

I start ToME 2.3.8 (ah, git). I create a new Classical Hobbit Rogue, who worships Tulkas. ToME decides to create a male hobbit named Nelim. I enable the point_based and ironman_rooms options. I allocate all 48 points.

• Strength: 10 + 5 = 15, spending 11 points
• Intelligence: 13 + 4 = 17, spending 7 points
• Wisdom: 9 + 4 = 13, spending 7 points
• Dexterity: 16 + 4 = 20, spending 7 points
• Constitution: 13 + 6 = 19, spending 16 points
• Charisma: 10, spending 0 points

The increase to constitution brings my hobbit from 13 to 15 maximum health points.



My hobbit arrives at Bree. Now Nelim the hobbit ends my long string of elven characters in ToME. I change some other game options.

• User Interface: enable rogue_like_commands
• Disturbance: disable easy_disarm
• Game-Play: enable view_torch_grids, disable plain_descriptions
• Efficiency: disable compress_savefile, enable hilite_player, view_yellow_lite, view_bright_lite, view_granite_lite, view_special_lite, center_player

----
Bree

The shopkeepers and townsfolk of Bree often trade rumours. Nelim, a local burglar, liked to sneak around town and overhear conversations. From these rumours, Nelim had gathered some small information. From veterans, Nelim gleaned the basic tactics of adventurers, from coward to berserk, from slug-like to running. From travelers, Nelim gathered the lore of distant places.

So Nelim knows that in the far east of the world, blacksmiths forge the longest sword called the katana. Nelim is a hobbit, which is a halfling, and knows that he might be too small to wield a katana. So Nelim had little concern for the katana.

Nelim also knows that, not so far east, among the forest of Mirkwood, stands a terrifying tower called Dol Goldur. 'You say Dol Gol-door, not Dol Gol-dure,' Nelim remembers an elf say. 'Rhymes with four, not fur.' The tale goes that Dol Goldur (rhymes with four, not fur) is the adobe of a Necromancer, who serves darkness, and turns monsters to evil. Nelim is no ally of evil, and would find and backstab the Necromancer, if Dol Goldur would be more near and less dangerous. The locals of Bree speak as if Dol Goldur is not too nearby, and not a threat to Bree. So Nelim has some concern for Dol Goldur, but the concern is not urgent.

Nelim takes more interest in another tale. The locals of Bree occasionally speak of a late adventurer, Edaymar, the high-elven priestess, who entered the Barrow-downs, and sought to kill monsters and take loot. The Barrow-downs are an artifact of forgotten kingdoms. The Barrow-downs were a graveyard of men, but men abandoned the place; then kobolds and yeeks and other monsters moved in, and took residence there.

The fragments of the tale, put together, say that Edaymar was nominally a priestess of Manwe Sulimo, but had almost no skill in Prayer. This priestess stepped down into the Barrow-downs, and found the monsters in their vaults, filled with traps and protected by granite walls. Edaymar, the high-elven priestess, lacked the tools to disarm traps and breach granite walls. Edaymar went between the vaults, where the kobolds and the undead surrounded the priestess, and slew her, and destroyed her corpse. The Barrow-downs are very near to Bree.

Nelim, the hobbit burglar, aspires to enter the Barrow-downs. Nelim has pondered how to approach the vaults, pass their walls and remove their traps. A few spells of magic might help.

• The school of Divination has Sense Monsters at level 1, and Sense Hidden at level 5. These spells can find the monsters and their hidden traps.
• The magic school of Conveyance provides Phase Door at level 1, and Disarm at level 3. The latter spell can remove the traps.

Nelim wants to reach level 5 of Divination, and level 3 of Conveyance, and to acquire spellbooks for Sense Monsters, Sense Hidden and Disarm. To pass the granite walls, Nelim wants a sufficient tool of digging.


----
cmd2.c

Inside the source code of ToME, do_cmd_tunnel_aux in cmd2.c controls the digging of walls and trees. This function imposes several rules.

• You must equip a digging tool in your tool slot, unless the terrain is sandwall. (Mattocks, Shovels and Picks are digging tools. Climbing Sets are not digging tools, though they go in the tool slot.)
• The terrain must not be permanent.
• Quartz and magma might contain gold, and rubble might conceal an item.
• Your digging ability must exceed a minimum value: 0 for rubble, 5 for sandwall, 10 for trees, 10 for magma, 20 for quartz, 30 for doors, 40 for granite.

The dig succeeds when your digging ability is greater than the minimum value plus some uniformly random integer from 0 to H - 1, but H is: 200 for rubble, 250 for sandwall, 400 for trees, 400 for magma, 800 for granite, 1200 for doors, 1600 for granite.

If your digging ability is below the minimum value, then: You fail to make even the slightest of progress.

If your digging ability is at least the minimum value, but below the minimum value plus 1% of M, and your repeated attempts fail, then: This will take some time.


----
xtra1.c

As xtra1.c tells, your digging ability is the weight of the digging tool in your tool slot, plus a bonus from Strength, plus twenty times the pval bonuses to digging; though the digging ability is at least 1.










----
tables.c

For Nelim, who has Strength at 15, tables.c provides that the bonus from Strength to digging ability equals 7.

Nelim might buy a Shovel (+1) or a Pick (+1) from the general store. Both items have pval of +1 to digging, so would add 20 to digging ability. The difference is the weight. The Shovel (+1) weighs 6 pounds, but the Pick (+1) weighs 15 pounds.

• Nelim with a Shovel: digging ability = 7 + 20 + 6 = 33.
• Nelim with a Pick: digging ability = 7 + 20 + 15 = 42.

Granite wall requires a minimum value of 40, and has H at 1600. Nelim has no chance with a Shovel, but must use a Pick. This will take some time. ToME would roll a uniformly random number from 40 to 1639, and Nelim would need 40 or 41 to clear the wall. This would be a 1 in 800 chance!

If Nelim with a Pick would make 800 attempts against granite wall, then he would expect 1 successful attempt. This is very slow. A Pick can work, but Nelim will desire a better way to dig.


----
Bree

This is 43rd Yavie of the 2890th year of the third age. The time is 6:00 AM. The sun has risen. Nelim, the hobbit burglar, plans his adventure to the Barrow-downs.

In his purse, Nelim has 100 gold pieces, burgled from forgotten places. In his pack, Nelim has:

• 3 Rations of Food, to postpone starvation.
• a Catapult Trap Set (+0,+0), because Nelim practices trapping.
• 5 Wooden Torches (with 1500 turns of light), to use after sunset, or in dark places.
• a Dagger (1d4) (+0,+0), for defense against the less peaceful inhabitants of Bree.
• 15 Iron Shots (1d4) (+0,+0), to load the Catapult Trap Set.
• a Parchment - Adventurer's Guide to Middle-earth.

On the back of the parchment, Nelim had scribbled a quick plan.



'OK. Go to Mayor's Office. Got it,' mutters Nelim. For truth, Nelim mutters nothing, but only pretends to speak, and no monster with ears can hear his thoughts.

A Boil-covered wretch (level 0) waits nearby. Nelim wields his Dagger, in case of trouble; then Nelim begins the short walk to the Mayor's Office.

Welcome to ToME! I am the spirit of knowledge and my task is to help you to get used to how to play. The spirit enters the mind of Nelim, like a memory, and reminds him about the parchment in his pack. The first place you can explore is Barrow-downs. Nelim remembers item 2 on his list.

Now I must reveal your task here. You are on a quest to investigate the dreadful tower of Dol Goldur in the Mirkwood forest to see what evil lurks there, but beware, you are not yet ready. Nelim remembers item 3 on his list.

The Boil-covered wretch drools on you. The drool startles Nelim from his thoughts. Nelim, the hobbit burglar, turns to face this wretch of Bree. The monster does not want to chat. Nelim turns away, and enters the Mayor's Office.


----
Mayor's Office

Inside the office, a poster describes the stores where adventurers can buy supplies. Nelim, the hobbit burglar, studies the poster, and ponders where to buy armour, weapons and spellbooks.

Meanwhile, a dwarf and a human notice the entrance of the hobbit, but continue their conversation. The dwarf wants to create an orphanage and a school for the filthy street urchins, but the human insists that Bree cannot spare any building for them. The human says, 'I assigned some occupants to all buildings, except one.' Nelim hears this, and wonders about the one exceptional building.

The dwarf disappears through secret passages, so that as Nelim turns to chat, Nelim sees only the human who has the authority to assign occupants to buildings. Nelim tries some keywords.

'Name,' says Nelim.

'Everyone calls me Uldrik, and so may you,' replies the human.

Nelim: 'Job.'

Uldrik: 'I am the mayor of Bree. Our city has many and varied stores, would you like to buy something?'

Nelim: 'Quest.'

Uldrik: 'What? You want a quest? The city of Bree has some troubles, and I need an adventurer to help.'

'I am an adventurer!' Nelim shows excitement. 'My name is Nelim, and I am a cutpurse, a type of burglar. When I am ready, I will find Mirkwood, and burgle Dol Goldur from the Necromancer.'

Uldrik, the mayor, stares at Nelim, the hobbit. Then Uldrik explains, 'You want to fight the Necromancer, without any armour? The Necromancer would kill you, and eat your meat! I offer an easier quest to lighten the troubles of my people.'

Nelim: 'So what are the troubles of your people?'

Uldrik: 'There are thieves robbing my people! They live in a small burrow outside the city walls, but they get inside the walls with a tunnel to a building here! Your task is to go into the building and kill these ruffians.'

Nelim: 'So you hate burglars, but you want me, who am a burglar, to kill a bunch of other burglars?'

'What?' Uldrik pauses. 'You would be a lovable rogue. Nelim, if that is your name, if you want to be an adventurer, then you must kill someone. Nelim, go kill the other thieves, so I may give your reward.'

Nelim exits, but Uldrik remains alone in the office.


----
Bree

I use the roguelike keyset, so I press 'x' to look around. Then I press 'o' to free the cursor.

Nelim, the hobbit burglar, examines the buildings of Bree. Most buildings have a red brick roof, but two buildings have a yellow grass roof. The large building behind Nelim contains the Mathom-house and the Mayor's Office.

To the west, Nelim sees the Book Store '9', the Magic shop '6' and the Alchemy shop '5'. To the southwest, Nelim sees the Temple '4', the Soothsayer '+', the Armoury '2' and the Weaponsmith '3'. To the south, the suspicous Black Market '7' and the mysterious Merchants Guild '+' share one building, while the General Store '1' and the Prancing Pony '+' share another building, and the Pet Shop occupies a building.

The remaining six buildings have no public purpose, and might be the homes of important residents; but one of the six buildings has a quest entrance. Nelim, the hobbit burglar, now enters this building without invitation. The building seems empty. Light comes through a window. Nelim sees a worthless empty crate, but no object of value. Nelim finds a tunnel behind the crate. Yes, this seems to be the tunnel of the burglars.

Nelim, the hobbit burglar, descends into the tunnel. Light seems to reflect from the sides of the tunnel, so Nelim proceeds without lighting a torch. The tunnel curves. Beyond the last curve, Nelim sees the source of the light: a lit room, the burrow of the burglars! The hobbits steps toward the light, with no awareness of danger. A group of humans hide at the end of the tunnel, and prepare to ambush the approaching hobbit. You feel a vicious blow on your head. The humans knock out the hobbit, and empty his pack.

----
Quest

You wake up in a prison cell. All your possessions have been stolen!



Nelim, the hobbit burglar, is a victim of burglary. Nelim has no weapons nor items, except behind his shirt, where he retains one small piece of scrap iron: his lock pick! Nelim approaches the door of his cell, and starts to play with the lock. The 152nd attempt breaks the lock and opens the door. The hallway has no monsters.

Nelim discovers that he escaped a fate. The second prison cell contains a Human Skeleton '~', perhaps long dead from starvation. The third prison cell is empty. Nelim is a lone prisoner, where they abandon prisoners to die.

The 70th attempt breaks the lock in another door. Nelim finds no prisoners in there, but sees his own inventory on the floor. Nelim, the hobbit burglar, takes back his own things, and again wields his Dagger (+0,+0).

Nelim lights one of his 5 Wooden Torches (with 1500 turns of light) as he leaves the prison, crosses south through a dark room, and turns west into a dark corridor that ends at a door. The 36th attempt picks the lock. An alarm rings! The door explodes. The alarm cancels any stealth. Nelim must fight any hostile monster who heard the alarm.

Nelim, the hobbit burglar, has one trap set, one dagger and no armour. His mind runs through old conversations about tactics. Nelim decides to use berserk/running tactics; his best chance is to try to hack and back his opponents, and hope that they are not too many or too smart. Nelim sets an Iron Shot in his Catapult Trap Set and steps back.

The Novice rogue sets off a trap! The Novice rogue is hit by a missile. The Novice rogue grunts with pain. You feel something roll below your feet. The Iron Shot rolls under Nelim. The Novice rogue (level 2) is somewhat wounded. Nelim attacks with his dagger. You cripple the Novice rogue. The Novice rogue flees in terror! Nelim attacks again. You miss the Novice rogue. The Novice rogue turns to fight! One more chance. You wound the Novice rogue. You have slain the Novice rogue. Welcome to level 2. You can increase 6 more skills.

Another Novice rogue steps to meet Nelim. You miss the Novice rogue. The Novice rogue hits you. The Novice rogue misses you. The damage drops Nelim from 15/28 to 10/28 HP. After one more turn, Nelim might be dead.

Nelim, the hobbit burglar, flees in terror! Nelim runs north, enters the room that formerly held his items, closes the door, and rests against the east wall. The Novice rogues try to chase, but are not smart enough to check this room.



Nelim rests to 28/28 HP. Then he opens the door, and steps out. The Novice rogue hits you. The Novice rogue touches you. Your purse feels lighter. 13 coins were stolen! The thief flees laughing! Another Novice rogue steps to take the place of the one who fled.



You miss the Novice rogue. The Novice rogue hits you. The Novice rogue touches you. Your purse feels lighter. 28 coins were stolen! The thief flees laughing! The Novice rogues forgot to take the coins when they tossed Nelim into prison, so they try now.

The flight of the second Novice rogue leaves no opponent, so Nelim closes the door, returns to the resting spot and recovers from 20/28 to 28/28 HP. Then Nelim opens the door, but a Novice rogue sees this happen, and steps into the doorway.



You wound the Novice rogue. The Novice rogue flees in terror! Nelim repeats the attack. You backstab the fleeing a Novice rogue! You have slain the Novice rogue. Nelim steps to take the loot. You have found 20 gold pieces worth of copper.

Nelim runs out of the room, and looks for Novice rogues in the prison area, but finds none. So Nelim runs to the south, and passes the site of the exploded door. Then Nelim sees a Bandit (level 10), and backs into the corridor. I press '.' to elapse turns so that the Bandit can approach Nelim.



You miss the Bandit. The Bandit misses you. The Bandit touches you. Your purse feels lighter. 14 coins were stolen! The thief flees laughing! The Bandit seems to teleport away, but a third Novice rogue approaches.

You cripple the Novice rogue. The Novice rogue flees in terror! Nelim repeats the attack. You backstab the fleeing a Novice rogue! You have slain the Novice rogue. Nelim steps past the corpse of the third Novice rogue to explore the room, but steps back because a fourth Novice rogue approaches.



The Novice rogue picks up a Novice rogue corpse. You demolish the Novice rogue. The Novice rogue flees in terror! Nelim chases. You backstab the fleeing a Novice rogue! You have slain the Novice rogue. Welcome to level 3. You can increase 12 more skills. Nelim takes the loot: 18 gold pieces worth of copper, a Set of Leather Gloves [1], 28 gold pieces worth of gold.

Now three more monsters approach: a Novice warrior (level 2), a fifth Novice rogue (level 2) and a Novice mage (level 2).

You wound the Novice warrior. The Novice warrior hits you. The Novice warrior hits you. Nelim '6' steps back twice from the Novice warrior 'p', trying to avoid more attacks.



The Novice warrior approaches again. You wound the Novice warrior. You have slain the Novice warrior. Then the fifth Novice rogue approaches. It was a good hit! You demolish the Novice rogue. You have slain the Novice rogue. You feel something roll beneath your feet. Then the Novice mage approaches. You demolish the Novice mage. You have slain the Novice mage. Nelim takes the loot: the Iron Shot (1d4) (+0,+0), 28 gold pieces worth of copper, 13 gold pieces worth of gold, a Smoky Potion, the Catapult Trap Set (+0,+0). Nelim rests in place. Now the area seems to be clear of monsters. Another door waits to the west.

Nelim, the hobbit burglar, tries his lock pick. The 50th attempt breaks the lock and opens the door, but two more Novice warriors appear! Nelim retreats east to the corridor.



You wound the Novice warrior. Nelim steps back to avoid an attack. It was a great hit! You demolish the Novice warrior. You have slain the Novice warrior. The other Novice warrior approaches. You cripple the Novice warrior. The Novice warrior flees in terror! Nelim repeats the attack. You miss the Novice warrior. The Novice warrior hits you. The Novice warrior hits you. Nelim repeats the attack. You miss the Novice warrior. The Novice warrior hits you. The Novice warrior hits you. Nelim has 16/35 HP.

So Nelim flees in terror. Nelim runs north, but the Bandit blocks the path! Nelim regrets that he forgot to check the north area and earlier kill the Bandit. Nelim now returns south, where the fleeing Novice warrior fails to block the path. Then Nelim hides in one of the rooms, closes the door and begins to rest against a corner; but the Novice warrior 'p' opens the door and catches Nelim '6'.



This third Novice warrior has Nelim against a corner, but the desperate hobbit burglar, with 21/35 HP, attempts one more attack. You cripple the Novice warrior! You have slain the Novice warrior. Nelim loots 28 gold pieces of copper, closes the door and completes his rest.

Nelim comes out to hunt the Bandit (level 10). After the hobbit burglar grabs 25 Iron Shots (1d4) from the corridor, the Bandit appears. Nelim tries to set his trap, but a Novice rogue corpse blocks the floor; so Nelim fights using his Dagger. You wound the Bandit. The Bandit hits you. The Bandit touches you. You quickly protect your money pouch! The thief flees laughing! So the Bandit teleports away.

Nelim runs to give chase. He runs north, but the Bandit is not there. He runs south and finds the somewhat wounded Bandit 'p'.



Nelim leads the Bandit into a pillar dance. As the Bandit approaches, Nelim hides behind a pillar. When the Bandit appears, Nelim tries to attack. You miss th Bandit. The Bandit hits you. The Bandit touches you. You quickly protect your money pouch! The thief flees laughing!

Nelim runs north, and soon meets the Bandit. You wound the Bandit. Nelim steps back. The Bandit approaches again. You miss the Bandit. The Bandit hits you. The Bandit touches you. You quickly protect your money pouch. The thief flees laughing!

Nelim runs north for another meeting. This time, Nelim sets his trap, carefully using an identified Iron Shot (1d4) (+0,+0), not an unidentified shot that might be cursed. Nelim sets the trap within view of the Bandit; yet the Bandit blunders in. The Bandit sets off a trap! The Bandit is hit by a missile. The Bandit cries out in pain. Nelim tries his Dagger. You miss the Bandit. The Bandit hits you. The Bandit touches you. Your purse feels lighter. 35 coins were stolen! The thief flees laughing! Nelim retakes his trap set and shot.

Nelim runs south for yet another meeting. Nelim sees the Bandit, and hides behind another pillar. The Bandit appears, and Nelim hacks! You wound the Bandit. You have slain the Bandit. Welcome to level 4. You can increase 18 more skills. Welcome to level 5. You can increase 24 more skills. Welcome to level 6. You can increase 30 more skills. The magic hiding the stairs is now gone. You stopped the thieves and saved Bree! Nelim takes the loot: a Small Wooden Boomerang (1d4), 35 plus 14 gold pieces worth of gold, and a Dagger (1d4).

Nelim, the hobbit burglar, stands alone in the burrow, and 10 human burglars are dead.

Without resting, Nelim explores the last room. You feel the Dagger (f) in your pack is good... You feel the Iron Shots (h) in your pack are good... Nelim finds an up staircase, which becomes the tunnel and returns the hobbit to Bree.

----
Bree

This is 43rd Yavie of the 2890th year of the third age. The time is 8:10 AM. It is early morning. Nelim, the hobbit burglar, exits the building. He turns off his torch, and returns his tactics to normal/normal. Then he walks into the Mayor's Office, where he finds Uldrik the mayor, along with the dwarf.

Nelim: 'The quest is done. Bree has 10 fewer burglars. I left their corpses in their burrow, but I kept some of their wounds.' Nelim, now at 39/62 HP, bears some visible bruises, but the blood drips not.

Uldrik: 'Thank you for killing the band of thieves! You can use the hideout as your house as a reward. Just let me send someone to seal that tunnel.'

The dwarf: 'But I wanted that building for the filthy street urchins!'

Uldrik: 'There are too many filthy street urchins; they would never fit inside; and we have no one to manage them, unless you want to hire some idiots to drool on them.'

So the building that formerly gave access to Bree for ten human burglars, now becomes the home of one hobbit burglar. Nelim steps out the Mayor's Office and beholds Bree. There he ponders how to trade his loot from the quest, for some equipment to begin his adventure in the Barrow-downs. Nelim needs to decide what to sell, what to buy and where to spend the 30 skill points.





Post your suggestions so that I may guard the life of Nelim.

(Edit to post: Fix typo in title.)

Chapter 2: Scummer of Mushrooms



Flashback five years ago, to the 2885th year of the third age. Imagine a building, standing alone in a field of brown corn, between the trees and the grass. Look inside the building, and see the mill, a which is wooden machine of many gears and planks. Witness the hobbits who operate the mill by hand, pushing the levers and turning the cranks as the mill grinds brown corn into brown powder, a primary ingredient of Food Rations.

Observe the one hobbit named Nelim. You are the only child of a Hobbit Miller. You are a credit to the family. You have blue eyes, straight blond hair, and an average complexion. Watch as Nelim takes his break, away from pushing the levers and turning the cranks. Look outside as Nelim exits the building of the mill. Gaze west as Nelim disappears into the forest to collect berries.

Now gaze north, and wait. See a group of kobolds and yeeks, approaching under the light of the sun. Watch as the kobold and yeeks surround the building of the mill.

A kobold asks, 'Why have we torches, if we travel at day, and not at night?'

A yeek answers, 'Because torches have a second purpose.' The yeek lights his torch, and touches the flame to the building. The other kobolds and yeeks then follow and torch the building. The first yeek orders, 'Now enter this flaming building, and take all brown corn and brown powder!'

The evil raiders obey and enter the flaming building. There is a fight between the evil raiders and the hobbits. The ambush seems successful. The hobbits die. The raiders prevail. Then the building begins to collapse. The fire kills many of the raiders and ignites the greater part of the brown corn and brown powder. A few of the raiders do escape, with a small amount of loot, and do retreat to the north.

But the hobbit Nelim, carrying a small load of berries, observes the fire from the distance and sees the withdrawl of the kobolds and the yeeks. Then Nelim approaches the ruins, and sees a pile of ash. The mill is no more. The corpses are no more. Nelim becomes a hobbit without a home, and without a family.

Memory knows little of the next five years. The god Tulkas enters the mind of Nelim, and suggests a fight against evil. Since the raiders burned the mill, Nelim is no ally of evil. Nelim eventually appears inside the city walls of Bree. Nelim takes the life of a rogue, sneaking around Bree and overhearing information. At 43rd Yavie of the 2890th of the third age, Nelim becomes an adventurer and completes his first quest, by killing a band of thieves.


----
ToME Skills Screen

I read the skill levels and skill multipliers from the ToME Skills Screen. With my interactive Ruby prompt (irb) as a calculator, I can count the number of skill points to raise a skill to the maximum level 50.000.



For example, Nelim has Combat at level 01.000 with multiplier 0.700. I would need 70 skill points to raise Combat to level 50.000. This is with no skill points to any other skills that provide a bonus to Combat.

The following table lists each skill of Nelim; the rightmost column counts the number of skill points to maximise each skill.



An adventurer can gain 49 character levels (from 1 to 50) with 6 skill points per level. These 294 potential skill points will not raise every skill to level 50.000.

Nelim might never assign points to some skills.

• Critical-hits would improve the chance of critical hits from a light weapon; but Nelim can instead get Divine Aim from Tulkas.
• Sneakiness would improve Perception and Searching; but Nelim can instead get Reveal Ways from Divination, or else a Rod of Detection.
• Disarming has a risk to blunder into traps; but Nelim can instead get Disarm from Conveyance, or else a Staff or Rod of Disarming.
• Stealing seems useful; but monsters in ToME never use their items, and Nelim can instead kill monsters or buy items from shops.
• Dodging is useless, because Nelim wants to wear full armour.
• Monster-lore is probably useless without a good source of pets.

Nelim might want to maximise Stealth, Backstab, Magic-Device and Spirituality; and also assign points to Sword-mastery, Sling-mastery, Conveyance, Divination, Temporal and Prayer.



But if Nelim would use 168 skill points to maximise the four skills, then he would have only 126 skill points to increase the six skills.


----
Bree

This is 43rd Yavie of the 2890th year of the third age. The time is 8:11 AM. It is early morning. Nelim, the hobbit burglar, now has character level 6, with 30 free skill points. Nelim wants to visit the shops, sell part of the loot from his first quest, and check the available spellbooks.

First visit is to the Temple of Ludwig the Humble(Dwarf). Nelim sells a Smoky Potion to Ludwig. Taken! The shopkeeper whispers something into your ear: Ever tried inscribing your armor {erodeproof}? You sold a Smoky Potion of Slow Poison for 15 gold. The shopkeeper laughs loudly.

As Nelim leaves the Temple, he meets another hobbit, Farmer Maggot. 'My mushrooms, my mushrooms! The rain, a dark horrible rain, began so I had to return to my home. But when I came back my dogs were all mad and didn't let me near the field. Could you please bring me back all the mushrooms that have grown in my field to the west of Bree? Please try not to harm my dogs. They are so lovely...' As Nelim walks to the next shop, Farmer Maggot yells, 'You still have 9 mushrooms to bring back!'

The next shop is the Weaponsmith of Anrdal Beast-Slayer(Half-Elf). Among the loot, Nelim has 25 Iron Shots (1d4) {good}. The cheap way to identify an ammo stack is to sell one item, so Nelim offers to sell only 1 of these 25 shots. Accepted! You sold an Iron Shot (1d4) (+1,+4) for 1 gold. I think I'll retire! You have 24 Iron Shots (1d4) (+1,+4). Arndal would pay 96 gold for the other 24 shots, but Nelim keeps them, because they fit in his Catapult Trap Set.

Nelim also has a Dagger (1d4) {good}. Nelim keeps the good Dagger, but sells his old Dagger (1d4) (+0,+0) to Arndal. Taken! The shopkeeper whispers somethign into your ear: If you start seeing red monsters, you have probably gained infravision. You sold a Dagger (1d4) (+0,+0) for 8 gold.

A Singing, happy drunk and a Blubbering idiot chase Nelim around a building and become lost.

Then Nelim enters some other shops to check prices.

• The Armoury of Darg-Low the Grim(Human) has many types of armor, at prices from 4 gold to 680 gold. Nelim will want to buy some.
• The Alchemy shop of Ja-Far the Alchemist(Elf) stocks 20 Scrolls of Phase Door at 19 gold each.
• The Magic shop of Ariel the Sorceress(Half-Elf) stocks 5 Potions of Cure Light Wounds at 16 gold each. The other stuff is too expensive: 2 Wands of Manathrust[1|15] (30 charges) {25% off} at 188 gold each, or 2 Wands of Dig[1|1] (34 charges) at 414 gold each.
• The Book Store of Odnar the Sage(High-Elf) has 2 Books of Beginner Cantrips at 128 gold each, and a Fireproof Spellbook of Disarm at 1158 gold. The Beginner Cantrips include Phase Door, Sense Monsters and Sense Hidden. Nelim would want both books, but the Disarm book is too expensive.
• The General Store of Bilbo the Friendly(Hobbit) has oil, lanterns, cloaks and picks, but each Pick costs 110 gold.
• Ludwig the Humble(Dwarf) has 27 Potions of Cure Serious Wounds at 52 gold each, but these are too expensive.

Nelim ought to buy at least a Book of Beginner Cantrips and a Pick, but those two items together cost 238 gold, while Nelim has only 218 gold. The sale of the remaining loot might help. Nelim delays the sale.

Nelim steps past a sleeping Battle-scarred veteran, then continues west out of Bree to survey the field of Farmer Maggot.


----
Wilderness

You hear frenzied barking. Nelim approaches the field, and sees three of the dogs. They are awake; stealth is useless. Nelim switches to coward/running tactics. Nelim, the hobbit burglar, tries to run around the dogs, the guardians of the mushrooms, but the dogs are fast. Nelim intends not to attack the dog, and wields no dagger.

The first dog reaches Nelim and starts to attack. Fang, Farmer Maggot's dog bites you. Nelim continues to run. Grip and Wolf join Fang and bid to skill Nelim, the mushroom burglar. The dogs occasionally step away, but always remain near Nelim.

Nelim enters the field of Farmer Maggot, grabs three mushrooms and tries to endure the attacks; but as he grabs the fourth mushroom, the dogs make five bites. Nelim has 8/62 HP, and no escape from death, except one. I press '<', and Nelim enters the overview map.



The dogs suddenly lose track of Nelim. They see not the hobbit, they smell not the hobbit, they find not the hobbit. This hobbit trick works only in the wilderness.

But the hobbit rests and recovers his HP. At 9:15 AM, Nelim reappears from hiding (as I press '>') and pops in the mushroom field. The dogs immediately resume their attack. Nelim grabs 3 more mushrooms, then returns to hiding.

Several minutes later, Nelim reappears and grabs 5 more mushrooms. A group of 8 Jackals join the three dogs in the hunt, but Nelim returns to hiding. Thus I exploit the overview map both to rest, and to generate more mushrooms in the field.

• At 9:38 AM, Nelim reappears. The Jackals have left, but the three dogs continue to defend their mushrooms. Nelim grabs 6 more mushrooms, then returns to hiding.
• At 9:51 AM, Nelim reappears, grabs 4 more mushrooms, then returns to hiding.
• At 9:59 AM, Nelim reappears, grabs 2 more mushrooms, wields his good Dagger to make room in his pack for the second mushroom, then returns to hiding.
• At 10:05 AM, Nelim reappears, grabs 3 more mushrooms, then returns to hiding.
• At 10:21 AM, Nelim reappears, grabs 2 more mushrooms, then returns to hiding.
• At 10:33 AM, Nelim reappears, grabs another mushroom, then returns to hiding.

Thus hiding, Nelim and 31 mushrooms use the overview map to enter Bree.


----
Bree

At 10:57 AM, Nelim, the mushroom burglar, passes 9 of the mushrooms. Now Farmer Maggot rewards Nelim with 20 other mushrooms and a sling. Your pack overflows! Both the 20 Mushrooms of Cure Serious Wounds {100% off} and the Sling of Farmer Maggot (x2) (+20,+0) (+2) {100% off} land on the floor.

Nelim, the successful hobbit, wields a Set of Leather Gloves [1] to make room for the 20 Mushrooms. Then Nelim wields the new Sling. Meanwhile, a Boil-covered wretch drools on Nelim. The drool reminds Nelim to switch from coward/running tactics to normal/normal tactics in town!

Nelim sells the remaining 21 mushrooms at the General Store of Bilbo the Friendly(Hobbit). Nelim learns, from Bilbo, the identities of 15 varieties of mushrooms. Bilbo discards most of the mushrooms, because they are worthless; but this leaves enough room in the shop such that Bilbo can offer the 5 better varieties to other shoppers. His five offers are thus.

• 2 Violet Mushrooms of Unhealth, 55 gold each
• 2 White Mushrooms of Disease, 55 gold each
• a Grey Mushroom of Cure Poison, 66 gold
• a Light Blue Mushroom of Cure Paranoia, 27 gold
• a Red Mushroom of Restore Constitution, 385 gold

(A Mushroom of Unhealth can reduce constitution by one point. A Mushroom of Disease can reduce strength by one point and cause damage. I fail to understand why someone would pay 55 gold for such a shroom!)

Nelim still has a Small Wooden Boomerang (1d4) from the loot from the burrow of thieves. Nelim now sells the boomerang; Arndal Beast-Slayer(Half-Elf) pays 8 gold and identifies the ordinary Small Wooden Boomerang (1d4) (+0,+0).

Nelim now has 336 gold in the purse.


----
Shopping in Bree

Nelim visits the Book Store.

• 3 Fireproof Books of Beginner Cantrips, at 257 gold each
• 4 Books of Beginner Cantrips, at 128 gold each

A fireproof book would be too expensive, so Nelim pays 128 gold for the cheaper book. The book has six spells, but Nelim might use Phase Door, Sense Monsters and Sense Hidden. Nelim may not yet try the spells, because the hobbit has not yet any skill in Conveyance nor Divination.



Nelim has 30 free skill points. I now spend 12 of these points to enable these three spells.



(12 points in Conveyance and Divination provide 1.2 bonus points to Magic, thus raising Neli from 8/8 to 8/11 SP.)



The spells can fail, but Nelim can repeat them until they work. Nelim can use Phase Door and Sense Hidden at level 1, without needing more skill points to Conveyance nor Divination. The remaining 18 skill points instead go to Sword-mastery, Stealth, Backstab. (This provides bonuses to Combat, Weaponmastery, Sword-mastery.)




----
Interact with Macros

I now want F8 to Sense Hidden and F12 to Sense Monsters. I now record macros.

In the roguelike keyset, 'S' starts to record a macro. I record these two macros. Then I press '@' and use the 'Interact with Macros' screen to query my two macros.

• F8 is m?@Cast\sa\sspell\r@Sense\sHidden\rS
• F12 is m@Cast\sa\sspell\r@Sense\sMonsters\rS

Now comes the hard part. I must remove the extra 'S' that the stupid recorder always appends to my macro. I also want to remove the unnecessary '?' from the F8 macro. So I 'Append macros to a file', then open Nelim.prf in a text editor. The file is very long, but I find my macros at the bottom.



I make my changes.



Then I save the file, and order ToME to load it.


----
Shopping in Bree

So spells and macros are ready. Nelim can now continue to shop.

Nelim returns to the General Store (where he previously sold the mushrooms) and pays 110 gold for a Pick (+1). Then he pays 3 gold for a Cloak [1,+0].

The Armoury has a Robe of Resistance [2,+11] {25% off} at 6600 gold. This is a lucky find, and Nelim would like to buy this! Nelim has only 95 gold, so the robe stays on the shelf. Instead, Nelim buys a Soft Studded Leather [5,+0] at 47 gold, a Hard Leather Cap [2,+0] at 16 gold and a Pair of Hard Leather Boots [3,+0] at 16 gold.

Nelim equips himself. This hobbit is almost ready to enter the Barrow-downs!





Nelim has 16 gold in the purse. He will take his entire inventory into the Barrow-downs. The Adventurer's Guide would stay at home, but some Aimless-looking merchant sleeps in front of the door, so Nelim cannot enter his own home! The hobbit will take his Adventurer's Guide into the Barrow-downs.



However, one does not dispatch an eager hobbit into a dungeon without a meal! Thus at 11:21 AM, Nelim walks into the Prancing Pony, which is the local inn.

Nelim brings out a single gold piece and makes an order. 'One lunch special, please!'

The barkeep gives you some gruel and a beer. 'You look like you came from the Armoury', says Barliman Butterbur(Human).

Nelim raises his own voice. 'Yes, I wear this new armor because now, after this fine meal, I will adventure to the Barrow-downs!'

The dining room becomes silent. Then one man breaks, 'With no lantern?' The room laughs.

Nelim, the hobbit burglar, has only torches, no lantern. He has only shrooms to cure wounds, not scrolls to escape. He can detect traps, but not disarm them. You are full!

Nelim leaves the inn, crosses the city walls and approaches his destination. There is a way to the Barrow-downs.

Was this a good way to do the mushroom quest? Am I cheating by using the overview mode to hide from Farmer Maggot's dogs? Post your response.

There are other ways to do the mushroom quest, but this is the easiest for a low-level character. I don't consider it cheating- and it's not as if the reward was very useful. The main reason I do the quest most of the time is so that I don't have to identify mushrooms in the dungeon.

The tactic is pretty munchkinish if you are playing an alchemist, but then everything is pretty munchkinish if you are playing an alchemist.

Yep, it's definitely cheating, specifically because I hadn't thought of it first, and ended up paying through the nose for a spellbook of stun monster.

Nice writing, by the way. Informative, too - I had no idea that a digger's weight had so much effect on it's performance. Does the weight of weaponry hold the same importance, or is this accounted for by their damage dice, etc?

I will follow Nelim's fledgling career with interest...

In most Angband variants, your dig speed is determined by your currently-wielded weapon's weight, your strength, and any bonus to digging. Shovels and picks are only especially useful for digging because they have bonuses to digging; otherwise they're just normal weapons. I assume the same logic applies in ToME except it's the weight of the equipped digger, not the equipped weapon, that is used.

I played no other variant except Zangband 2.6.2, where Seluviel the Elf Warrior has my most success. Seluviel kept a Flamberge (3d7) (+1,+0) {@w2} and a Shovel (1d2) (+0,+0) (+1) {@w2}. I would sometimes forget to switch weapons, such that Seluviel would dig with her Flamberge, though the Shovel is the faster tool.

The digging seems to be more difficult in ToME than in Zangband.

Seluviel had Strength 19. Nelim has Strength 15. Seluviel was able to dig slowly with her Flamberge, a heavy sword. Nelim will struggle with his Pick, an actual digging tool. My expectation for Nelim, of 800 turns per square of granite wall, seems to have the correct magnitude. At the beginning of chapter 3, Nelim will use hundreds of turns to dig only one square.



I found in src/cmd1.c that the weight of a weapon helps critical hits. A heavier melee weapon, or a heavier ammo, can increase the frequency and severity of critical hits. A higher skill (Weaponmastery, Archery or Boulder-throwing) and a higher to-hit bonus (as from Rings of Accuracy) can also help critical hits. I want Nelim to ignore all of this, and use Divine Aim from Tulkas for critical hits.



I read spoilers, and I know how the reward lacks utility. Many of my early characters wielded bows and quaffed Potions of Cure Critical Wounds. Years ago, one of my characters decided to grab the mushrooms, but sell them in Bree and never give them to Farmer Maggot. I learned to scum the field, to identify and sell the mushrooms, or to find and eat a mushroom to restore my lost stat. All of these characters became invisible to get the mushrooms. Nelim is my first character to hide in the overview map to get the mushrooms.

Nelim is different, because ironman_rooms increases the difficulty of the dungeon. During chapter 3, both the Mushrooms of Cure Serious Wounds and the Sling of Farmer Maggot will save Nelim from danger in Barrow-downs 1.

I will later post chapter 3.

Chapter 3: Burglar in the Barrow-downs



This narrative is about Nelim, who is a hobbit, and a burglar.

In chapter 1, Nelim received a quest from the Mayor of Bree. Nelim found a tunnel and killed a bunch of other burglars, and the Mayor rewarded Nelim with a house.

In chapter 2, Farmer Maggot asked Nelim to retrieve 9 mushrooms. Nelim took 31 mushrooms from the field of Farmer Maggot, gave 9 to the farmer, and sold the other 22 to use the profit to equip himself for an adventure in the Barrow-downs.

This is chapter 3. Our hobbit burglar Nelim enters the Barrow-downs. We hope that Nelim survives, because the death of Nelim would end this narrative. (Unless you think that this account of Nelim is overly long, verbose and boring. I needed 4 days to write chapter 2. Those 4 days included many hours of staring at the computer, reading spoilers, deciding what skills to increase and what items to buy. If you want this mass of text to end, then you hope that Nelim WILL DIE SOON.)


----
Barrow-downs 1, attempt 1

You enter a maze of down staircases. You go into a way to the Barrow-downs. You have a superb feeling about the level. The time is 11:36 AM, 43rd Yavie.

This place is very dark. Nelim, the hobbit burglar, grabs some light. Your light source is a Wooden Torch (with 745 turns of light) (m).



Nelim has some light, but sees nothing to burgle. The path seems to continue north, so if Nelim goes there, then he might find something, but first, Nelim detects traps and monsters.



No traps. Monsters are a Giant white mouse (level 1), four Novice mages (level 6), a Silver Jelly (level 3) and a Radiation eye (level 3).



To the north, still no traps, but more monsters, but nothing worse than two Hill orcs (level 8). They all seem to live behind this long granite wall. The Giant white mouse 'r' must be awake, and sensing and chasing Nelim.



The long granite wall ends. The corridor continues between rock and trees, and ends at a second granite wall. An extra corridor branches west toward Barrow-downs 2.

Nelim grabs his Pick, and moves to breach the long granite wall.



If Giant white mice can breed and multiply, then they might be numerous when Nelim opens the breach. (The spell to Sense Monsters lasts for only one turn, so Nelim will not sense them multiply when he digs.)

In chapter 1, I spoiled that Nelim would need about 800 turns to breach a granite wall. Now, his torch has less than 800 turns of light. Hundreds of turns pass, then: Your light is growing faint. So Nelim combines his lit torch with a spare torch. The combined torch starts with 1604 turns of light. Nelim continues the dig.

The wall opens when the torch has 1577 turns of light. Then a large group of Giant white mice start a fight with Nelim. One stab from the Dagger {good} kills each mouse.

Nelim very easily kills 19 mice. That seems to be the end of the group.



Nelim reads 'Sense Monsters' in his Book of Beginner Cantrips. He knows that there are four more mice. Nelim sneaks into the large, dark room to kill them. The mice continue to multiply, but Nelim kills all of them.

Nelim finds that the dark room has an inner wall, and that he is between the inner and outer walls. In the east, Nelim encounters a Black harpy and a Snotling. They are beyond the light of his torch, but the hobbit can see them through infravision. A few shots from the sling (which Nelim received from Farmer Maggot) kill both. Nelim discovers a door, where both probably came out.



Nelim closes the door, but more monsters open the door and come out. The stealth of Nelim has failed, and many monsters attack.



The monsters threaten to surround Nelim. When Nelim has 23/70 HP, a Snotling Archer 'o' threatens to trap Nelim '3' against a Kobold 'k'.



This is why carry healing items. Nelim now eats 1 of his 20 Mushrooms of Cure Serious Wounds {100% off}. You feel better. The Kobold attacks instead of moving, so Nelim steps south past the Kobold. Nelim has 35/70 HP.

The Novice mindcrafter creates a mesmerizing illusion. You are confused! Nelim, the hobbit burglar, has no cure for confusion! While confused, Nelim risks stepping in the wrong direction.



Nelim decides to stay in place. Nelim changes his tactics from normal/normal to coward/normal. The hobbit eats a second mushroom. You feel much better. The Kobold hits you. The hobbit eats a third mushroom. You feel much better. The Kobold hits you. The Novice mindcrafter casts a spell, burning your eyes! You resist the effects! The hobbit now has 61/70 HP, but remains in confusion.

Melee attacks are too dangerous during confusion; the hobbit might step in the wrong direction. Ranged attacks are possible (though some shots will fly in the wrong direction). The coward/normal tactics have a ranged to-hit penalty, but the Sling of Farmer Maggot has a very large to-hit bonus, so coward/normal Nelim might hit his opponents.

Four shots travel in the wrong direction, but the fifth shot hits and kills the Kobold between Nelim and the Novice mindcrafter. Then the hobbit eats a fourth mushroom. You feel much better. You have gorged yourself! You are no longer gorged. The Novice mindcrafter hits you.

Nelim tries to shoot the Novice mindcrafter. Seven consecutive shots go the wrong way. You feel less confused now. The eighth shot almost kills the Novice mindcrafter, but the ninth shot kills it.



Nelim has 32/70 HP, and probably must not eat any more mushrooms. The hobbit is full and almost gorged; there might be no room for another meal. Because the monsters seem to be awake, Nelim decides to forget stealth and run away. The hobbit change from coward/normal to coward/running tactics.

The cowardly hobbit runs away. The queue of monsters tries to chase. The lead monster is a Novice warrior 'p' (level 2), but the second monster is a Wolf 'C' (level 10). The Wolf moves quickly, but fortunately cannot pass the Novice warrior. Behind the Wolf, Nelim sees a Wild cat 'f' (level 2), a Snotling Archer 'o' (level 5) and a Snotling 'o' (level 4).

Nelim runs south. Nelim turns the corner, and runs west. Nelim turns another corner, and runs north.



While running north, Nelim discovers a previously unknown pair of open doors, but no monsters are there. Nelim reaches and passes the gap (earlier opened by his own Pick) and runs south, between the rock and the outer wall.



The cowardly hobbit reaches the way out. There is a path leading to the previous area here. Nelim now rests, and ponders whether to leave the Barrow-downs or continue the fight.

Where are the monsters? Nelim casts Sense Monsters.



Many of them are awake, and trying to reach Nelim. They are too stupid to go north and walk through the gap, so they gather on the other side of the wall. The most dangerous monsters might be two Wolves (level 10) and a Kobold Captain (level 7).

Nelim decides to continue the battle! The hobbit changes tactics from coward/running to normal/running. Nelim goes through the gap, and sees the monsters as they come north. Nelim shoots them with the Sling of Farmer Maggot, and many monsters die. Nelim uses all of the Iron Shots (1d4) (+1,+4), and switches to the Iron Shots (1d4) (+0,+0). Nelim uses all of those, so his quiver is empty.

Then the hobbit burglar steps forward, reclaims 2 Iron Shots (1d4) (+0,+0) and uses one shot to set his Catapult Trap Set. The hobbit steps back, and prepares to melee the remaining monsters. A Wolf, already injured by the Sling of Farmer Maggot, now triggers the trap. Then the trap fires its shot at a Wolf, but misses. Nelim backstabs and kills the Wolf.

The Novice paladin points at you and curses. Nelim has 50/77 HP. Nelim runs back into the gap, trying to use the corner as a shield against the Novice paladin. A Snotling Shaman (level 6) approaches to fight.



Nelim kills the Snotling shaman, then tries to fight the Novice paladin, but The Novice paladin hits you. You have been given a graze. Nelim flees in terror. The graze soon heals, but the Novice paladin chases Nelim. The Novice paladin points at you and curses. You resist the effects!

Nelim reaches the edge of Barrow-downs 1 (where is the path to Bree) and begins his last attempt to defeat the Novice paladin. Nelim will either win, or will flee the level (and leave his ammo and his trap set). If Nelim will flee, then his only loot will be a Clotted Red Potion. Nelim, hoping for more loot, wields the last Iron Shot (+0,+0) and waits for the Novice paladin to come closer.

A Novice paladin is a warrior for good. So why does this Novice paladin ally with the evil kobolds and snotlings, and attack Nelim? Paladins are the servants of Tulkas, who would not like this fight between this Novice paladin and this hobbit burglar; but the fight has begun and will not end with peace.

When the Novice paladin is two squares away, the Sling of Farmer Maggot fires the lone shot; then the shot strikes the Novice paladin, who steps back. Nelim only waits as the Novice paladin resumes its approach. The two combatants become adjacent, and Nelim hits first with the Dagger {good}. You wound the Novice paladin. The Novice paladin flees in terror! After one backstab, the Novice paladin is dead. Loot falls around Nelim, who grabs the loot, rests, and casts Sense Monsters.



The monsters seem to be less numerous. The Wolves are dead, but the Kobold Captain 'k' (level 7) lives, and another Novice paladin 'p' (level 4) is among the group.

Nelim moves north, gathers some more loot and positions himself in the gap. Nelim easily kills a Novice paladin and a Novice priest and collects more loot.

Standing near the western doors, Nelim can detect many more monsters. They seem unable to reach Nelim, perhaps some unknown walls block their way?



Nelim drops from normal/running to normal/normal tactics, hoping to renew his stealth. Nelim closes the western doors; but a Snotling Rogue opens the doors and comes out to fight. A few shots from the sling (because Nelim has recovered more shots) kill the Snotling Rogue. Nelim closes the doors again, but another Snotling opens them. Nelim shoots and kills the Snotling, and finally closes the doors.

Nelim goes around the north, and approaches the eastern doors from the north.



Here Nelim shoots a Snotling Archer, and melees a Wolf (level 10), but Wolf dies after only two hits from the Dagger {good}. As Nelim grabs loot, many monsters come into view.



These are two Novice paladins 'p' (level 4), four Snotlings 'o' (level 4), a Floating Eye 'e' (level 1) and a Radiation eye 'e' (level 3). Together, they make a coward from Nelim (who has 68/87 HP). So Nelim switches from normal/normal to cowardly/running tactics, and tries to flee north.

You miss it. The Novice paladin tries to cast a spell, but fails. An invisible monster must block the way to the north.



So Nelim runs south. You leave a trap detected zone. The detection never found any traps on this level, and Nelim has no time to cast Detect Hidden here. The area outside the zone is short. You enter a trap detected zone. Now a Kobold blocks the way to the south.



Nelim can see that the monster is a Kobold (level 2), so Nelim sets tactics to berserker/running, and forces the Kobold to die. There is a delay as Nelim twice misses the Kobold (despite the melee to-hit bonus from berserker tactics), before Nelim hits and kills the Kobold. Nelim successfully steps between some other monsters, takes some hits, returns to coward/running tactics, and continues south.

Nelim runs south, and turns the corner west, and turns the corner north. A Snotling Shaman steps through the western doors, but Nelim passes it. Then Nelim passes the gap, and returns south to the resting place at the level. There Nelim rests from 41/87 to 87/87 HP. So rested, Nelim casts Sense Monsters.



Nelim detects ten monsters here, but knows that more monsters wait elsewhere, and that an invisible monster is among them.

Nelim switches to normal/running tactics and approaches the gap. Nelim fights another Novice mindcrafter. The hobbit starts in a good position, but the Novice mindcrafter flees in terror. The hobbit chases, but the Novice mindcrafter puts Nelim into confusion. Nelim waits a few turns, until You feel less confused now. Nelim steps behind the gap. The Novice mindcrafter flees the battle, but Nelim kills a few other monsters, then turns south to rest. The Novice mindcrafter reappears, but Nelim shoots it, so it dies.

Nelim goes south, rests, returns north, takes loot and encounters another Snotling (level 4). Because the Snotling stuns Nelim, which harms his ability to use the Dagger, so Nelim defeats the Snotling by shooting it at immediate range.

Nelim approaches the western doors, and casts Sense Monsters to predict the encounters. Nelim walks inside, and sees the monsters carrying lights.



These are three Snotlings (level 4), a Novice warrior (level 2), a Novice paladin (level 4), a Coppherhead snake 'J' (level 5), a Red jelly 'j' (level 7), a Spotted mushroom patch ',' (level 3), a Radiation eye 'e' (level 3), a Green ooze 'j' (level 3), a Giant white rat 'r' (level 4), a Giant yellow centipede 'c' (level 2).

Nelim runs out, and plans to fight the monsters in the corridor before the western doors. The opponents of Nelim approach, one by one, but fall to his shots or his dagger. The Copperhead snake poisons Nelim, but the snake soon dies, and the poison is negligible. A group of Silver mice come forward, so they must be breeding. Nelim advances inside the western doors to try to kill the Silver mice more quickly. A Novice warrior forces Nelim to retreat. Nelim kills a few more monsters, but runs away from a Hill orc (level 8).

After resting, Nelim melees the Hill orc. The hobbit and the orc trade blows for many turns, but Nelim defeats the orc. Nelim rests again, and combines two of his torches. The battle with the Hill orc gives time to the mice to multiply.

Nelim advances, and slays many mice and rats, and also a few other monsters, including a Boil-covered wretch 't' (level 0) that had collected much of the loot. Nelim hacks and backs the next Hill orc, so the battle is not so difficult.

The Silver mice seem to be contained, but they continue to breed. Most of the challenging monsters seem to have already died, so Nelim fights through the mice and the other remaining critters with almost no trouble. The Silver mice are easy to kill, and almost no threat to the HP of Nelim. Meanwhile, a Blue worm mass begins to multiply. Nelim, the hobbit burglar, worries when the spell of Sense Monsters finds increasing numbers of worm masses.

The worm masses move erratically. The room is dark, and the worm masses are too cold for infravision, so Nelim cannot see the worm masses when they move beyond the range of his lantern. Nelim can detect worm masses with Sense Monsters, but this spell becomes impossible when a distant Radiation eye drains too much mana from Nelim. Then Nelim steps away and rests, but the mice use the time to breed.

The breeding mice and worm masses become mad, and start to fight themselves, or other monsters. (The relevant messages never appear during gameplay, but the message log accumulates several instances of You hear noise. and It dies.) Nelim closes several doors to restrict the movement of the breeders.

A Giant slug uses acid against Nelim. Thus his Set of Leather Gloves and his Pair of Hard Leather Boots both take damage. Nelim explores and gathers loot until the hobbit takes too much damage from a Large kobold. Nelim kills the Large kobold, but runs away from a group of Snotlings. Now the Snotlings open many doors and also fight against the mad Silver mice. Nelim opens and closes some doors, and rests.

Nelim notices that a Cord Armour [6] (8.0 lb) is better than his Soft Studded Leather [5,+0]. Nelim unequips his Soft Studded Leather, and wears the Cord Armour. Nelim drops the Soft Studded Leather on the floor, near other junk.

Exploration shows that the area inside the inner wall is a vault, filled with many items and monsters.



The Snotlings or other monsters seem to have killed all the Silver Mice, but the Blue worm masses remain. Nelim struggles to fit the loot in his pack. The hobbit drops his Parchment - Adventurer's Guide to Middle-earth. (If he wants to read that parchment again, then I will need to access ToME Help and manually browse to 'book-20.txt'.)

You feel the Cord Armour (n) you are wearing on your body is good... Nelim is so lucky that it is not cursed. The late pseudo-identification surprises the hobbit, who believed that the Cord Armour would be only average.

Nelim also drops his 3 Food Rations and unequips and drops his Hard Leather Cap [2,+0]; he instead wears a Hard Leather Cap [2] {good} from the loot. He otherwise continues to explore the vault and to defeat monsters.

Nelim bumps into the invisible monster again.You miss it. The hobbit casts Sense Monsters, but fails to detect the invisible monster. Nelim loses the invisible monster but continues to slay visible monsters. Meanwhile he combines two of his torches.

The Blue worm masses breed out of control in the large central room. Their attacks lower the Strength of Nelim from 15 to 13 (though this might be the side effect of freezing some potion). Nelim remains able to fight through the worm masses and explore the central room.

Welcome to level 12. You can increase 36 more skills. The voice of Tulkas booms in your head: 'I have a task for thee. Centuries ago an ancient relic of mine was broken apart. The pieces of it have been lost in fallen temples. Thou art to find my lost temple and retrieve a piece of the relic. When thy task is done, thou art to lift it in the air and call upon my name. I shall then come to reclaim what is mine! The temple lies very close to Bree, and a long way to the north-west of Minas Anor, I can feel it.'

Nelim finally kills that invisible monster by accident: You demolish it. You have killed it.

Nelim finds a Brass Lantern (with 5202 turns of light), and drops his torches.

A Giant slug damages the Cord Armour [6] {good} with acid.

Nelim guesses the location of some hidden doors, and breaks through with his Pick. (Hidden doors are easier to break than granite walls.)

Nelim discards his damaged Pair of Hard Leather Boots [3,-1], and instead wears a Pair of Hard Leather Boots [3] from the loot.

When the Blue Worms freeze and burst a Crimson Blue Potion, then: The Blue worm mass looks healthier. <6x> So the Crimson Blue Potions must be healthy.

Today it is the 44th Yavie of the 2890th year of the third age.


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Test Victims

Nelim is an overly successful hobbit burglar.

There is too much loot. A major problem is the desire to take every unidentified potion, scroll, wand, staff and mushroom to Bree for sale and identification. Nelim has placed the better loot in the northern rooms of the vault.



Scrolls and mushrooms are now in the pack of Nelim.

The hobbit decides to reduce the amount of loot by testing some items. Scrolls are too dangerous to test; a Scroll of Teleportation might carry Nelim to a dangerous place. Nelim can throw potions at monsters, and also test wands and staves against monsters. All those Blue worm masses who yet live can be the test victims!

The Brass Lantern helps each test, as Nelim can see some victims who are two squares away.

• Nelim already knows that a Crimson Blue Potion seems to cause Blue worm masses to look healthier, when they froze and bursted the potion.
• Nelim throws one of 4 Silver Speckled Potions at a Blue worm mass. The Silver Speckled Potion hits the Blue worm mass. The Blue worm mass grunts with pain. Negligible damage, no special effect.
• Nelim throws an Icky Green Potion at the same Blue worm mass. The potion misses, but shatters with no special effect.
• Nelim throws one of 2 Clotted Red Potions at the same Blue worm mass. The potion misses the worm, but shatters. The Blue worm mass looks healthier. The Blue worm mass looks healthier.
• Nelim throws a Yellow Speckled Potion. The potion hits the Blue worm mass, and almost kills it, but then shatters with no special effect.
• Nelim throws a Purple Potion at an unhurt Blue worm mass. It was a good hit! The Blue worm mass criesout in pain. The potion shatters with no special effect.
• Throws a Clear Potion. Misses Blue worm mass, shatters, no special effect. The liquid might be ordinary water.
• Throws one of 2 Magenta Potions. Misses, shatters, no special effect.
• Throws a Dark Green Potion. Hits with negligible damage, shatters, no special effect.
• Throws a Dark Red Potion. Hits with negligible damage, shatters, no special effect.
• Zaps a Titanium Wand. The Blue worm mass looks confused. The wand is a a Titanium Wand of Confuse[1|20].
• Zaps a Molybdenum Wand. The magic bolt ignores the Blue worm mass and hits a door in that direction. The door turns into mud! (There is no light there, but the light of the magic bolt reveals the transformation of the door into mud.) The wand is a Molybdenum Wand of Dig[1|1].
• Zaps a Nickel Wand. Several monsters cry out in pain, or cry feebly. The wand is a Nickel Wand of Noxious Cloud[1|25]. Over the next few turns, the Blue worm masses and Nelim all take damage from the lingering cloud.
• Zaps an Aluminium-Plated Wand. The Blue worm mass looks healthier. The wand is [b]an Aluminum-Plated Wand of Heal Monster[1|20].
• Zaps a Gnarled Staff. Nothing happens; the staff is a Gnarled Staff {tried}.
• Zaps a Willow Staff. You sense the presence of monsters! The staff is a Willow Staff of Sense Monsters[1|15].
• Zaps a Cypress Staff. You are surrounded by a white light. Six Blue worm masses take damage from the light. The staff is a Cypress Staff of Globe of Light[1|10]. Light fills the central room, and through a gap reaches the surrounding corridor, so those places now remain permanently lit, but the light stops at the closed doors, and all rooms beyond those doors remain dark.

The test identifies all of the wands and all but one of the staffs, but reveals almost no knowledge about the potions. Nelim only knows that Crmison Blue Potions and Clotted Red Potions seem to be healthy; while Silver Speckled Potions, Icky Green Potions, Yellow Speckled Potions, Purple Potions, Clear Potions, Magenta Potions, Dark Green Potions and Dark Red Potions have unknown effects.

Nelim decides to taste the remaining potions, and also the mushrooms.

• Nelim knows many of the mushrooms; the only unidentified ones are 2 Dark Green Mushrooms. Nelim now eats one. You are poisoned! The shroom is a Dark Green Mushroom of Poison. The potion drops Nelim from 121/121 HP to 114/121 HP when You are no longer poisoned.
• Nelim drinks a Clotted Red Potion. No effect; a Clotted Red Potion {tried}.
• Nelim drinks a Magenta Potion. The potion makes you vomit! You are getting faint from hunger! You are paralyzed! This awful potion is a Potion of Salt Water. Nelim, the hobbit, hurries to the square with the Food Rations. You faint from the lack of food. You are paralyzed! You can move again. Nelim takes damage, down to 91/121 HP. Nelim reaches the Food Rations and eats one. That tastes good. You are no longer hungry. You see a Ration of Food.
• Nelim drinks a Silver Speckled Potion. No effect; a Silver Speckled Potion {tried}.

To save space in the pack, Nelim wears a Pewter Amulet and a Bronze Ring and a Jade Ring; these three items luckily have no curse. (Nelim can wear cursed equipment, and go to Bree to buy removal of curses; the worse that might happen is random teleportation, unless Nelim is very unlucky.) Nelim dumps some objects, stuffs his pack with scrolls, walks through the gap, and leaves the vault.

Barrow-downs 1 has at least one other vault; but this hobbit burglar has enough loot from the first vault, and runs out of the level, carrying his loot to Bree.




----
Bree

This is 44th Yavie of the 2890th year of the third age. The time is 1:19 AM. It is deep night. Nelim, the hobbit burglar, switches from normal/running to normal/normal tactics. The hobbit wants to use his stealth to avoid waking the townsfolk.

The sun is down, but shops always remain open at night. Nelim enters the Alchemy shop of Ja-Far the Alchemist, and sells all of the scrolls that he stole from the first vault of Barrow-downs 1. Ja-Far, identifying the scrolls, finds that some scrolls are worthless, but is very happy with some scrolls.

Nelim then enters the Magic shop of Ariel the Sorceress, where Nelim sells all of the rings and the amulet from the vault. You sold a Wedding Ring of Weakness (-2) {cursed} for 40 gold. You moron! Nelim is happy to get 40 gold, and to avoid need to purchase a Scroll of Remove Curse. The same happens with an Indestructible Rhodonite Ring of Teleporation {cursed}. Ariel refuses to buy the other Rhodonite Ring. Ariel complains about a Bronze Ring of Nothing, but likes a Jade Ring of Levitation and jumps for joy with an Indestructible Pewter Amulet of Adornment. Nelim also sells the first of 4 Gold Rod Tips for 80 gold, but sells the remaining 3 Gold Rod Tips of Trap Location for 89 gold each.

Nelim has six {good} items and two wands (with unknown number of charges). The hobbit needs to buy 8 Scrolls of Identify. The purse of Nelim now has 1320 gold pieces. Nelim pays 544 gold pieces to Ja-Far, and receives the scrolls. (These appear in the inventory as '8 Scrolls of Identify'; the game fails to update the label to read '8 Scrolls titled "rogite ion an" of Identify', though Nelim knows the label after buying the scrolls.) Nelim uses the scrolls.

• Attacking monsters with: a Dagger (1d4) (+4,+5) (a).
• Wearing on your body: a Cord Armour [6,+1] (n).
• Wearing on your head: a Hard Leather Cap [2,+5] (s).
• In your pack: a Nickel Wand of Noxious Cloud[1|25] (7 charges) (d).
• In your pack: a Molybdenum Wand of Dig[1|1] (19 charges) (e).
• In your pack: a Fumes Trap Set [+4] (g).
• In your pack: a Sling (x2) (+1,+3) (h).
• In your pack: a Small Wooden Boomerang (1d4) (+3,+6) (i).

The AC (being Armor Class) of Nelim does not change; but the displayed AC number does increase because the AC bonuses of the Cord Armour and the Hard Leather Cap are now known, not hidden.

Nelim sells the sling and the boomerang to the Weaponsmith. Nelim now has 1700 gold in the purse.

• Nelim buys and quaffs a Potion of Restore Strength. You feel less weak. Strength returns from 13 to 15.
• Nelim also buys a Spellbook of Divine Aim (from the Temple '4'). Nelim fails to buy a Spellbook of Reveal Ways (from the Magic shop '6') at 2019 gold. Nelim forgets to buy a Spellbook of Magelock (from the Book Store '9') at 257 gold.
• Nelim buys every teleport scroll and CCW potion: these are 3 Scrolls of Teleportation and 3 Potions of Cure Critical Wounds. Nelim also buys 2 Scrolls of Word of Recall and 2 Scrolls of Satisfy Hunger.
• Nelim buys 3 Flasks of oil and 14 Iron Shots (1d4) (+0,+0).

This leaves 2 gold in the purse. Nelim visits the Prancing Pony, and drops 1 gold for some gruel and a beer.

Nelim tells the barkeeper, 'With a lantern!' But the hobbit burglar refuses to tell the tale of how Nelim found the lantern in the Barrow-downs.

What is the best way to identify the loot in a vault? Nelim threw potions at monsters, tried wands and staves, and carried scrolls to sell in Bree. Has the hobbit wasted the potions? Have the scrolls wasted the inventory slots?

If you have a little cash to spare, you can buy potions and scrolls from the shops in town and sell them back. These are now ID'd. That means that most of the stuff you find at low levels is bad. I wouldn't bother carrying any of these back unless you have room. The riffraff in town drop some of the bad ones, so always sell these unID'd to a shopkeeper.

Some vaults have squares that guarantee great items. You need to learn where these are and always identify these items- usually armor and weapons. Other armor and weapons should be destroyed to make sure that they aren't artifacts.

I don't bother with mushrooms. Almost all of them are bad, and the good ones aren't very useful. If you farmed the Maggot quest carefully the only mushroom left will be Restoring, which is the only one I would ever keep.

Rings and amulets can be very useful and are light. They are worth carrying.

Wands and staffs can usually be tested without too much danger. The only one that is likely to be lethal is a staff of Summoning, so make sure that you can get away if you are surrounded.