DitL of Nelim, hobbit burglar, ironman_rooms (spoily)
Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 1:09 am
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
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.
My hobbit arrives at Bree. Now Nelim the hobbit ends my long string of elven characters in ToME. I change some other game options.
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.
----
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.
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.
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:
'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 1: Picks and Probabilities, Burglars and Burrows
'Mordekai is a lovable rogue. Not a thief.' --Irregular Webcomic!, the Fantasy Cast
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.'(Hobbits) also are very good at searching, disarming, perception and stealth; so they make excellent rogues, but prefer to be called burglars.' --ToME Help, r_hobbit.txt
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
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[ToME 2.3.8 (ah, git) Character Sheet]
Name : Nelim Age 25 STR: 15
Sex : Male Height 36 INT: 17
Race : Hobbit Weight 60 WIS: 13
Class : Rogue Social Class 52 DEX: 20
Body : Player CON: 19
God : Tulkas CHR: 10
+ To Melee Hit 3 Level 1 Hit Points 15/ 15
+ To Melee Damage 0 Experience 0 Spell Points 5/ 5
+ To Ranged Hit 3 Max Exp 0 Sanity 10/ 10
+ To Ranged Damage 0 Exp to Adv. 13 Piety 100
AC 0+2 Gold 100 Speed Normal
- 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.
----
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.
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.
Code: Select all
/* Base skill -- digging */
p_ptr->skill_dig = 0;
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/* Boost digging skill by tool weight */
if (o_ptr->k_idx && (o_ptr->tval == TV_DIGGING))
{
p_ptr->skill_dig += (o_ptr->weight / 10);
}
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/* Affect Skill -- digging (STR) */
p_ptr->skill_dig += adj_str_dig[p_ptr->stat_ind[A_STR]];
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/* Affect digging (factor of 20) */
if (f1 & (TR1_TUNNEL)) p_ptr->skill_dig += (pval * 20);
----
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.
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.
Code: Select all
|-------------------------|
| TO DO LIST: |
| |
| 1. Go to Mayor's Office|
| 2. Try Barrow-downs. |
| 3. Kill Necromancer. |
|-------------------------|
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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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'.
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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'.
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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.
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[Character Inventory]
a) 3 Rations of Food
b) a Smoky Potion
c) a Catapult Trap Set (+0,+0)
d) 4 Wooden Torches (with 1500 turns of light)
e) a Wooden Torch (with 745 turns of light)
f) a Set of Leather Gloves [1]
g) a Dagger (1d4) {good}
h) 15 Iron Shots (1d4) (+0,+0)
i) 25 Iron Shots (1d4) {good}
j) a Small Wooden Boomerang (1d4)
k) a Parchment - Adventurer's Guide to Middle-earth
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Skills (points left: 30)
- Combat 01.000 [0.700]
- Weaponmastery 00.000 [0.700]
- Sword-mastery 01.000 [0.300]
. Critical-hits 01.000 [0.500]
- Archery 02.000 [0.000]
. Sling-mastery 00.000 [0.300]
- Sneakiness 02.200 [2.000]
. Stealth 06.000 [1.500]
. Disarming 02.500 [2.000]
. Backstab 01.000 [1.000]
. Stealing 01.000 [2.000]
. Dodging 01.000 [2.000]
- Magic 01.000 [0.700]
. Magic-Device 02.800 [1.550]
. Conveyance 00.000 [0.500]
. Divination 00.000 [0.500]
. Temporal 00.000 [0.500]
- Spirituality 10.000 [0.700]
. Prayer 00.000 [0.500]
. Monster-lore 00.000 [0.500]
(Edit to post: Fix typo in title.)