MAngband

This is a tutorial for gnomes and hobbit mages whichever you prefer.

You will get Identify at around 300-400 feet.

At the start I recommend:
- Sell teleportation scrolls and sell some food and oil so you have what you need. (you will need about 8 oil MAX, and should only need 1-3 rations since you'll be able to cast the spell at lvl 9)
- Buy a long bow and 40-60 arrows, whichever you prefer. For the rest of your cash, buy potions of CSW

Learn magic missile and take > as soon as you find them. The longer you stay on 50 to 100 feet, the bigger the chance is that you'll run into a novice warrior without enough SP to kill him, and if you die you'll only have wasted 2 minutes instead of 15.

Kill anything you find with your bow, unless it's a potential threat (novice warrior, farmer maggots dogs, novice paladin etc.). For these, use your magic missile attack, and if you got 60 arrows, you can use detect monster once you hit lvl 2 and still keep moving killing with your bow.

Detect alot as you go, and avoid getting huge clumps of orcs. Only get 1 at a time if you need to kill them (it's sooo easy to lure single monsters with detect monsters). The same goes with clumps of p's and kobolds :)

Once you hit lvl 9, you can learn your spells in book 3 and maybe 1 or 2 in book 2 in order to become instantly lvl 11 and ID your stuff.

90% of the stuff you'll want to bring with you to 1k for cash is found at 800 feet and beyond, so don't waste your time and supplies higher up. Sure you can get lucky higher, but that happens 1 time in 10 or so.

Good luck.

ZAL

Just a small comment. If your character happens to get a level feeling that is "good", "very good" or "excellent" at low level, stop and explore the whole level. Most of the time it's an useless item (out of depth armor part like metal lamellar armor, or scroll like rune of protection...), but sometimes it could prove helpful (wand of acid balls, staff of holiness...), or even godly (high mage book). Don't waste too much time on "special" levels, it's 99% of the time a jelly pit. If you detect an orc pit, spend time clearing it by luring the orcs by small groups and dispatch them with lightning bolts, it's good for xp and cash.

Domiano and Emumage are at 700' in Ironman, with a perception staff, and 2 summoning staffs. Whenever we're on, we'll be generating LOTS of loot we dont need, and people can come and take stuff.

Thats not really the spirit or the idea of ironman, but to each their own...

imo, it is the perfect spirit of ironman. To me, ironman is about skuming so hard and long on a single level so that you can survive.

back when the uniques were globally killed and respawned every so often, I would log in once a day with my Ironman mage, Kill wormy and Bullroarer again take the excellents they dropped, and log off. I was in the teen levels at 300'. I only started going deeper because I was running out of oil.

Also, rods of light are amazing start to 1K because you can see the orcs and you damage them with the light. Then you can lightning bolt them once you can see them. A fast recharge time makes it awesome. also, you can go without your lantern if you just rod of light all the hallways on a level, then scum for the spawns.

I don't think this kind of min/maxing will be required to win Ironman (if that is the goal). You need some luck with items, and the general FA, see invis etc. as you get closer to 2k feet.

Other than that, you'll get more than enough XP from 2k and beyond to be close to max as you get close to 5k feet. Or at least by 6k feet you'll be maxed out. And you'll probably have good enough items with all the artifacts.

ZAL

Hmm...Some good points. But I still think that the extra survivability you get from skuming at certain 'safe' depths is worth the time. For example, 1500' for stat pots. Any deeper, and your likely to get gravity hounds :X. And right below 2000', their are time vortexes :(. The nice thing with skuming, is that it allows you to kinda skip past certain, more dangerous depths...Although I must admit, their is some shock when you go from 1k to 1500', and you don't 1 shot every monster.

But anyway, I like your point about the winability of Ironman. I just hope that me and my mage friend zendie are 1337 enough to pull it off. I sense much logging off in the dungeon for the day in our future... Unless you think thats too dangerous.

Well. In my eyes, encountering a time vortex at lvl 25 or lvl 30 or even 35 will be bad. Might drain all your stats, which is horrible unless you happen to find enough mushrooms of restoring. My point being that you need to detect em before it goes bad.

When it comes to the gravity hounds, they aren't deadly unless you don't detect them, fight them in a bad spot or if they're summoned upon you. You can die to gravity hounds at lvl 25, 30, 35, 40 etc. Your level won't matter much. Having a high CON will however help you survive long enough to escape.

But getting great items and ESP will help alot unless you're using up all your supplies in doing so. Skumming might help with this, and if you're in a party, it might be required for everyone to stand a chance. But then again. Sometimes there's safety in numbers. Even the orcs use that :)

ZAL

One time i had a time vortex. But i was afk to get a Coffee and the Char was in a "save" corner. I saw only the Message that i killed him. Maybe my luck to be afk at that moment.^^

I had Gravity Hounds too. It was hard to get them. I lured them from different directions and had to teleport a few times. Still in a antisummon corridor i was hitten by gravity. CON was all i had to do it.

Logging out at deeper dungeon levels is a bet on your Luck. Afaik Hounds will be removed if you recall or stair down but not if you log in. But still if they are removed, that deeper you are that more and faster Summoners may wait at your Login Spot.

schroeder wrote:imo, it is the perfect spirit of ironman. To me, ironman is about skuming so hard and long on a single level so that you can survive.

Hmm.. Schroeder..
i am not shure if it is the spirit of ironman to summon to get tons of stuff. but okay however you like.
i am in reasonable doubt if it is the spirit of ironman to generate millions of gold with the enchantment/branding of nearly a whole dwarven town, filled with arrowstacks. but okay, your way to win...
but... without any doubt it isnt the spirit of any multiplayer game to hold/block a shop about hours (more than 8 actually. and you are still inside.) to get an item from it !
and you are not even at the keys to generate (exploit ?) the needed money !

suggestion: you should really think about your playstile !

I am sorry for my actions. I got carried away in the possibility of +10 speed boots. I am also sorry for being afk. That was an accident, and it cost me the boots, and you your time.