View source for Thrak, Hill Orc Fighter

{{diary}}

==Session One==

My backstory is not important. I sought the Orb of Zot because I was alone and had nothing else to do. No other reason why.

Like a thousand adventurers before me, I fought various assorted vermin on my way down; my first notable struggle was against a pack of jackals. They could potentially have surrounded me, picking me into little pieces from every side, but they had chargged from a narrow corridor; I had relatively little trouble in dispatching them. I felt myself grow in might as the last one fell, then began to rest and treat my wounds, slaying one or two little weaklings who interrupted me. The strongest thing I found on that level was an ooze, and it was no trouble for me with my new strength; I felt another tangible wave of power before clearing the floor of foes, and picked up a pile of rocks, thinking to pelt enemies with them as they closed in on me.

Taking the stairs down, I again found nothing significant, save a golden helmet. It was utterly pedestrian except for its colour. I went upstairs and sought another way down, for I felt sure that going deeper would be too dangerous... and about then I got hungry. In the next part of the second floor down, I met a kobold who pelted me with rocks... and I slew him with ease, as is to be expected. Walking carefully down the corridor, I eventually came upon a room containing quite a group of foes... all weak but one, a large and poisonous serpent of a kind I had fled on my way to the dungeon. Now, though, I felt ready to fight, so I fought. With its bite it cowardly poisoned me, but I slew it all the same, and felt a third rush of power as its dying body hit the floor. The poison soon cleared, and I feasted on its flesh to sate my hunger, since I knew its meat would never sicken me. Not like raw jackal or hobgoblin. A weak human, and certainly a halfling, would probably have had to bring fire to cook the bodies, but like a true orc I could tolerate meat that would turn a man's stomach. This branch of the floor ended prematurely, too, so I went back up and sought the third and final way down. A goblin slung rocks at me rather than fight like a hero, but really, the only dangerous thing I found on the whole floor was a sickness that gnawed at my thoughts before clearing up. Like a hangover, without the drunken party the day before.

Finally, on the third floor down, I found a party of cave orcs, vile cowardly traitors. The two grunts I slew easily, but though the wizard was also quick to die, he put up a good fight, teleporting next to me and bypassing my guard with a glowing dagger. I chose not to take the weapon; a true orc used an axe or a club, everyone knew that. I felt power again from the wizard's death; then I rested and healed myself, then travelled a little forward, only to find more of the cave scum, another grunt and another wizard. Again the grunt fell easily, but this wizard was stronger than his brother - even, dare I say it, a worthy opponent, one on one. Nonetheless, I won the fight, and ate his dead body to settle my stomach.

I found a silver wand, and tested it on a bat; out came a little flame, which fried the vermin instantly. I decided to keep it handy, lest I meet one of the ice beasts of legend. Walking around, my mind suddenly felt clearer, and I realised I had fully recovered from my earlier sickness; I pressed on, paying it no mind. I found a shining helmet of dwarvish make, and respecting the greatest smiths ever to live, I put it on; true to form, the shine stood for magic that enhanced it, magic I could feel as it touched my head.

I noticed I had picked up many scrolls with bizarre labels, some of which were the same. I chose the most numerous scroll and read one; suddenly, I knew of the presence, or lack thereof, of curses on my items, including a little necklace. Putting it on, I realised I had just donned one of Trog's trinkets, an amulet of rage.

The next thing I knew, I was being assaulted by Ijyb the goblin, blasting me with a wand of frost while a kobold pelted me with poison darts. It was open space, I could think of no way out but running; lucky for me, the first potion I drank was one of speed, and I soon escaped down the nearest stairs. I spent a moment healing there, then decided to go up again; Ijyb was weak compared to orcish wizards, of whom I had slain two, and if I could lure him down into a tight corridor I'd have the advantage. Alas, Ijyb again hurt me to cowardice with his wand of frost, though I shot back with my own wand of flame; I hid down the stairs again, and when I came up - bless the stars - he was stood there next to me, ready for a beating. I evoked my amulet and destroyed, gaining raw power again as Ijyb hit the dust. I was tired and hungry when I came out of the rage, but it was worth it, it had probably saved my life. Probably.

Walking around the new floor, I found a pair of boots, and it suddenly occured to me that I'd been walking barefoot all this time. Times were tough on the surface, but had I really not been able to afford boots, when I had come here wearing fairly good scale mail and an expensive metal shield? I put the boots on; if nothing else, they would soften a blow or two.

==Session Two==

I saw, and picked up, a bow, then began reading through the scrolls; I feared it might be cursed, and that I would starve with a blunt weapon welded to my hand. One scroll confirmed that it was not, in fact, cursed; another sent me a long way indeed. However, I hadn't even tried to use it before I realised that it wasn't practical; with my shield on my arm, I could not fire quickly, and without my shield on my arm I was that much weaker. I held onto it nonetheless; perhaps one day I might be so skilled as to fire without removing a thing.

Exploring the level in more depth, I found a temple of many gods, some mutually opposed, some allied to one another. Three altars I did not even consider, for I knew myself to be no magician; a further three I passed by, for only fools fight the so-called good fight; and I ignored the altars of Xom and Nemelex Xobeh, not trusting my life to a mad god and a deck of cards. That left the Death-God Yredelemnul, Makhleb the Destroyer, Trog the Wrathful, and the Warmaster Okawaru. The first two I again discounted, for I had no desire to sell my soul to evil, and Trog... I had an amulet that gave his gift of rage, I didn't need a god to do the same. Okawaru it was. I knelt before the altar and joined his faith. I also found a suit of banded mail, made by orcs like myself, so I donned it for even more protection as the Warmaster blessed my warfare.

At last, I saw an ogre, and knew terror in my heart for the first time... well, the first time since the war, but still. Such a creature, though slow and clumsy, easily had the strength to kill me, I felt sure of that. But I was no feeble novice, hiding behind the strong to stake my claim; more to the point, my only hope of escape - should it come to that - was a scroll, not a corridor. I drew dead Ijyb's wand of frost and began... only to find it was empty, devoid of power, and I had wasted time as the beast approached. Deciding not to risk my other wand, and trusting to my amulet instead, I began pelting the ogre with little rocks, and was surprised to find they actually lightly wounded such a brute. As it bore down on me, I grabbed my amulet, and let the red mist consume me...

When I was sane again, the ogre was dead, too mangled even to eat, much less sacrifice. I walked along its path, picking up stones and recovering from exhaustion, then just paused for breath; no enemies were near, and better not to fight while tired. There was little else of note on the floor, so I descended.

The first thing I saw was a centaur; again, a foe worth fearing, for their speed and the accuracy of their arrows. Worse, his arrows turned into flame, and my rocks were not even approaching a match for them. I turned again to the red mist, and found I'd made short work of it; perhaps I had underestimated myself, but certainly as it died I grew once again in might. Again the corpse was destroyed; I took the arrows, and the magical bow, in case I had use for them myself. I also ate the flesh of my own species - a dangerous mistake, which struck me with sickness once again - before finding a smoking crossbow, clearly an ancient trinket from the early days of the war. I read a scroll to detect curses, and - of course - it was cursed, but an artefact is an artefact; I read the scrolls, seeking a way to learn more of the new weapon. My first guess was correct, but what I found did not please me; it would save me from electricity, protect my body, and shield my life force, but I'd also become clumsy and hunger far more quickly than before. Given the slow firing rate of such a weapon, I doubted it was even worth keeping with me, much less as a primary ranged weapon; nonetheless, I felt sure I would one day need to be protected from draining, so I kept the crossbow of Shroaboa beside me.

Finally, I ran into one of the priests of the cave-orcs, the slaves of Beogh. Beogh, the Brigand. Beogh, the False. Beogh, the Betrayer, who had helped his chosen people to turn on us in the war. Anger filled my heart, and grew as I saw he came with another orc priest and a cowardly wizard, yet I retreated... a little; if the priests could see me, they could call down their vile god's power to smite me. I considered berserking again, but found no need for it; prayers were no match for my axe. The hounds helped to wear me down, though, and when it came to the wizard, his enchantment of lethargy was nearly the end of me; I called on the amulet again and ran back down the corridor after slaying him. I took a meal from one of my dead cave-dwelling cousins, then quietly slunk away from the feared Prince Ribbit... not that I couldn't handle him at all, but I was not at full strength. Bravery does not mean a lack of common sense, whatever damn paladins might tell you.

Ironically, the prince matched me when I finally did engage him, teleporting away after just one blow. I took a moment to take the hammer that evil priest had held, lest a hydra engage me, then resumed the hunt for the frog prince. He teleported away, and I know not why, for he was actually a rather deadly opponent, a match for me if I was willing to fight him fairly. But he didn't have the amulet. I did. In berserk rage I took his life, and as I did, I grew another level in might.

The next possible challenge was an ice beast, a living creature made of magic and cold. A perfect test for any charges left in my wand of flame. It served me well, badly melting the beast in melee, then taking its life as it tried to flee. That wasn't so bad, but I blinked as I saw a shimmering figure floating just above the ground, a horror story told to children - Garag, ogre warrior, in life a toy of Xom. Sure, he was dead and I was not, but I knew not what had ended him. I fled, a decision that could have ended me; he lost me, but I ran into an ogre and a mighty scorpion, enemies I'd have feared but for my new strength. Too hungry to use the amulet, I fought for my life, and I won. But as I explored, I ran into the ghost again, and ran in fear, taking another staircase down; I soon found myself at full strength, but caught between an ogre and an imp. Trusting to luck, I drank a potion, and it healed many of my wounds; this, and the imp teleporting suddenly behind his friend, turned the fight in my favour. I ate the ogre's body and took the stairs down, since I had finished exploring this level.

Downstairs, I fought vermin immediately, as well as an ogre, still a foe I ought to fear; a lucky blow from its club nearly slew me. A lucky blow, mind, but I ought not to have taken the chance. Other interesting enemies included two giant frogs, one after the other, and a kobold with a coward's blowgun; he died before he could poison me too badly, but he ought not to have been spared even that long. I found a ring, and used a scroll to identify it; seeing it as a ring of dexterity I donned it, and suddenly felt more precise in my movements. I especially relished the chase against a giant ant, too weak to truly harm me without being vermin, and I growled again as I cut open a cave orc's throwing net - a reasonably practical weapon, and not as cowardly as poison, but no fun to be trapped in. I went down the stairs when I was done exploring; I wasn't here to murder all things.

On the next floor, I encountered many more of my evil kin, and for the first time invoked Okawaru's might against a Beogh priest. I slew a wizard without using any tricks, and took a large war axe for my own. It was unbalanced, poorly made, but nothing my skill with an axe could not compensate for. ''((-1, +0 weapon))'' I slew an ogre with it, and suddenly felt compelled to practice with my hammer; I soon got the hang of it, but it would never surpass the axe in my heart. My next brush with death was against a scorpion, whose sting brought a truly nightmarish dose of poison to my veins; I trusted again to potions, and sure enough, the drink I had most of was a blessed healing fluid that purged the venom from me.

The floor below, I entered combat with a cave orc warrior, a path I could respect even in a kindred I despised; he was deadly with his blade, and a quasit's curse was afflicting me, so I resorted to the amulet again. When I woke, he was dead, so I took his axe; it was not only better balanced than my last one, but sharper. ''((+0, +1 as opposed to -1, +0)).

==Session Three==

Diary of Thrak, the Hill Orc Fighter

----

My backstory is not important. I sought the Orb of Zot because I was alone and had nothing else to do. No other reason why.

Like a thousand adventurers before me, I fought various assorted vermin on my way down; my first notable struggle was against a pack of jackals. They could potentially have surrounded me, picking me into little pieces from every side, but they had chargged from a narrow corridor; I had relatively little trouble in dispatching them. I felt myself grow in might as the last one fell, then began to rest and treat my wounds, slaying one or two little weaklings who interrupted me. The strongest thing I found on that level was an ooze, and it was no trouble for me with my new strength; I felt another tangible wave of power before clearing the floor of foes, and picked up a pile of rocks, thinking to pelt enemies with them as they closed in on me.

Taking the stairs down, I again found nothing significant, save a golden helmet. It was utterly pedestrian except for its colour. I went upstairs and sought another way down, for I felt sure that going deeper would be too dangerous... and about then I got hungry. In the next part of the second floor down, I met a kobold who pelted me with rocks... and I slew him with ease, as is to be expected. Walking carefully down the corridor, I eventually came upon a room containing quite a group of foes... all weak but one, a large and poisonous serpent of a kind I had fled on my way to the dungeon. Now, though, I felt ready to fight, so I fought. With its bite it cowardly poisoned me, but I slew it all the same, and felt a third rush of power as its dying body hit the floor. The poison soon cleared, and I feasted on its flesh to sate my hunger, since I knew its meat would never sicken me. Not like raw jackal or hobgoblin. A weak human, and certainly a halfling, would probably have had to bring fire to cook the bodies, but like a true orc I could tolerate meat that would turn a man's stomach. This branch of the floor ended prematurely, too, so I went back up and sought the third and final way down. A goblin slung rocks at me rather than fight like a hero, but really, the only dangerous thing I found on the whole floor was a sickness that gnawed at my thoughts before clearing up. Like a hangover, without the drunken party the day before.

Finally, on the third floor down, I found a party of cave orcs, vile cowardly traitors. The two grunts I slew easily, but though the wizard was also quick to die, he put up a good fight, teleporting next to me and bypassing my guard with a glowing dagger. I chose not to take the weapon; a true orc used an axe or a club, everyone knew that. I felt power again from the wizard's death; then I rested and healed myself, then travelled a little forward, only to find more of the cave scum, another grunt and another wizard. Again the grunt fell easily, but this wizard was stronger than his brother - even, dare I say it, a worthy opponent, one on one. Nonetheless, I won the fight, and ate his dead body to settle my stomach.

I found a silver wand, and tested it on a bat; out came a little flame, which fried the vermin instantly. I decided to keep it handy, lest I meet one of the ice beasts of legend. Walking around, my mind suddenly felt clearer, and I realised I had fully recovered from my earlier sickness; I pressed on, paying it no mind. I found a shining helmet of dwarvish make, and respecting the greatest smiths ever to live, I put it on; true to form, the shine stood for magic that enhanced it, magic I could feel as it touched my head.

I noticed I had picked up many scrolls with bizarre labels, some of which were the same. I chose the most numerous scroll and read one; suddenly, I knew of the presence, or lack thereof, of curses on my items, including a little necklace. Putting it on, I realised I had just donned one of Trog's trinkets, an amulet of rage.

The next thing I knew, I was being assaulted by Ijyb the goblin, blasting me with a wand of frost while a kobold pelted me with poison darts. It was open space, I could think of no way out but running; lucky for me, the first potion I drank was one of speed, and I soon escaped down the nearest stairs. I spent a moment healing there, then decided to go up again; Ijyb was weak compared to orcish wizards, of whom I had slain two, and if I could lure him down into a tight corridor I'd have the advantage. Alas, Ijyb again hurt me to cowardice with his wand of frost, though I shot back with my own wand of flame; I hid down the stairs again, and when I came up - bless the stars - he was stood there next to me, ready for a beating. I evoked my amulet and destroyed, gaining raw power again as Ijyb hit the dust. I was tired and hungry when I came out of the rage, but it was worth it, it had probably saved my life. Probably.

Walking around the new floor, I found a pair of boots, and it suddenly occured to me that I'd been walking barefoot all this time. Times were tough on the surface, but had I really not been able to afford boots, when I had come here wearing fairly good scale mail and an expensive metal shield? I put the boots on; if nothing else, they would soften a blow or two.

(Second session)

I saw, and picked up, a bow, then began reading through the scrolls; I feared it might be cursed, and that I would starve with a blunt weapon welded to my hand. One scroll confirmed that it was not, in fact, cursed; another sent me a long way indeed. However, I hadn't even tried to use it before I realised that it wasn't practical; with my shield on my arm, I could not fire quickly, and without my shield on my arm I was that much weaker. I held onto it nonetheless; perhaps one day I might be so skilled as to fire without removing a thing.

Exploring the level in more depth, I found a temple of many gods, some mutually opposed, some allied to one another. Three altars I did not even consider, for I knew myself to be no magician; a further three I passed by, for only fools fight the so-called good fight; and I ignored the altars of Xom and Nemelex Xobeh, not trusting my life to a mad god and a deck of cards. That left the Death-God Yredelemnul, Makhleb the Destroyer, Trog the Wrathful, and the Warmaster Okawaru. The first two I again discounted, for I had no desire to sell my soul to evil, and Trog... I had an amulet that gave his gift of rage, I didn't need a god to do the same. Okawaru it was. I knelt before the altar and joined his faith. I also found a suit of banded mail, made by orcs like myself, so I donned it for even more protection as the Warmaster blessed my warfare.

At last, I saw an ogre, and knew terror in my heart for the first time... well, the first time since the war, but still. Such a creature, though slow and clumsy, easily had the strength to kill me, I felt sure of that. But I was no feeble novice, hiding behind the strong to stake my claim; more to the point, my only hope of escape - should it come to that - was a scroll, not a corridor. I drew dead Ijyb's wand of frost and began... only to find it was empty, devoid of power, and I had wasted time as the beast approached. Deciding not to risk my other wand, and trusting to my amulet instead, I began pelting the ogre with little rocks, and was surprised to find they actually lightly wounded such a brute. As it bore down on me, I grabbed my amulet, and let the red mist consume me...

When I was sane again, the ogre was dead, too mangled even to eat, much less sacrifice. I walked along its path, picking up stones and recovering from exhaustion, then just paused for breath; no enemies were near, and better not to fight while tired. There was little else of note on the floor, so I descended.

The first thing I saw was a centaur; again, a foe worth fearing, for their speed and the accuracy of their arrows. Worse, his arrows turned into flame, and my rocks were not even approaching a match for them. I turned again to the red mist, and found I'd made short work of it; perhaps I had underestimated myself, but certainly as it died I grew once again in might. Again the corpse was destroyed; I took the arrows, and the magical bow, in case I had use for them myself. I also ate the flesh of my own species - a dangerous mistake, which struck me with sickness once again - before finding a smoking crossbow, clearly an ancient trinket from the early days of the war. I read a scroll to detect curses, and - of course - it was cursed, but an artefact is an artefact; I read the scrolls, seeking a way to learn more of the new weapon. My first guess was correct, but what I found did not please me; it would save me from electricity, protect my body, and shield my life force, but I'd also become clumsy and hunger far more quickly than before. Given the slow firing rate of such a weapon, I doubted it was even worth keeping with me, much less as a primary ranged weapon; nonetheless, I felt sure I would one day need to be protected from draining, so I kept the crossbow of Shroaboa beside me.

Finally, I ran into one of the priests of the cave-orcs, the slaves of Beogh. Beogh, the Brigand. Beogh, the False. Beogh, the Betrayer, who had helped his chosen people to turn on us in the war. Anger filled my heart, and grew as I saw he came with another orc priest and a cowardly wizard, yet I retreated... a little; if the priests could see me, they could call down their vile god's power to smite me. I considered berserking again, but found no need for it; prayers were no match for my axe. The hounds helped to wear me down, though, and when it came to the wizard, his enchantment of lethargy was nearly the end of me; I called on the amulet again and ran back down the corridor after slaying him. I took a meal from one of my dead cave-dwelling cousins, then quietly slunk away from the feared Prince Ribbit... not that I couldn't handle him at all, but I was not at full strength. Bravery does not mean a lack of common sense, whatever damn paladins might tell you.

Ironically, the prince matched me when I finally did engage him, teleporting away after just one blow. I took a moment to take the hammer that evil priest had held, lest a hydra engage me, then resumed the hunt for the frog prince. He teleported away, and I know not why, for he was actually a rather deadly opponent, a match for me if I was willing to fight him fairly. But he didn't have the amulet. I did. In berserk rage I took his life, and as I did, I grew another level in might.

The next possible challenge was an ice beast, a living creature made of magic and cold. A perfect test for any charges left in my wand of flame. It served me well, badly melting the beast in melee, then taking its life as it tried to flee. That wasn't so bad, but I blinked as I saw a shimmering figure floating just above the ground, a horror story told to children - Garag, ogre warrior, in life a toy of Xom. Sure, he was dead and I was not, but I knew not what had ended him. I fled, a decision that could have ended me; he lost me, but I ran into an ogre and a mighty scorpion, enemies I'd have feared but for my new strength. Too hungry to use the amulet, I fought for my life, and I won. But as I explored, I ran into the ghost again, and ran in fear, taking another staircase down; I soon found myself at full strength, but caught between an ogre and an imp. Trusting to luck, I drank a potion, and it healed many of my wounds; this, and the imp teleporting suddenly behind his friend, turned the fight in my favour. I ate the ogre's body and took the stairs down, since I had finished exploring this level.

Downstairs, I fought vermin immediately, as well as an ogre, still a foe I ought to fear; a lucky blow from its club nearly slew me. A lucky blow, mind, but I ought not to have taken the chance. Other interesting enemies included two giant frogs, one after the other, and a kobold with a coward's blowgun; he died before he could poison me too badly, but he ought not to have been spared even that long. I found a ring, and used a scroll to identify it; seeing it as a ring of dexterity I donned it, and suddenly felt more precise in my movements. I especially relished the chase against a giant ant, too weak to truly harm me without being vermin, and I growled again as I cut open a cave orc's throwing net - a reasonably practical weapon, and not as cowardly as poison, but no fun to be trapped in. I went down the stairs when I was done exploring; I wasn't here to murder all things.

On the next floor, I encountered many more of my evil kin, and for the first time invoked Okawaru's might against a Beogh priest. I slew a wizard without using any tricks, and took a large war axe for my own. It was unbalanced, poorly made, but nothing my skill with an axe could not compensate for. ''((-1, +0 weapon))'' I slew an ogre with it, and suddenly felt compelled to practice with my hammer; I soon got the hang of it, but it would never surpass the axe in my heart. My next brush with death was against a scorpion, whose sting brought a truly nightmarish dose of poison to my veins; I trusted again to potions, and sure enough, the drink I had most of was a blessed healing fluid that purged the venom from me.

The floor below, I entered combat with a cave orc warrior, a path I could respect even in a kindred I despised; he was deadly with his blade, and a quasit's curse was afflicting me, so I resorted to the amulet again. When I woke, he was dead, so I took his axe; it was not only better balanced than my last one, but sharper. ''((+0, +1 as opposed to -1, +0)).

---

I shook my head; it felt like I hadn't been in the real world for a while, so I took a moment to check my inventory and situation. Good, no attackers, but one unidentified ring; I decided to use one of my identify scrolls, since detect curse was running low. It was a ring of hunger, probably one of Beogh's trappings, so out of my inventory it went. I also noticed I'd recently won a battle, and offered the bodies to Okawaru before going further. I ran into an antiques store, whose only interesting item was a jewelled mace that had to be an artefact; at only 48 gold, I suspected it was cursed, but I could afford to lose 48 gold and an identify scroll to find out. To my surprise, it was no mere cursed trinket, but the Sceptre of Torment, legendary instrument of Hell; although as likely to be the death of me as to save me, it was too potent to ignore. I wielded it, hoping the first foe I saw would be weak enough to test its powers on

I also found some dwarvish boots lying around. They were more protective than my old ones, and made my steps quieter - for what little good that would do, given I clanked around in heavy armour.

As I walked with the Sceptre in hand, I was suddenly wracked with pain; now I knew what the curse on it was, why it was so cheap for such a legendary weapon. I switched to my axe; no good risking death for any trinket. Nonetheless, determined to get use out of it, I found an ice beast and swung with the Sceptre; I was wracked with pain, but so was it, and the jackal behind it. Obviously it would never be my primary weapon, but I could get used to this power. I briefly considered storming the Orcish Mines, stronghold of my loathed kin, but then realised I hadn't explored this floor fully never mind any other place. So I took stairs up, and found the last set of stairs back down. I hadn't missed much; a few gnolls, a little corridor and a room. What was it about gnolls, why did they never become dangerous like the weaker cave orcs? I went down, to the ninth floor.

There, I killed a giant centipede in one hit - although the giant floating eye, transfixing my gaze and rooting me to the spot, took longer to get rid of. Killing a phantom, I felt my power grow again, and then ran into another party of cave orcs, three grunts and a real warrior. No match for me now, but a real warrior nonetheless. More of the orcs I saw, and more I slew; the grunts were pushovers, but the next warrior wounded me to danger of death, and I had no time to rest before more arrived. I turned again to the Sceptre; its tortures would not end me, but they would weaken my enemies enough for honest combat to finish the job. And it did, too. One of them had been wearing orcish plate mail, which I took for myself; the heavier the armour, the better. Pity that grunts interrupted me while I was dressing, but at least they weren't a threat. More were coming though, warriors and grunts alike. I had little trouble fighting them, right up until the point where I fell through a shaft in the floor.

A cry of panic escaped my throat in moments of entering this place; there stood a hill giant, a foe so great that I felt I could hardly fight, much less win. Since my flesh was being cowardly, I resorted to the amulet for the berserker rage, my only real hope in this unbalanced fight. That was merely the beginning of my troubles; fighting vermin, I soon was chased by another giant, into a nest of killer bees. I read a scroll and teleported out, only to be confronted with other enemies... who I slew, and handily, but at the cost of a jelly corroding my plate mail. I'd have to dump it, I couldn't repair such damage. I went upstairs, back to floor nine, and looked for my old banded mail.

I got better. I got the plate armour of another cave orc warrior. I also got another fight with a jelly, but it foolishly chased me around a pillar, allowing me to stone it to death. Then I finished exploring the level, and went down.

I saw a fine elvish longbow, and sought to make it mine, for throwing stones could only get me so far. But alas, my pack was too full, it was not to be... and then it occured to me to go through my now very large collection of potions and scrolls, drinking and reading and identifying. I lost a potion of resistance by drinking it to identify it, but it negated a potion of poison; then I took another swig, and felt suddenly warped and reshaped as the mutating fluid did its work. When it cleared, I felt angrier, needing to strike out at something, and somehow knew I could withstand any poison. ''((And got -1 Dex.))'' When I had space, I finally took the bow, and found it bursting into flame; it would destroy any arrow shot from it, but that was often worth it for bolts of flame. I also felt somehow tired after murdering vermin that dared to interrupt my mundane activity, but did not know the cause until I again met with the hated cave orcs.

This party was stronger than the others, for all its small size; a priest, a wizard, and a warrior. The warrior came first, and as I lashed out, I suddenly went berserk, just like if I'd used the amulet. I enjoyed the rush of strength, but as I came out of my rage, it was in consternation; if this anger was triggered in the wrong place it would be me whose life it claimed, either by making me exhausted when enemies came, or by starving me to death. It happened again as I challenged the summoner Eustachio, and the wight guarding him; his summoned hordes of rats and demons were no trouble, but the yaks were a genuine threat, and three times I came out of my rage without harming the summoner coward himself. Finally I struck at him, calling deliberate berserk rage while he wasn't surrounded by cronies, and in all too few strikes he fell to the floor - unworthy of his battle axe. I finished his remaining demons and moved on. Soon I had explored the level, and I weighed my options; I could enter the Lair, and risk the hydras I had dreaded enough to ready a blunt hammer, or delve deeper into the dungeon and face technically greater horrors. The Lair it was, until I was stronger.

There was little exciting, more fighting, more rages, more eating, until finally Okawaru granted me a physical token of his favour... an elvish robe, with a slight enchantment. Some kind of joke, surely; he knew well that I favoured heavy armour, not light clothing.

It was some way down before I met my first hydra. Seven heads hissed at me, but there were a swarm of vermin queueing up to fight me - not to mention a gila monster, which fell all too swiftly. When I finally engaged the hydra, it was in the grip of involuntary rage, and thankfully I was wielding my hammer when the rage struck; gods know I couldn't have switched weapons in such a mood. I was also nearly killed by blink frogs, though I repeatedly raged against them. On the floor below, Okawaru granted me another gift, a battle axe that would electrocute whoever it struck; again I dropped it, for I had invested too much in my shield to give up using it. ''((Plus, electrocute is for fast weapons IIRC.))'' I then saw a crystal ball on the floor; fearing such things and the tales about them, I left it there. Incidentally, Okawaru gave his first useful gift soon after, a 'longbow of velocity' which certainly shot arrows further than any longbow I'd ever seen.

When (fearing some kind of scroll of draining) I finally identified my scrolls, one was of acquirement! Hail to the gods! I read it, and used it to wish for armour; on the ground appeared... a robe! DAMNIT! DAMNIT! The only good side was that as an artefact, jellies couldn't corrode it, and it gave a slight bonus to my dexterity - but when was the universe going to get the hint, I AM A HEAVY ARMOUR FIGHTER! I also ran into that most blessed of fluids, a potion of cure mutation; with it at hand, I took my chances with the second mutating potion I'd been carrying all this time. My muscles stiffened, and my body began to waste away; that second one, I could not allow, so I drank the curative. Miraculously, it loosened my stiff muscles, restored my lost dexterity, undid the deterioration curse, and even took away my uncontrolled rage, leaving only resistance to poison. SCORE! Even better, I found myself another scroll of acquirement; I wished this time for jewellery, trusting to Okawaru for armour and arms, and got a shiny iron ring. A shiny iron ring that didn't reveal its effects when I put it on. This wasn't looking so good. I used a scroll of teleportation and sure enough, it didn't let me control the transport; this really wasn't looking good. If this didn't identify well, someone would pay, hard.

On the seventh floor of the Lair, Okawaru gave me his fourth gift: a mace, blessed by the Shining One - a funny contrast to the Sceptre of Torment I was still lugging around. A few floors down, I found the dagger of Xom's Supremacy - not a good melee weapon at all, but it did shield me from electricity, and allow short ranged teleportation. I swapped the Scepter for it; this was the Lair, no one was going to pick up that horrible weapon. On its eighth floor, I ran into a polar bear, and felt compelled to test my mettle against it; like so much down in this Lair, though, it was a disappointment.

When I finally got the chance to identify the shiny iron ring, it turned out to be protection from evil enchantments. A welcome gift after all.

Deeper in the Lair, I found a lindwurm, a dragon of a terrifying kind; with a few breaths it had badly maimed me, and I had to resort to the amulet to find strength to kill it. But kill it I did.

I entered the snake pits, and did battle with the efreet Azrael and his horde of fire elementals and hellhounds. I won. I nearly died thanks to a grey snake; I've never seen anything move so fast, but somehow I lasted. Then I attacked the witch Louise... who decided, rather than fight like a real warrior, to send me on a one-way trip to the infinite horrors of the Abyss.

Bitch.

This place could hardly be explored; it was random, its very nature insubstantial and whimsical. I wouldn't last long in this land of chaos, so I resolved to find a gate - my only hope of escape. There is nothing quite like endless hordes of demons to make even an orc feel abject terror. I eventually found myself backed into a corner, where I stood and fought; even endless hordes might not slay me, if I could fight them one at a time. But the Abyss would not allow me such rest. Even an Angel, possessed by the power of evil in the place, turned on me when surrounded by demons. ''((SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE HELL IS A FRACKING ANGEL DOING FIGHTING ALONGSIDE DEMONS?!))''

I was battered and bruised, my healing tools all expended, when I found myself in an empty room. But I was denied rest again; a weakling demon came, and I knew my end had come. I charged, hoping against hope to win out still, but it was for naught; all I managed was to die as a warrior, not a coward.

==Author's Commentary==

''Excuse me a moment: FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU........... Thank you. What's the rationale behind the Abyss not letting you map it, anyway? Is it meant to be so you don't realise when all reality suddenly flips around you?

Also, how hard is it to implement monster infighting? I find it impossible to believe that an Angel - a being of good embodied in this game - would rather hunt down a semirandom orc than die fighting demons - beings of evil embodied in this game.

I should have picked up my scrolls immediately after fighting Azrael, but really, I cannot think of a single thing I could have done that would have helped me prepare for the Abyss. That said I should have tried to avoid, avoid, avoid being backed into a corner, and maybe use that Xom dagger to blink away.''

==Morgue file==
<pre> Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.5 (crawl-ref) character file.

32615 Thrak the Fighter (level 13, -3/118 HPs)
             Began as a Hill Orc Fighter on June 16, 2009.
             Was a High Priest of Okawaru.
             Killed from afar by a smoke demon (16 damage)
             ... with a ball of steam
             ... in The Abyss on June 19, 2009.
             Matthew's game lasted 03:34:24 (32454 turns).

Thrak the Fighter (Hill Orc Fighter)               Turns: 32454, Time: 03:34:24

HP  -3/118       AC 32     Str 29      Exp: 13/45010 (0), need: 3490
MP   8/8         EV  6     Int  3 (5)  God: Okawaru *****
Gold 1108        SH 10     Dex 11      Spells:  0 memorised, 12 levels left

Res.Fire  : . . .   See Invis. : .   a - +4,+3 orc war axe
Res.Cold  : . . .   Warding    : .   A - +1 orc plate mail
Life Prot.: . . .   Conserve   : .   c - +2 orc shield
Res.Poison: +       Res.Corr.  : .   t - +1 dwarf helmet
Res.Elec. : .       Clarity    : .   s - +0 elf cloak
                                     X - +0 pair of gloves
Sust.Abil.: .       Rnd.Telep. : .   Q - +2 pair of dwarf boots {Stlth+}
Res.Mut.  : .       Ctrl.Telep.: .   i - amulet of rage
Res.Slow  : .       Levitation : .   U - +4 ring of protection
Saprovore : + . .   Ctrl.Flight: .   p - ring of protection from magic

@: liquid flames, exhausted, mighty, slowed, quite resistant to magic,
unstealthy
A: poison resistance, saprovore 1
a: Might, Haste, Renounce Religion, Evoke Berserk Rage


You were in the Abyss.
You worshipped Okawaru.
Okawaru was exalted by your worship.
You were not hungry.

You visited 4 branches of the dungeon, and saw 23 of its levels.
You visited the Abyss 1 time.

You collected 1295 gold pieces.
You spent 220 gold pieces at shops.

Inventory:

Hand weapons
 a - a +4,+3 orcish war axe (weapon)
 b - a +1,+2 longbow of velocity {god gift}
 d - a +2,+3 mace of holy wrath {god gift}
 N - the +0,-5 dagger of Xom's Supremacy (quivered) {+Blink rElec Stlth+}
   (You found it on level 7 of the Lair of Beasts)   
   It insulates you from electricity.
   It lets you blink.
   It makes you much more stealthy.
Missiles
 o - 97 +0 arrows
 r - 14 +1 arrows
 B - 23 +5 elven arrows
Armour
 c - a +2 orcish shield (worn)
 s - a +0 elven cloak (worn)
 t - a +1 dwarven helmet (worn)
 A - a +1 orcish plate mail (worn)
 Q - a +2 pair of dwarven boots of stealth (worn)
 X - a +0 pair of gloves (worn)
Magical devices
 e - a wand of frost (15)
 g - a wand of frost (21)
 l - a wand of fire (12)
 m - a wand of draining (3)
 u - a wand of teleportation (10)
 x - a wand of healing (0)
 F - a wand of confusion (3)
 I - a wand of random effects (11)
 L - a wand of teleportation (2)
 O - a wand of frost (5)
 T - a wand of slowing (2)
Comestibles
 j - 4 pears
 n - 2 bread rations
 q - a meat ration
Scrolls
 h - a scroll of detect curse
 C - a scroll of identify
Jewellery
 i - an amulet of rage (around neck)
 p - a ring of protection from magic (left hand)
 G - a +3 ring of dexterity
 K - an uncursed ring of invisibility
 U - a +4 ring of protection (right hand)
 V - a +3 ring of intelligence
 W - an uncursed ring of protection from fire
Potions
 f - a potion of speed
 k - a potion of magic
 y - 2 potions of restore abilities
 z - a potion of resistance
 E - a potion of levitation


 You had 0 experience left.

   Skills:
 + Level 14 Fighting
 - Level 12 Axes
 - Level 8 Maces & Flails
 - Level 4 Bows
 - Level 3 Throwing
 + Level 10 Armour
 + Level 1 Stabbing
 - Level 13 Shields
 - Level 2 Traps & Doors
 + Level 3 Evocations


You had 12 spell levels left.
You didn't know any spells.

Overview of the Dungeon

Branches:
Temple: D:4       Orc   : D:8       Lair  : D:11      Swamp : Lair:7 
Slime : Lair:8    Snake : Lair:6    

Altars:
Sif Muna: D:11

Shops:
D:8: (  Lair:5: *


                    Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

You can tolerate rotten meat.
Your system is immune to poisons.


Message History

Something smites you!
You hit the midge.
The midge is lightly wounded.
The smoke demon gestures at you.
The sticky flame hits you!
You are covered in liquid flames!
The smoke demon gestures at you.

      ... 
   ......... 
   . ........ 
 {  .........$ 
... . ......{.. 
{...#.......... 
......#........ 
.......5........ 
......5@....# 
............4... 
..........{..{. 
).#.........#.. 
....#.......... 
 ............. 
  ........... 
   ......... 
      ... 


You could see a smoke demon, a midge and an ufetubus.

Vanquished Creatures
  Azrael (Snake:1)
  2 hydras
  A grey snake (Snake:1)
  3 griffons
  An elephant slug (Lair:5)
  2 hill giants (D:10)
  A large large abomination (Abyss)
  A lindwurm (Lair:9)
  A spectral warrior (Abyss)
  A wolf spider (D:11)
  3 black snakes
  An orange demon (Abyss)
  13 giant brown frogs
  2 giant snails
  4 komodo dragons
  A tormentor (Abyss)
  Prince Ribbit (D:5)
  A queen bee (Lair:8)
  4 hippogriffs
  17 blink frogs
  9 spiny frogs
  A polar bear (Lair:8)
  8 yaks
  2 small abominations (Abyss)
  5 giant slugs
  4 fire elementals
  Eustachio (D:11)
  3 firedrakes
  3 hell hounds (Lair:6)
  A giant blowfly zombie (D:11)
  7 ogres
  4 ice beasts
  A phantom (D:9)
  3 centaurs
  7 nagas (Snake:1)
  10 giant lizards
  7 gila monsters
  11 giant frogs
  10 war dogs
  A yak zombie (D:11)
  10 orc warriors
  11 brown snakes
  27 killer bees
  A big fish (Lair:1)
  A soldier ant zombie (D:10)
  9 imps
  14 hounds
  6 orc priests
  2 giant beetles
  2 wights
  11 orange rats
  9 giant ants
  5 giant iguanas
  8 orc wizards
  2 quasits
  An electrical eel (Lair:7)
  Ijyb (D:4)
  2 shadows
  3 scorpions
  3 jellies (D:10)
  A flying skull (Abyss)
  3 gnolls (D:8)
  5 lemures (D:11)
  22 snakes
  6 giant centipedes
  A midge (D:11)
  A shadow imp (D:11)
  4 worms
  4 giant mites
  67 green rats
  A scorpion zombie (D:8)
  2 oozes
  3 giant eyeballs
  37 giant bats
  9 giant cockroaches
  5 giant geckos
  114 grey rats
  23 hobgoblins
  32 jackals
  48 orcs
  3 small snakes
  11 giant newts
  A giant spore (D:7)
  18 goblins
  2 killer bee larvae (Lair:8)
  17 kobolds
  17 quokkas
  A quokka zombie (D:6)
  27 rats
  A fungus (Lair:3)
773 creatures vanquished.

Vanquished Creatures (others)
  A war dog (Lair:4)
  3 snakes
  5 jackals
  4 orcs
  5 grey rats
  A rat (D:1)
19 creatures vanquished.

Grand Total: 792 creatures vanquished

Notes
Turn   | Place   | Note
--------------------------------------------------------------
     0 | D:1     | Thrak, the Hill Orc Fighter, began the quest for the Orb.
     0 | D:1     | Reached XP level 1. HP: 16/16 MP: 0/0
   254 | D:1     | Reached XP level 2. HP: 15/23 MP: 1/1
   257 | D:1     | Reached skill 4 in Fighting
   626 | D:1     | Reached XP level 3. HP: 30/30 MP: 1/1
  1599 | D:2     | Reached XP level 4. HP: 25/37 MP: 2/2
  2418 | D:3     | Reached XP level 5. HP: 25/43 MP: 3/3
  3800 | D:4     | Noticed Ijyb
  3823 | D:5     | Entered Level 5 of the Dungeon
  4143 | D:4     | Reached skill 5 in Fighting
  4143 | D:4     | Defeated Ijyb
  4143 | D:4     | Reached XP level 6. HP: 50/50 MP: 3/3
  4400 | D:4     | Reached skill 1 in Throwing
  4483 | Temple  | Entered the Ecumenical Temple
  4534 | Temple  | Became a worshipper of Warmaster Okawaru
  4912 | D:5     | Reached XP level 7. HP: 55/55 MP: 4/4
  5154 | D:5     | Got a smoking crossbow
  5172 | D:5     | Identified the cursed +0,+0 crossbow of Shroaboa (You found it on level 5 of the Dungeon)
  5547 | D:5     | Noticed Prince Ribbit
  5568 | D:5     | Reached skill 6 in Fighting
  5591 | D:5     | Reached skill 5 in Armour
  5593 | D:5     | Reached skill 5 in Shields
  6111 | D:5     | Defeated Prince Ribbit
  6111 | D:5     | Reached XP level 8. HP: 62/65 MP: 5/5
  6404 | D:5     | Noticed Garag's ghost
  6465 | D:5     | Reached skill 5 in Axes
  6526 | D:5     | Acquired Okawaru's first power
  6751 | D:5     | Reached skill 7 in Fighting
  7655 | D:6     | Reached XP level 9. HP: 66/72 MP: 5/5
  9504 | D:7     | Reached skill 8 in Fighting
  9518 | D:7     | Reached skill 1 in Maces & Flails
 11143 | D:8     | Bought a jewelled golden mace for 48 gold pieces
 11144 | D:8     | Identified the +7,+6 Sceptre of Torment (You bought it in a shop on level 8 of the Dungeon)
 12446 | D:9     | Reached XP level 10. HP: 80/83 MP: 6/6
 12945 | D:9     | Reached skill 9 in Shields
 13053 | D:9     | You fall through a shaft!
 13053 | D:10    | Entered Level 10 of the Dungeon
 14327 | D:10    | Reached skill 1 in Evocations
 14596 | D:10    | Reached skill 1 in Traps & Doors
 15302 | D:10    | Reached skill 10 in Fighting
 15310 | D:10    | Reached XP level 11. HP: 82/94 MP: 7/7
 15902 | D:11    | Reached skill 1 in Bows
 15904 | D:11    | Acquired Okawaru's second power
 15974 | D:11    | Gained mutation: You tend to lose your temper in combat.
 15974 | D:11    | Gained mutation: You are clumsy (Dex -1).
 15974 | D:11    | Gained mutation: Your system is immune to poisons.
 16351 | D:11    | Noticed Eustachio
 16432 | D:11    | Reached skill 10 in Shields
 16577 | D:11    | Defeated Eustachio
 16627 | D:11    | Reached skill 11 in Fighting
 16936 | Lair:1  | Entered Level 1 of the Lair of Beasts
 17177 | Lair:1  | Reached skill 5 in Maces & Flails
 17361 | Lair:1  | Received a gift from Okawaru
 19906 | Lair:3  | Reached XP level 12. HP: 104/104 MP: 7/7
 20158 | Lair:3  | Reached skill 12 in Fighting
 20446 | Lair:3  | Reached skill 10 in Axes
 21766 | Lair:4  | Received a gift from Okawaru
 23010 | Lair:5  | Bought a meat ration for 76 gold pieces
 23010 | Lair:5  | Bought a scroll of curse weapon for 1 gold piece
 23010 | Lair:5  | Bought a potion of heal wounds for 57 gold pieces
 23010 | Lair:5  | Bought a potion of healing for 38 gold pieces
 23136 | Lair:5  | Received a gift from Okawaru
 24165 | Lair:6  | Identified a scroll of acquirement
 24169 | Lair:6  | Got a pitted robe
 24184 | Lair:6  | Identified the +3 robe "Zinnykof" (You acquired it on level 6 of the Lair of Beasts)
 24369 | Lair:6  | Gained mutation: Your body is slowly deteriorating.
 24369 | Lair:6  | Gained mutation: Your muscles are strong (Str +1), but stiff (Dex -1).
 24370 | Lair:6  | Lost mutation: Your body is slowly deteriorating.
 24370 | Lair:6  | Lost mutation: Your muscles are strong (Str +1), but stiff (Dex -1).
 24370 | Lair:6  | Lost mutation: You tend to lose your temper in combat.
 24370 | Lair:6  | Lost mutation: You are clumsy (Dex -1).
 25077 | Lair:7  | Reached skill 13 in Shields
 25546 | Lair:7  | Received a gift from Okawaru
 26877 | Lair:7  | Reached XP level 13. HP: 115/115 MP: 8/8
 26966 | Lair:7  | Got a dazzling dagger
 26970 | Lair:7  | Identified the cursed dagger of Xom's Supremacy {+Blink rElec Stlth+} (You found it on level 7 of the Lair of Beasts)
 28541 | Lair:8  | Reached skill 10 in Armour
 29491 | Lair:9  | Got an encrusted halberd
 29492 | Lair:9  | Identified the cursed +1,-1 halberd "Wietyo Cuer" (You found it on level 9 of the Lair of Beasts)
 30020 | Lair:4  | Reached skill 14 in Fighting
 30270 | Snake:1 | Entered Level 1 of the Snake Pit
 30272 | Snake:1 | Reached skill 1 in Stabbing
 30273 | Snake:1 | Noticed Azrael
 31073 | Snake:1 | Defeated Azrael
 31674 | Snake:1 | Noticed Louise
 31718 | Snake:1 | You are cast into the Abyss!
 31718 | Snake:1 | Cast into the Abyss (Louise)
 31718 | Abyss   | Entered The Abyss
 31820 | Abyss   | Noticed a tormentor
 31951 | Abyss   | Noticed a tormentor
 32032 | Abyss   | Defeated a tormentor
 32280 | Abyss   | Noticed a spectral warrior
 32302 | Abyss   | Defeated a spectral warrior
 32382 | Abyss   | Noticed an Angel
 32454 | Abyss   | Killed from afar by a smoke demon
</pre>