DITL of Hwi Noree

[Lipa]

FOREWORD:

Believe it or not, but so far I have *never* won New Angband! I usually climb down to level 20 or so, die a couple of times, and then go and try out a new character. The other thing is that I don’t really have that much time to play the game, although I’d love to. On the other hand, I may just be a lousy player…

All of this doesn’t really bother me. New Angband is so much fun right from the start, and I enjoy every moment of playing! Who cares if I never get to see Variaz, right? ;D

Then again, how can I consider myself a New Angband fan if I’ve never so far even passed the middle of the dungeon?! And so I’ve finally decided to go and do it right this time. All the way down. No matter the death count. And this character, Hwi Noree, will do the job!

I’ll try to document her adventures through this DITL. It may take a long, LONG time to finish it, but I’ll do my best to keep it regularly updated.

And so here she goes. Our lovely heroine is just minutes away from the greatest story of her life. Wish her luck!!!

[Lipa]

CHAPTER 1: THE INHERITANCE


“This is some kind of a joke, right?”

“Why no, ma’am,” smiled the old man and checked his papers once more. “This is definitely your uncle’s cottage. It says here…”

“Give me that!” hissed Hwi and grabbed the file. She carefully read every word of the document, shot some suspicious glances over the old wooden hut they were standing in front of, frowned, and checked the notes again.

“But that doesn’t make any sense, now does it? It is written here that the entire inheritance has been evaluated to some 50.000 $. Now from what I see in front of me, I wouldn’t pay more than a hundred for THIS pile of rotten planks, would you?!”

“Well, maybe the desirability of the place has something to do with it…”

“DESIRABILITY?! I haven’t even HEARD of this god-forsaken town before, for Christ’s sake! And now that I’m actually there, believe me, I am far from being impressed! So don’t you talk to me about desirability…”

“Look, miss Noree,” the old man said politely, “I’m dreadfully sorry if this is not quite what you’ve expected, but I can’t really do anything about it. Of course, if you don’t want the hut, you can also consider donating it to…”

“Forget it, I’ll take it!” snapped Hwi and reached for the keys. “I only hope that I’ll find at least *something* of a value in there which will help me cover the expenses of coming down here in the first place… Well, thanks for the help anyway.”

“It was my pleasure, ma’am. Oh, and my condolences about your uncle. I’m sure he was a good man.”

“I’ve never seen him, but I’m sure of it too.”

Hwi Noree shut the door behind her and entered the damp and stinking hut…

[Lipa]

CHAPTER 2: THE HUT


There wasn’t much that Hwi found in the cottage. A long bow with a quiver full of arrows was lying in one corner, next to some body armor and a rather heavy-looking broad sword.

“What in god’s name did uncle need THAT for!?” she wondered. “As far as I was told, he was nothing but an old scholar who wouldn’t hurt a fly!”

She turned away from the rusty equipment and examined the only other object in the hut – a large wooden closet. Still hoping to actually FIND something, Hwi opened the closet with sweet anticipation.

“Now THAT’S more like my uncle…”

The closet was full of scribbled scrolls, notes, books and letters. Paper everywhere! What all of that meant, she couldn’t guess, but something lying beneath all that junk caught her attention. Was that?…

“Yes! A money pouch! At last!”

Excited, Hwi Noree counted the money…

“No way. A lousy 1.000 $?! And that’s it?” Hwi counted the money once more, thoroughly examined the closet again, searched through the notes, but failed to find anything else.

The money, the equipment, and the hut was all that she had inherited after her uncle.

[Lipa]

CHAPTER 3: THE LEGEND


Disappointed, Hwi Noree planned to spend the rest of the day exploring the town, only to realize that there wasn’t really much to explore. A few shops, some simple huts, and an old fort were pretty much it.

She visited the local Casino, hoped for a relaxing evening in, perhaps, some good company, but it soon turned out that even that was impossible to find around here. The guys were all either enormous hulks in full-plated armor, or skinny robed figures lurking in shadows. What was WRONG with these people?

She returned to her little cottage no more than an hour after the departure. Bored and not knowing what to do, she began fiddling with her uncle’s papers.

“A scroll of… Identify?” Hwi grinned. “Who makes these things up?… Oh, that one’s even better: A scroll of Repair Weapon! Ha, ha ha, I could surely use some of THOSE around here!… I can’t believe people actually make money selling these things. And I can’t believe the other people buying it!… What a bunch of morons…”

Amused, she picked up the broad sword and played herself a little performance.

“Oh, mighty sword, behold! Hear my words! For today thou shall regain thy vigor!…”

She read a Scroll of Repair Weapon.

And it happened. The air suddenly became saturated with indescribable energy, and the sword began glowing. Slowly, corrosion started to disappear from parts all over the blade, in the end leaving it completely white, shiny, without a single patch of rust. Indeed, the now splendid-looking sword seemed as new!

Hwi Noree could barely believe her eyes. She remained gasping for a couple of minutes, her heart pounding hard in the chest. Was it all just a dream? An illusion? Magic surely CAN’T exist!

But it DID happen. And the experience was overwhelming!

Hwi Noree plunged into her uncle’s notes. She spent almost the entire night reading ancient legends, familiarizing herself with the most important scrolls, learning magic…

The history was fascinating!

Someone named Variaz, it seems, created the world eons ago, only to realize soon that some of his creations were foul, unworthy, and destructive towards everything else. These creatures were Humans, and all the intelligent races that derived from them. They corrupted the world, plagued it with their decadence and ignorance. Where Variaz put light, they brought darkness, where Variaz implanted love, they brought hatred.

In the end, Variaz decided to undo his entire creation. But to do that, he himself has to turn towards darkness, he himself, once master of light, has to turn towards destruction… and more. He has to BECOME destruction itself. Only then will he be able to erase all the evil of the world in order to start anew. There will be light again on some other day in some other world, and Variaz will be keeper of good once again.

And so it is told that for centuries now Variaz has been breeding his army somewhere deep beneath, growing stronger each hour. Soon, the day will come when all of this power shall be unleashed upon the world of Humanoids. That day, everything shall die, good and evil, better and worse. And The Creator will rebuild his world…

But until that day, until that very hour, he could still be diverted from his path. Legends claim that one brave soul could – and shall – reach his lair deep beneath the surface and talk – or fight – Variaz out of his intentions. That soul, that daring hero will then be called the “Master Of Darkness”, and Variaz, the “Master Of Light”, will step aside.

From this day on, eternal darkness, destructive and foul, will never cease to embrace the world. In this darkness, only one race, so perfectly accustomed to it, will prosper beyond every limit. For that race is the very child of darkness, forever drawn toward it – this will be the age of Humanoids…

[Lipa]

CHAPTER 4: A NEW LIFE


Hwi Noree found herself totally captivated by the new realm that she had just discovered. Those fascinating legends would not let her out of the grasp, and she didn’t really resist much… Which was strange – Hwi had always considered herself a very down-to-earth kind of person.

But this – Magic – was unlike anything she had ever witnessed! She understood it, she got connected to it. And just like that, over the night!

In the morning, Hwi decided to stay in town for a few more days. Surely she wouldn’t leave now, not when there’s so many new things to learn! She spent some hours tidying the place up, and was in the end surprised to discover that this old hut wasn’t really in such a bad shape. In fact, she started to quite like it!

In the afternoon she plunged back into magic. This time, she intended to practice it as well!

She found a book titled: “Know Your Abilities, Volume 2: MAGES” She leafed through the pages with fascination, carefully reading every description, every tip. In the end, she turned to the section which at the moment interested her the most: “Chapter 3: Magic Missile”

In less than an hour, she figured out how to cast a small, tiny bolt. She found the connection to her inner pool of mental, spiritual power, called ‘mana’, envisioned the trajectory of her missile, and then finally murmured some ancient words – and a small materialized bolt darted across the room.

Hwi Noree was ecstatic: “I became a Mage!”

The next couple of days were probably the most important days of her life. She learned and learned, becoming ever more proficient in the ways of magic. She also found out more about the famous Variaz dungeon, and it later turned out that the very entrance is no more than an hour’s walk away from the town!

The letter home was written. She was not coming back, not for the time being, at least. What she found here was too important! And it felt good, too! She became cheerful, her former bitterness evaporated. Even cynicism, her most potent weapon of the past, was finally cast aside. For the first time in her life, she finally felt… well… ALIVE!

A few more days and our young Gnomish girl was ready to face the dungeon.

Hwi Noree designed a certain strategy in her mind that she wanted to pursuit. She knew that her strength was very limited (4), and so she decided to use very light weapons, preferably daggers and such. On the other hand, she wanted to get really proficient in the ways of magic. She was a Mage after all, and already knew how to cast a Magic Missile (1). Later, she planned to improve it even more and perhaps gain some experience in the general Spellcraft skill.

As to her initial equipment, well, the stuff found in the town would have to do for now. She bought a lantern, some flasks of oil, and some Scrolls of Phase Door. She put on her uncle’s body armor and shield, and bought some nice boots at the armory. One more trip to the Temple for some Potions of Cure Critical Wounds, and she was ready!

She locked the door of her uncle’s – now her own – hut, shot one last glance at the town around her, and headed for the mountains…

The adventure begins!!!

[Lipa]

CHAPTER 5: BAPTISM OF FIRE


“That was bloody darn close!” gasped Hwi when finally coming to a halt after her frantic escape from a bunch of ferocious-looking rats. She was bleeding quite a bit, but fortunately she kept some Potions of Cure Critical Wounds in her backpack. She sipped one, and immediately started to feel better…

The dungeon was full of surprises. Of course, she knew that there would be many dangerous and aggressive monsters waiting for her, but still… These – ELITES – were especially nasty! She had just barely managed so survive some of the most recent encounters.

Still, this whole adventuring business was exactly what she had been looking - and longing - for. For the first time in her life, Hwi Noree had a goal in front of her, something to pursuit and look forward to. Indeed, she almost felt it was her DESTINY.

However, she soon realized that there were so many things that she would have to learn, and that her present abilities were very limited. Sure, she could now cast some really useful spells, like Detect Doors and Monsters, and her Magic Missile also became quite devastating (10).

But she just didn’t know much about melee fighting. And she needed that as well! Some of the more powerful creatures had this incredibly annoying ability of Immunity to Magic, or – what was even worse – ability to actually Return Magic! Against these monsters, Hwi was powerless!

Her first solution to this problem was to get herself a nice bow or crossbow. Once she got one, along with a quiver of some decent ammo, she also conducted some Shooting training (5), which left her both more accurate and lethal.

This decision proved to be a sensible one. Now, Hwi was able to knock out some of the magic-resistant monsters before they could ever reach her. And when they DID come too close, she quickly relocated herself by reading a Scroll of Phase Door.

From time to time, however, she would still find herself in an awkward position. Some creatures – like those bloody rats – would multiply too rapidly, or perhaps a Scroll of Phase Door would not teleport her exactly as desired. In these situations, she still desperately lacked the hand-to-hand offensive skills.

And so she had to come to a decision. Which weapon to master first? There was no way for her to start training in multiple skills, not at this early stage. She just wanted to get familiar with one and only one type of weapon, and master that one as good as she could.

Hwi Noree recognized two choices. Either she would start training with daggers, or with rods. But which one?

Rods were the obvious favorite for a Mage. Light and reliable, they could also cast some crystal-based spells which could be really useful. On the other hand, daggers seemed like a more devastating, more lethal weapon to Hwi. And some of the assassin abilities that she could master with them looked really interesting!

And so our brave Gnomish heroine found herself in a dilemma. Then again, decision-making IS as much an integral part of adventuring as is fighting and spellcasting! And she would sooner or later have to master that important skill as well…

[Lipa]

CHECKPOINT:


Name : Hwi Noree Age 22 STR: 8
Sex : Female Height 40 INT: 11
Race : Gnome Weight 71 WIS: 10
Class : Mage Death Count 0 DEX: 10
Level 14 CON: 8
Experience 198 CHR: 7
+ To Hit 84 Max Exp 198
+ To Damage 41 Exp to Adv. 210 Max Hit Points 130
+ To AC 86 Gold 581 Cur Hit Points 130
Ability P 0 Stat Points 0 Max SP (Mana) 79
Multiplier 1 Skill Points 0 Cur SP (Mana) 79
Shooter Mul 1 Class Level 3
Leaders Mul 1 Class Kills 34

( ----- Skills ----- )
Swords : 0 Shooting : 5 Leadership: 0 Blows/Round: 5
Hafted : 0 Throwing : 0 Alchemy: 0 Shots/Round: 1
Polearms : 0 M. Arts : 0 Crafting: 0 Wpn.dmg/Rnd: 10d8+205
Daggers : 0 Agility : 10 Combat Feats: 0 Infra-Vision: 40 feet
Axes : 0 Stealth : 1
Rods : 1 Spellcraft: 10

[Character Equipment]

a) a Rod of Beam (2d8) (+2,+8) [+1](10%) (Dur: 28) (+1)
d) a Long Bow (x3) (+4,+2) [+1] (+1)
e) a Ring of Protection [+16]
f) a Ring of Protection [+12]
k) an Amulet of Brilliance (+2)
m) a Brass Lantern (with 2622 turns of light)
n) Double Chain Mail (+11,+4) [14,+4] (+1)
o) a Cloak [1,+3]
p) a Small Leather Shield (+6,+5) [2,+6] (Block: 12%) (+1 to speed)
s) a Hard Leather Cap (+3,+4) [7,+8] (+1 to stealth)
u) a Set of Gauntlets [2,-1]
x) a Pair of Shoes (+5,+1) [3,+4] (+1)
z) (nothing)
{) 19 Flaming Arrows (3d5) (+3,+4) (+1 attack)
|) (nothing)

[Lipa]

(NOTE: From time to time, I’ll post these “checkpoints” to show Hwi Noree’s current stats and standings. Please feel free to comment on any of those! Remember, I’ve never played a Mage before, and so any criticism, suggestions (like which weapon to choose, daggers or rods ) and tips will be more than appreciated!!!)

[Variaz]

May I make a suggestion? One thing that can work for magic immune/returning is monster summoning. In fact, for a mage, this is a great choice. If you focus on getting a high mana, you can end up summoning powerful stuff if you use Summon Specific, or lots of stuff is you use Summon Kind(and if you have a very high mana, lots of powerful stuff with Summon Specific! )

The advantage over daggers/rods? It's safer, and is one of the best way to beat a double-returning boss later in the game, or a magic returning immune to physical(later in the game, it's double returning with either immunity). There are other strategies as well... If a very fast and powerful enemy is going to kill you, you can hide in a narrow corridor, then summon a dragon to block it's path, and actually kill it.

What I usually do with a pure magic user is get my wisdom to 20, then once I get 3 skill/level, I put 2 in Spellcraft, and 1 in Leadership every levels. Charisma will help as well, but remember that there is a "Raise Charisma" spell, so beware before placing too many points in Charisma. Intelligence should be your main concern!

Now, if you don't want summoning, and want either rods or daggers, I would say rods, because with lots of points in the Rods skill, you will get a bonus to spellcraft. And since your spellcraft should be high, the crystal attacks will be more powerful. And of course, Rods boost your mana supply, and that's why even if I don't actually put points in Rods, I always equip one when playing mage. Rods and Spellcraft are meant to complement each others, and Rods are made to be a mage's melee weapon!

Anyway, feel free to make your character the way you want. That was just my two cents!

[Lipa]

Thanks for the suggestions!!! I've never before tried the summoning, and I'm looking forward to finally check it out!

And it'd be about time, too - I've reached level 15 and bad things have already started to happen. Have just died about 4 times! OK, one of these was due to a magic-returning orc that I hadn't quite... er... noticed... ;D

[Lipa]

CHAPTER 6: THE CREATOR


Tension grew in Hwi’s chest as she walked down yet another murky hallway. The walls around her were damp and dirty, patches of splattered blood clearly visible. The air was moist and it stank of rotten meat.

“Should I turn back?”

Hwi knew very well that she was more than pushing her luck. Lately, probably some eleven or twelve levels deep in the dungeon, the ever increasing number of extremely nasty and dangerous elites and bosses had started to seriously disturb her. Sure, she was now quite experienced (lvl 18), and her Magic Missile (15) had proved to be a devastating weapon, but she still desperately lacked certain special abilities. Her melee combat still pretty much sucked, and she had no resistance whatsoever against confusion and paralysis.

However, Hwi decided to go on. So far she had somehow always managed to escape even the most powerful monsters, and she intended to follow this tactic in the future, too. After all, her Phasing Crystal attached to the rod she was using offered an instant getaway that would never fail her…

Still, there was just SOMETHING about this level that made her feel more than uncomfortable. Strange noises echoed around the corners, and Hwi felt shivers run down her spine.

One more step, one more turn, and then she finally caught a glimpse of it:

A huge, powerful demonic lady was blocking her way through the corridor. The creature had wide emerald green wings, long hair, and its eyes were the darkest red.

For a couple of heartbeats, Hwi didn’t know what to do. She had never before met anything that looked even at least as powerful as the opponent standing in front of her!… Should she flee?

With one hand already holding a Scroll of Teleportation, she changed her mind. Instead, she rather focused on the enemy, and with all her mental powers cast a mighty Magic Missile.

The demonic lady didn’t even blink an eye!!!

A moment later, Hwi was surrounded. Two more Succubuses emerged from shadows, and in unison they all charged forward with incredible speed. Hwi could only gasp one more time before being mowed down…

…And yet, she was still alive! Severely wounded, she was lying on her back, breathing deeply. The creatures were still there, observing her carefully, but they didn’t finish her off! What was holding them back? What were they waiting for?…

And then it came. Something… some kind of a – PRESENCE – entered the room. Hwi couldn’t see a thing, but she simply KNEW that it was there, around her, watching her. And the creatures felt it too, for they all stepped a couple of steps back, as if trying to make room.

It spoke:

“Why, mortal, do you persist in your foolish quest?”

The voice seemed sad, distant…

“What…” whispered Hwi, “Who… are you?”

“Who I am is not important. What I’m trying to achieve is. But if you insist on names, try to look deep into your soul, and you may find your answer there…”

Hwi paled. That was only a legend, a myth, nothing more! Or… could it all be… true?

“The truth is even more frightening than you could possibly comprehend!” The answer roared before she could even form the question.

A moment of silence. Hwi frantically tried to calm herself down.

“Why… why are you doing this?”

“Why? YOU dare to ask ME why?” His voice became angry. “YOU are the reason, ignorant mortals! Because of what YOU have done! You were handed a gift – a most beautiful gift: You were brought to LIFE! There, in this reality, a whole wide world was waiting for you – CREATED just for you – to live, love and prosper… And you? Your only sign of gratitude was the very destruction of everything that I cherished and loved. Hatred, discrimination, ignorance, decadence, envy… To what end? Your beautiful world destroyed, your beautiful souls corrupted! I can’t allow this to go on any further!!!”

Silence again.

A string of questions shot through her mind: Why didn’t he kill her? Why was he talking to her?… Did he want something?

Hwi addressed her captor again, carefully choosing her words this time around:

“Variaz, you don’t NEED to do this! I can show you the world, if you would only let me. Believe me – there are so many beautiful things still out there, things well worth saving!…”

“…But you can’t possibly understand the very essence, the very poison of corruption as well as I do!” His voice was tired now. “It spreads like a virus, infesting everything around! You say the world is still worth saving for all the good things – how long until these too will turn bad? Can you answer that question? No, I can’t risk that chance!”

She thought about the words that he had just spoken. Was it really that bad out there? Was her race really speeding towards the abyss of destruction? Then why was he still keeping HER alive?…

Hwi closed her eyes.

“Are you going to kill me now?” she said silently.

“Kill you?!” Variaz burst in laughter. “Now what fun would that be? No! I want you to UNDERSTAND! I want you to SEE what you have become, I want you to RECOGNIZE the corruption flowing through your veins! In the end, I want you to HATE your own race so much that you will be PLEADING for death!”

The room suddenly started to glow and shake, and Hwi felt a powerful spell being cast upon her.

“Until then,“ she could barely hear his voice now, “you shall stay trapped in this realm, forever drawn towards me. Death will never touch you, but it will be far from immortality. No, it will be more like…”

…Slowly, Hwi opened her eyes. Pale moon was shining high above the horizon.

She was on the surface again, lying in a corner of some dirty back alley. Her wounds were severe, and she quickly murmured a couple of short healing spells.

What happened?… Was it all just a dream?

Deep inside, Hwi knew the answer. She tried to remember the short dialogue with The Creator, and for the first time she actually tried to understand HIM. So many emotions she’d sensed in his voice… Was there really nothing else that could change his mind?

Determined to face the odds, Hwi Noree strolled back to her cottage. The dungeon was waiting for her, and she had a magnificent goal to accomplish… She had to stand up against God Himself!

[kingmonkey]

Wow, great story! Seems like it's been lost in the sands of time, but then again, so are the days of our lives. *shakes head at self*