The Adventures of Bear-Arsed the Iron Monk

[Rogosh]

So I decide to play this version of the game where you're not allowed to equip anything, use any consumable items (no potions, food, etc), or cast any spells. Oh, and if you die, game over.

I spend a while thinking on it and I roll myself a rogue (because it's the only class that won't give me a skill I'm not allowed to use). I give him 31 end by taking Nor'leander and make sure his Strength, Dexterity, and Speed are all 14. I then select atheistic for faith, figuring to avoid curses and save some gold (gold I have in retrospect realized I can't spend on anything BUT priest cures).

Can you guess what happened? Bear-Arsed progresses through the game normally (and by normally I mean very, very carefully, resting at every opportunity and employing a great deal of tactical finesse to make sure he is never ganged up on, as even 3 salamanders can make a meal of him at level one), completing the (easy) magic shop and blacksmith quests in Aridell before proceeding to the crypt to get the amulet. At about 2 hours of game play, "Bear-Arsed" accidentally "aggros" both noximanders there and is promptly handed his ass. Round 2, and he still doesn't bother getting a few levels first, figuring he can probably take the walking dead afterward one-vs-one, having just hit level 3. And so he can, barely. But then he discovers something that gives me a vicious facepalm: as an atheistic character who's not allowed to use consumables or spells, he has no means at all of removing diseases, and only about 45% resistance to them.

And so begins round 3.

[Rogosh]

So I'm laughing my ass off at having blown up 5 thugs all together using the trapped west salted coast bridge and merrily on my way to the crypt (at level 4 with 100 hp) and another thought occurs to me:

If barehanded combat is the only offense he's permitted, how is Bear-Arsed to kill poltergeists? In D&D and some other systems, specialists of this sort eventually are viewed as being magical weapons in and of themselves, but I can't think of any way for him to kill them within the (admittedly harsh) challenge rules. Sneak by, certainly, but that's no fun.

[Hawkwind]

If barehanded combat is the only offense he's permitted, how is Bear-Arsed to kill poltergeists?

Lemme know how that +3 Hand of Pimp-Smacking works out for you against the poltergeists...

[Turtle]

Just out of curiosity, are you allowing yourself to use portcullises offensively?

[woem]

I love the idea. Would you allow yourself to sneak past certain obstacles instead of fighting your way through? I'm currently doing something similar but I avoid combat as much as possible. But I do use the environment as much as possible. This already caused some interesting situations where I was being followed by a pack of lizards that start to fight green slimes ahead of me (for those who wondered: slimes can be poisoned). Or in dungeons that some bats start picking on the lizards. And I would indeed use the portcullis to my cause.

[Randomizer]

Killing a dimensional eye myself 250 experience, but using the porticullus gave only 25. I haven't tried this with anything else.

Still if you are avoiding personal combat, then you should expect significantly less experience.

[woem]

Still if you are avoiding personal combat, then you should expect significantly less experience.

Of course, and not having to buy any equipment will result in a whole lot of unspent cash. It's all part of the challenge.

[Unclever title]

Portcullises are best used for crushing bloodsippers and salamanders (not noximanders) as killing via portcullis always results in 25 xp. So you break even with the bats BUT you get an extra experience points in killing salamanders that way!!!

Although you might have to go sufficiently out of your way to do so.

[Rogosh]

Been a while, folks. Got busy there, and am just now settling down to continue. But first..

Just out of curiosity, are you allowing yourself to use portcullises offensively?

Theoretically, I suppose, as all sorts of other guerilla tactics have been both necessary and wildly entertaining. To be honest I simply hadn't thought to thus far, blundering instead into some rather close calls such as when Bear-Arsed 3 thoughtlessly stumbled into a pack of slimes (escaping just barely through luck and some very deft use of line of sight). He's also survived such offenses as striding boldly into a scripted ambush (I'm sure those of you who've played before will be able to puzzle out which one) and, in what I can only describe as state of blood drunkenness, charged without any regard for tactics an enchanted guardian (which fight came down to a question of whose finishing blow would fall first, and at poor odds for him if I recall correctly).

If barehanded combat is the only offense he's permitted, how is Bear-Arsed to kill poltergeists?

Lemme know how that +3 Hand of Pimp-Smacking works out for you against the poltergeists...

Haha, will do. I thought about doing a little metagaming (by figuring out a way with my first, juggernaut-like character), but I've resolved to simply brave it when I get there. By then (if there is a then) Bear-Arsed 3 ought be capable of absorbing considerable punishment from a single foe. I mention it, however, because ..

I love the idea. Would you allow yourself to sneak past certain obstacles instead of fighting your way through?

it is indeed the case that thus far at least it has been my intention and success to pummel my way through all foes, accumulating as much experience as possible from weaker enemies and easier quests before continuing on.

Oh, and thanks and right on yourself, by the way!

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Portcullises are best used for crushing bloodsippers and salamanders (not noximanders) as killing via portcullis always results in 25 xp. So you break even with the bats BUT you get an extra experience points in killing salamanders that way!!!

Although you might have to go sufficiently out of your way to do so.

Interesting thoughts, all, on this. I really hadn't thought it through, haha. That is quite a ways to go in many cases, as you say. Iirc, Bear-Arsed 3 was last wandering back into the Western Salted Coast region, in direct contradiction to what I just said about clearing first, at level 6 (9351/11000 xp), and apparently quite convinced it is a good day to die.

I should also add that I've been taking screen captures of what I consider some of his more amusing escapades and will probably share them later, for anyone who's interested. For now I'm off to make my way a few hours closer to Destroyer. Yep, this is that kind of challenge. XD

[Rogosh]

So the only way I could conceive of to be certain of surviving the hive queen's paralyzing toxin with only 50% resistance was to level up to the point where I was quite sure (having tested on one, haha) I'd survive "outsmarting" my enemies by leading them to a bomb and then setting it off at arm's length.

[Turtle]

Yikes. You won't even throw a rock at a powderkeg? Now that's what I call dedication! But watch where you stand--you may be hit by multiple blasts if you're not careful.

[Rogosh]

Yikes. You won't even throw a rock at a powderkeg? Now that's what I call dedication! But watch where you stand--you may be hit by multiple blasts if you're not careful.

My thanks for the warning, but this was the intention. The Iron Monk is of the opinion that, "Weapons, ranged or no, are the tools of cravens, sir." Having encountered the one barrel it was my estimation that the two apart from the others of the set closest to her in the cave would kill her and her friend but not Bear-Arsed, soaker-up-of-more-punishment-than-folk-are-likely-to-survive-to-dish-out.

I'm just now settling down to have another go at things, having actually survived that particular "strategy".

But, am feeling somewhat gloomy as well, having last night realized another somewhat serious lack of foresight in character planning: having allocated points to strength, speed and dexterity in place of endurance. It had occurred to me while I was mucking about that had I been funneling them all into endurance Bear-Arsed 3 would have been at the point of taking on the queen upwards of 90% immune to toxins, diseases, elements and magick in addition to having considerably more hit points (~210 rather than ~150 at level 10 if I don't much miss my mark). This would be both more in line with the character as conceived and not actually have much of a downside given the importance of 45 points in unarmed combat versus all those points in str, dex and spd. I really don't know what I was thinking, not front-loading "constitution" in a game where hit point on level bonuses are not retroactively applied. Woe is me, and such.

Edit: Hmm. Methinks I shall do a little testing on this. Will report back shortly.

Interesting. I missed it the last couple times, but between levels 5 and 7 the experience bar will show 9000/11000 when you hit level 6. I wonder if this was fixed between 1.04 and 1.05.

Analysis

Here's a character sheet comparison of two level nine characters. Leaving off my obvious failure to account for diminishing returns above, on the left is the one whose progression went "place as many skill points as possible into unarmed combat and nothing else, distribute attribute points equally between strength, speed and dexterity (except at the level up to 9 at which point I had already realized the mistake)", on the right is the same character who otherwise spent all of his attribute points on endurance. In addition to what's shown, the original (left) has 143 hit points and the max end build (right) has 160, and there does not seem to me any discernible difference between the two's minimum damage. From this I've concluded that the max end build is far superior.

[Rogosh]

Guess who wasn't paying attention and fell in the Noximander pit. To his credit, he managed to take 7 of them with him.

T_T

Here's to version 4, featuring a better build and much smarter progression.

[Unclever title]

Gotta give you props on the game over being GAME OVER, I don't think I'd have the patience for that. Please keep us informed!

[Zerikin]

Cool idea. Though you are going to need to allow at least rock throwing at some point or you cannot get past a few certain areas.

You should get your str/dex/spd to 15 instead of 14 as well since I am pretty sure that is where the next effect kicks in, not at 14. Are the damage stats for unarmed str/spd lilke the weapons, I cannot remember off-hand? I wonder if the bonus from speed would be worth investing some points for the extra AC. Another option for some skill point might be dropping a few into survival for extra HP regen and more poison and disease resist.