What are the odds?!

In article <0P-dncP3BbzBg1_ZnZ2dnUVZ_sednZ2d.TakeThisOut@comcast.com>,
Ben <bens_fulcrum.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com> wrote:
>I found a wand of wishing on dlvl 1!

Cool. How did you ID it? random zap?

> Wished for 2 blessed charging scrolls.

Prudent.

> Another wish? Great! Cloak of magic resistance!

Not so sure about this choice. I'm learning that many
Artifacts confer MR. And because they are artifacts they always
have great side effects! And since they are not your Quest artifact
(which you can't wish up anyway!) they are generally safe.

The only problem of course is that they'll blast you with their
power. So you need some HP before you can wish one up.

I came across a WoW in a bones pile in my current game. I was
fortunate to ID it, so I knew it had one charge. I already knew
charging. I wished for the following:

Eye of the Aethiopica
blessed fixed greased +2 helm of brilliance (and got it)
blessed fixed +2 speed boots (got +0)
blessed spellbook of identify

I lost the last wish because I blew up the bag of holding I was
carrying it in. Ouch. But I have the castle to look forward to.

The other thing is that the cloak slot is useful for a lot of things
since MR is obtainable in other slots (armor or an artifact in your
pack) clear out the cloak for a robe, or displacement, or invisibility
for example.

I started playing nethack as a wizard. I depended on my CoMR because I
got it in starting equipment. But as I've played other characters (I'm
running a Monk now) I learned that while MR is crucial, that the CoMR
isn't the best way to get it.

> Another wish? Great! Silver dragon scale mail!

Same argument here. Since Sokoban guarantees either a "reflection or
a BoH, I would have thought about holding off on reflection until I
got a chance to see what's at the top of Sokoban.

>Of course, me being stupid excited and unlucky I used my "third" wish. I
>wrested one last charge!? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Ouch! BTW that's a 1 in 121 chance that you'll wrest on the 1st try. That's
truly unlucky!

I probably would have had the same bad luck. I would have wished for the two
charging scrolls, GDSM, and unless I was absolutely dreadful spellcaster I
would have wished for identify with the last wish. Speed boots,
BoH/"reflection (whichever Sokoban didn't have) and my artifact would have
been left unwished for.

Good luck in your game.

BAJ
 >> Stay informed about: What are the odds?! 

Ben wrote:
> I found a wand of wishing on dlvl 1! Wished for 2 blessed charging
> scrolls. Another wish? Great! Cloak of magic resistance! Another wish?
> Great! Silver dragon scale mail!
>
> Of course, me being stupid excited and unlucky I used my "third" wish. I
> wrested one last charge!? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Hey, at least you got good AC, reflection, and MR from the get-go.

I disagree with the suggestion to wait until sokoban before using the
wishes. You know there's another /wishing in the castle, so your only
goal now is to get there. Surviving the early game is much more likely
with DSM of some sort.

Normally if I were a bit higher level I'd go with SDSM and the Eye (if
you're neutral) or maybe the sceptre of might (if lawful) for MR.
Chaotic I'd do GDSM/"oR.

But the artifacts can blast you. Getting GDSM and "oR now would be my
choice (a robe is more valuable than any alternative in the amulet
slot, unless you're new enough that "oLS is a major factor), or SDSM
and chancing it without MR until I get 40HP (with reflection, MR isn't
_that_ critical for the first few dungeon levels) and wish for the
artifact.

Your way is pretty good too.

As someone else mentioned, getting PR is high on your agenda now.
Sleep resistance too.

What did you use the wrest charge for? Jumping or speed boots would be
nice.

There's no way I waste a wish at this point on +identify, things like
the aforementioned boots, =conflict, magic marker (for ?ea which you'll
probably find fairly soon), and such that _really_ help survival now
are higher on the list. You can use the Castle wand for amenities
(/poly might be better and polypile all the spellbooks in the dungeon
above the castle).
And personally I'd want =telecontrol over +identify anyway.
 >> Stay informed about: What are the odds?! 

Byron A Jeff wrote:
> In article <0P-dncP3BbzBg1_ZnZ2dnUVZ_sednZ2d.TakeThisOut@comcast.com>,
> Ben <bens_fulcrum.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>>Of course, me being stupid excited and unlucky I used my "third" wish. I
>>wrested one last charge!? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
>
> Ouch! BTW that's a 1 in 121 chance that you'll wrest on the 1st try. That's
> truly unlucky!

I've done that, zapping a WoW with an unknown number of charges, once; it
turned to dust with the first zap when it was empty, no "nothing happens"
warning. Call that "truly unlucky" if you like, I call it "Evil RNG".

Janis, who doesn't believe in the 1 in 121 chance in case of WoW's whatever
the source code says.
 >> Stay informed about: What are the odds?! 

sjdevnull DeleteThis @yahoo.com wrote:

> I disagree with the suggestion to wait until sokoban before using the
> wishes. You know there's another /wishing in the castle, so your only
> goal now is to get there. Surviving the early game is much more likely
> with DSM of some sort.

Same here. I used to be really efficient with wishes and equipment until
I realized my characters died with promising inventories. Now I use
whatever my character has without regret. No more great bones files with
my name, however.


> Normally if I were a bit higher level I'd go with SDSM and the Eye (if
> you're neutral) or maybe the sceptre of might (if lawful) for MR.
> Chaotic I'd do GDSM/"oR.

My next ascended character will [hopefully] not have any genocided
monsters and no artifacts wished for. Which means I will probably end up
with a cloak of magic resistance and an artifact gift from sacrificing.
If you are not going for the artifact conduct then the Eye or Sceptre
are great!


> What did you use the wrest charge for? Jumping or speed boots would be
> nice.

*Cough*
"of lifesaving
*Ducks*

I have only recently started playing priests and the speed boots seem to
be a much bigger deal than with my monk characters. With the monks I
could usually get by without the speed boots.


> There's no way I waste a wish at this point on +identify, things like
> the aforementioned boots, =conflict, magic marker (for ?ea which you'll
> probably find fairly soon), and such that _really_ help survival now
> are higher on the list.

Many of my promising characters have recently died on the castle level.
Usually by ending up in the middle of a hoard of summoned monsters.
Without conflict or genocide, how can I deal with the L's better? My
latest strategy of charging in and killing the L's before they summon
does not seem to be working very well!
 >> Stay informed about: What are the odds?! 

Ben wrote:
> > Chaotic I'd do GDSM/"oR.
>
> My next ascended character will [hopefully] not have any genocided
> monsters and no artifacts wished for. Which means I will probably end up
> with a cloak of magic resistance and an artifact gift from sacrificing.

GDSM/"oR lets you wear a robe, which is far more valuable than a "oLS
IMO (except for high-level wizards and a few others who don't benefit
from the robe)

> I have only recently started playing priests and the speed boots seem to
> be a much bigger deal than with my monk characters. With the monks I
> could usually get by without the speed boots.

Monks start with intrinsic speed or get it very quickly (can't remember
which). The difference between regular speed and fast is far more
important than that between fast and very fast.

If you're going to remember to use them, jumping boots + intrinsic
speed are a better solution than speed boots (and I save a few blessed
!speed for sanctum/air/astral).

> Many of my promising characters have recently died on the castle level.
> Usually by ending up in the middle of a hoard of summoned monsters.
> Without conflict or genocide, how can I deal with the L's better? My
> latest strategy of charging in and killing the L's before they summon
> does not seem to be working very well!

The only ones that should be a threat are the purple ones; the others
you can just guillotine.
Have a means of engraving E on the upstairs when you come down (wand of
fire is ideal), if you have MR and a powerful weapon you might risk
bashing on them if you have some outs (wand of teleport to zap at them
or the nasties they summon, etc).
A boulder fort (while you're on the stairs) and some good missile
attacks works fine and is safe.
I've even seen someone polyself into a black dragon and disintegrate
them.

A lot of the time there are no purple (teleporting) ones, though, so
you just stay outside the castle drawbridge (a knight's move from its
closed position) and use it to crush everything until L, golden N, R,
etc are all cleared out. Burn E on the spot you're standing on, and
don't wear a cloak of displacement (soldiers zapping /striking can
destroy the bridge if you do).
 >> Stay informed about: What are the odds?! 

Ben wrote:

[ ... snip ... ]

> Many of my promising characters have recently died on the castle level.
> Usually by ending up in the middle of a hoard of summoned monsters.
> Without conflict or genocide, how can I deal with the L's better? My
> latest strategy of charging in and killing the L's before they summon
> does not seem to be working very well!

Squishing (most) everything in the castle drawbridge seems to work
well.

-cdi
 >> Stay informed about: What are the odds?! 

Byron A Jeff wrote:
> sjdevnull.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com <sjdevnull.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I sait wait until sokoban before wishing for reflection. Instead of
> blowing 2 wishes on SDSM and CoMR, I would have only wished for GDSM
> getting the great dragon armor and MR in a single wish.
>

MR isn't that useful above DL8 if you have reflection, though.

Normally if you get 1 wish, GDSM is a no-brainer because you have 2
50/50 shots at reflection and once you've levelled up a few times and
have decent hp then reflection isn't quite as critical anyway.

But if you have multiple wishes on DL1, eliminate instadeath
opportunities ruthlessly. Get reflection.

And you can take a little time before you get MR if you want it from an
artifact, certainly you'll have > 40 HP well before DL8.

> Always an interesting decision. I however tend to wish for what I know I
> cannot get normally. Reflection has a 50% chance of showing up in Sokoban.
> In GDSM you can get to the bottom of Sokoban as a pacifist because none of
> low level monsters can either hit you are do any real damage if they do.

You cannot be seriously. With luck like an early /wishing, you can
eliminate virtually all instadeaths from DL1.

Staying at low HP (pacifist) and without reflection is absolutely
stupid. You leave yourself exposed to all those attack wands as
instant death, falling rock traps, rolling boulders, etc.

> All I'm suggesting is using the natural course of the
> game to assist in making a fortunate event into an ascendable character.

But there's nothing you could wish for that will make you more
survivable than the combination of:
a) having reflection pre-Soko; and
b) a 50/50 shot at having reflection post-soko when you'd have lacked
it before.

I'd say a) alone suffices anyway.

> >Chaotic I'd do GDSM/"oR.
>
> Interesting. So you'd use an artifact for MR if possible. Hmmmm.

Yeah, because the MR-granting artifacts I mentioned have other nice
features:
For neutrals, the Eye gives you fast mana regen which is incredibly
powerful. It also lets you open portals around the dungeon (good way
to get back to your stash, or to escape hairy situations). It also
gives ESP when worn.
For lawfuls, the Sceptre of Might also toggles conflict (=conflict is
sometimes a wish-worthy item on its own) and also is a good
double-damage artifact against chaotic and neutral monsters

Particularly the Eye would be worth a wish even if it didn't give MR
(obviously only after you have MR), so it's a no-brainer if you have
SDSM and can safely wish for it.

> I see where you're going with the issue of a lack of reflection. I ran
> a wizmode test giving a goblin a wand of lightning and a wand of death.
> Reflection protected against both, while MR only stopped the effect of
> the death wand.

Yes. Also, less importantly, it protects against mis-keying around a
floating eye (the eye's gaze is reflected instead of paralyzing you).

> I hate polytraps. So MR becomes critical after level 7.

Right, but you'll have MR well before DL7; you get SDSM and level up
quickly until you have enough over 40HP to get the Eye/Sceptre.

> [SNIP--me arguing against +identify]
>
> I think I'm biased because I have +ID in my current game and it's the
> spell I use the most.

Oh yeah, it's great. It's just not needed now, with this /wishing you
can easily make yourself buff enough to have no problems getting to the
Castle and getting it there.

But if you wish for +ID instead of, say, a blessed tin of green dragon
meat (for PR) then you can easily die what was a preventable death
before reaching the castle.

> BTW I think the castle wand is getting ahead of oneself. I guess I'd
> treat the random WoW as if it's the only WoW I'll see in the game.

I presume you don't actually mean that: e.g. if Izchak's has <7
candles, you're not going to wish them up with this WoW.

Regardless of whether you can make it to the castle regularly or not,
though, you should use the first /wishing to maximize your ability to
survive as long as possible. Luxury conveniences (+identify, bag of
holding, GoPower/dex, etc) should be very low on the agenda compared to
things that will really increase survival (MR, reflection, PR,
speed/jumping, magic markers for AC, ?genocide if you regularly survive
to the point where they'd help, etc)
 >> Stay informed about: What are the odds?! 

In article <1153591391.459010.113030.DeleteThis@i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com>,
sjdevnull.DeleteThis@yahoo.com <sjdevnull.DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote:
>Ben wrote:
>> I found a wand of wishing on dlvl 1! Wished for 2 blessed charging
>> scrolls. Another wish? Great! Cloak of magic resistance! Another wish?
>> Great! Silver dragon scale mail!
>>
>> Of course, me being stupid excited and unlucky I used my "third" wish. I
>> wrested one last charge!? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
>
>Hey, at least you got good AC, reflection, and MR from the get-go.
>
>I disagree with the suggestion to wait until sokoban before using the
>wishes.

I sait wait until sokoban before wishing for reflection. Instead of
blowing 2 wishes on SDSM and CoMR, I would have only wished for GDSM
getting the great dragon armor and MR in a single wish.

> You know there's another /wishing in the castle, so your only
>goal now is to get there. Surviving the early game is much more likely
>with DSM of some sort.

No argument there. I use the rule of thumb from the Wishing Spoiler, namely
if you don't have MR yet, wish from GDSM.

>Normally if I were a bit higher level I'd go with SDSM and the Eye (if
>you're neutral) or maybe the sceptre of might (if lawful) for MR.

Always an interesting decision. I however tend to wish for what I know I
cannot get normally. Reflection has a 50% chance of showing up in Sokoban.
In GDSM you can get to the bottom of Sokoban as a pacifist because none of
low level monsters can either hit you are do any real damage if they do.

As the OP realized, a random WoW is a rare, rare event. And it's 25 levels
down to the castle. All I'm suggesting is using the natural course of the
game to assist in making a fortunate event into an ascendable character.

>Chaotic I'd do GDSM/"oR.

Interesting. So you'd use an artifact for MR if possible. Hmmmm.

>But the artifacts can blast you. Getting GDSM and "oR now would be my
>choice (a robe is more valuable than any alternative in the amulet
>slot, unless you're new enough that "oLS is a major factor), or SDSM
>and chancing it without MR until I get 40HP (with reflection, MR isn't
>_that_ critical for the first few dungeon levels) and wish for the
>artifact.

I see where you're going with the issue of a lack of reflection. I ran
a wizmode test giving a goblin a wand of lightning and a wand of death.
Reflection protected against both, while MR only stopped the effect of
the death wand.

I hate polytraps. So MR becomes critical after level 7. But even in
SDSM it isn't do bad because you'll become a silver dragon. But you'll
lose any cloak you have on in the process.


>
>Your way is pretty good too.
>
>As someone else mentioned, getting PR is high on your agenda now.
>Sleep resistance too.
>
>What did you use the wrest charge for? Jumping or speed boots would be
>nice.
>
>There's no way I waste a wish at this point on +identify, things like
>the aforementioned boots, =conflict, magic marker (for ?ea which you'll
>probably find fairly soon), and such that _really_ help survival now
>are higher on the list. You can use the Castle wand for amenities
>(/poly might be better and polypile all the spellbooks in the dungeon
>above the castle).
>And personally I'd want =telecontrol over +identify anyway.

It's debatable. Considering that ?identify is easily obtainable, maybe
a magic marker may be a better bet because it can be applied to any known
scroll or spellbook.

I think I'm biased because I have +ID in my current game and it's the
spell I use the most.

The advantage is that it's a virtually unlimited resource. For 20000
turns and 15 manna points you can find out what everything is.

BTW I think the castle wand is getting ahead of oneself. I guess I'd
treat the random WoW as if it's the only WoW I'll see in the game.

BAJ
 >> Stay informed about: What are the odds?! 

I would also like to add that
When you get WoW early, wishing for +2 magicbane is also very useful.
It is going to be useful in the end game. And you can wish upto two
artifacts
without blowing wishes.
So for me I would wish
1) 2 b?ocharging (inevitable)
2) +3 SDSM.

3) blessed +3 unicorn horn (I think its better than blessed tin of
green dragon meat).
It can cure sickness and does much more. It is easy to get it later but
why not early.
If you get the +3 it could become a decent weapon even if restricted.

Wait some time to level up if not neutral (HP at least 25).
4) blessed +2 rustproof Magic Bane (gives magic resistence, a decent
weapon, and can write Elbereth, and an excellent help in the late game,
also helps when quaffing from fountains)

Wait some more (HP at least 41)
5) blessed The Eye of the Aethiopica.
I think I would prefer the Magic mirror of merlin for lawfuls.
It also gives telepathy. Telepathy comes in a lot of use early.
=oConflict is very useful in the late game, so can be wished from
the castle wand.
But with conflict you can try to reach the castle much faster, leaving
the exploration for later.

The rest (if left) use up on magic markers. May also be a good idea to
get a =oConflict and head down to the castle for the rest of the wishes
.

-anandsr

sjdevnull.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com wrote:
> Byron A Jeff wrote:
> > sjdevnull.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com <sjdevnull.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > I sait wait until sokoban before wishing for reflection. Instead of
> > blowing 2 wishes on SDSM and CoMR, I would have only wished for GDSM
> > getting the great dragon armor and MR in a single wish.
> >
>
> MR isn't that useful above DL8 if you have reflection, though.
>
> Normally if you get 1 wish, GDSM is a no-brainer because you have 2
> 50/50 shots at reflection and once you've levelled up a few times and
> have decent hp then reflection isn't quite as critical anyway.
>
> But if you have multiple wishes on DL1, eliminate instadeath
> opportunities ruthlessly. Get reflection.
>
> And you can take a little time before you get MR if you want it from an
> artifact, certainly you'll have > 40 HP well before DL8.
>
> > Always an interesting decision. I however tend to wish for what I know I
> > cannot get normally. Reflection has a 50% chance of showing up in Sokoban.
> > In GDSM you can get to the bottom of Sokoban as a pacifist because none of
> > low level monsters can either hit you are do any real damage if they do.
>
> You cannot be seriously. With luck like an early /wishing, you can
> eliminate virtually all instadeaths from DL1.
>
> Staying at low HP (pacifist) and without reflection is absolutely
> stupid. You leave yourself exposed to all those attack wands as
> instant death, falling rock traps, rolling boulders, etc.
>
> > All I'm suggesting is using the natural course of the
> > game to assist in making a fortunate event into an ascendable character.
>
> But there's nothing you could wish for that will make you more
> survivable than the combination of:
> a) having reflection pre-Soko; and
> b) a 50/50 shot at having reflection post-soko when you'd have lacked
> it before.
>
> I'd say a) alone suffices anyway.
>
> > >Chaotic I'd do GDSM/"oR.
> >
> > Interesting. So you'd use an artifact for MR if possible. Hmmmm.
>
> Yeah, because the MR-granting artifacts I mentioned have other nice
> features:
> For neutrals, the Eye gives you fast mana regen which is incredibly
> powerful. It also lets you open portals around the dungeon (good way
> to get back to your stash, or to escape hairy situations). It also
> gives ESP when worn.
> For lawfuls, the Sceptre of Might also toggles conflict (=conflict is
> sometimes a wish-worthy item on its own) and also is a good
> double-damage artifact against chaotic and neutral monsters
>
> Particularly the Eye would be worth a wish even if it didn't give MR
> (obviously only after you have MR), so it's a no-brainer if you have
> SDSM and can safely wish for it.
>
> > I see where you're going with the issue of a lack of reflection. I ran
> > a wizmode test giving a goblin a wand of lightning and a wand of death.
> > Reflection protected against both, while MR only stopped the effect of
> > the death wand.
>
> Yes. Also, less importantly, it protects against mis-keying around a
> floating eye (the eye's gaze is reflected instead of paralyzing you).
>
> > I hate polytraps. So MR becomes critical after level 7.
>
> Right, but you'll have MR well before DL7; you get SDSM and level up
> quickly until you have enough over 40HP to get the Eye/Sceptre.
>
> > [SNIP--me arguing against +identify]
> >
> > I think I'm biased because I have +ID in my current game and it's the
> > spell I use the most.
>
> Oh yeah, it's great. It's just not needed now, with this /wishing you
> can easily make yourself buff enough to have no problems getting to the
> Castle and getting it there.
>
> But if you wish for +ID instead of, say, a blessed tin of green dragon
> meat (for PR) then you can easily die what was a preventable death
> before reaching the castle.
>
> > BTW I think the castle wand is getting ahead of oneself. I guess I'd
> > treat the random WoW as if it's the only WoW I'll see in the game.
>
> I presume you don't actually mean that: e.g. if Izchak's has <7
> candles, you're not going to wish them up with this WoW.
>
> Regardless of whether you can make it to the castle regularly or not,
> though, you should use the first /wishing to maximize your ability to
> survive as long as possible. Luxury conveniences (+identify, bag of
> holding, GoPower/dex, etc) should be very low on the agenda compared to
> things that will really increase survival (MR, reflection, PR,
> speed/jumping, magic markers for AC, ?genocide if you regularly survive
> to the point where they'd help, etc)
 >> Stay informed about: What are the odds?! 

sjdevnull.RemoveThis@yahoo.com wrote:
[How best to spend early wishes]
> ?genocide if you regularly survive to the point where they'd help, etc)

Just as an excercise in stupidity...

Suppose you find a 0:3 /ow on dlevel 1. Suppose also that you have
plenty of blank (or blankable) scrolls available.

Wish 1 - 2 B?oCharging
Wish 2 - 2 B?ogenocide (So you know how to write them)
Remaining 5 wishes: Blessed Magic markers.

Without only a brief look at the spoilers and some rough hand-wavy
mathematics, I make that something like 3 blessed scrolls of genocide
per marker (remember you need a B?oCharging for each marker.) With at
least one more genocide from your second wish, let's say 16 blessed
genocides in all.

You could probably depopulate half the dungeon with that. You could
certainly take out most of the more threatening early-game critters,
leaving only rats, lizards, moulds, jellies, minor undead and other
monsters too slow and/or weak to obstruct your early game. How about
this:

a
h
G
q
m
n
B
Two of d, u or f depending on what your pet is (although genociding u
effectively removes unihorns from the game- unless you get another wish
or a bones file)
c
o
k
C
S
T


Now stroll down to minetown unchallenged and buy up some protection.
Then amble on down to the luckstone. Watch out for traps. Visit soko as
well. Of course acquiring armour, weapons and experience becomes
something of an issue, but there ought to be enough randomly-generated
stuff and shops to get you a minimum of gear. Any randomly generated
markers, ?oG, throne wishes/ genocides are just gravy.

Then you dive down to the castle, squish the baddies under the
drawbridge, grab the wand and wish up a few more markers to take out

R
L
;
D
V
anything else you don't much like.

Use any remaining wishes on AK items, do the quest, then go on and
finish the game.
=-)

Would this work?
 >> Stay informed about: What are the odds?! 

Janis Papanagnou wrote:
> dogscoff wrote:
> > sjdevnull.RemoveThis@yahoo.com wrote:
> > [How best to spend early wishes]
> >
> >> ?genocide if you regularly survive to the point where they'd help, etc)
> >
> > Just as an excercise in stupidity...
> > [ use wishes for massive genocide, scrolls and markers ]
> >
> > You could probably depopulate half the dungeon with that. [...]
> >
> > a h G q m n B
> > Two of d, u or f [snip]
> > c o k C S T
> >
> > [...]
> >
> > Would this work?
>
> You would risk to starve (h, q, o, and G is primary food in the early game).
> And praying just for food makes you vulnerable in case some E (or whatever
> tough) approaches.

Good point, but you could explore very quickly. You could run straight
for soko if your role doesn't start with food. Plenty to eat there.
 >> Stay informed about: What are the odds?! 

On 2006-07-24, anandsr21.DeleteThis@gmail.com <anandsr21.DeleteThis@gmail.com> wrote:
> I would also like to add that
> When you get WoW early, wishing for +2 magicbane is also very useful.
> It is going to be useful in the end game. And you can wish upto two
> artifacts
> without blowing wishes.
> So for me I would wish
> ...
> 3) blessed +3 unicorn horn (I think its better than blessed tin of
> green dragon meat).
> It can cure sickness and does much more. It is easy to get it later but
> why not early.

It does not protect you from "The spikes were poisoned! You die..."
It does not protect you from instakills from poisoned arrows.
It does not protect you from instakills from poisoned darts.
It does not protect you from instakills from poisoned stings (though
magic cancellation can help here).

While it may still be a good wish if you run into a very early wand
of wishing, a unicorn horn does not obviate the necessity of poison
resistance. If you plan to get MR from a quest artifact, wishing for green
dragon scale mail (as opposed to silver) actually merits consideration;
yes, you'll be switching it out eventually, but you might find silver
scales before the Castle and your chances of finding a silver shield
or an amulet of reflection are quite good. I have never done this, but
I think that nowadays, if I found an early wand of wishing, I would.
Poison resistance plus 9-12 points of AC from one wish is better than
just poison resistance If you get really desperate or need something
to credit clone with, you can even sell your green dragon scale mail
for 450 zorkmids! Until you have 40 HP poison is a bigger threat than
anything MR protects you from anyway.

On a poison resistance kick for some reason,

-r.
 >> Stay informed about: What are the odds?! 

dogscoff wrote:
> sjdevnull.DeleteThis@yahoo.com wrote:
> [How best to spend early wishes]
>
>> ?genocide if you regularly survive to the point where they'd help, etc)
>
> Just as an excercise in stupidity...
> [ use wishes for massive genocide, scrolls and markers ]
>
> You could probably depopulate half the dungeon with that. [...]
>
> a h G q m n B
> Two of d, u or f [snip]
> c o k C S T
>
> [...]
>
> Would this work?

You would risk to starve (h, q, o, and G is primary food in the early game).
And praying just for food makes you vulnerable in case some E (or whatever
tough) approaches.

Janis
 >> Stay informed about: What are the odds?!