I'm also starting out just recently, and finally made it to level 9.
One trick I've started doing is going into stores that are really loaded, picking up spell books, scrolls, and wands, and reading scrolls at random (or zapping) to try to break out. Twice I've gotten scrolls of teleport, which spirited me out and I got to keep the loot (well, sort of, the Kops got me one time). Also I've gotten wands of polymorph twice, which make for an easy escape (if you turn the shopkeeper into a rock mole, also, you get his wand of striking) or a not-so-easy escape (if you turn him into a python which kills you -- oh well).
I've had the most success so far playing the monk, I like the combination of spells and fighting ability.
A few specific questions:
1. What to do with puddings, besides dissolve my stuff when I attack?
2. Are unicorns just really annoying?
3. I guess you use the mirror on cockatrices. I never seem to have one when one of those little buggers shows up.
4. Sometimes my spell percent to-fail suddenly goes up. Is that a curse? Is it because my god is angry with me?
5. Autopickup -- on or off?
6. What to wish for? The only game I got wishes, I got two of them, both on level one, both from fountains. I had no idea what to wish for (first time I got a wand of striking, most powerful item I had seen up to then. Second wish, I went online to some web site that shows items, looked it over briefly, and got a dragon scale mail. I probably didn't use those as effectively as I could have).
Thanks in advance for any tips -- now i'm back to work.
Edit: added #6
One trick I've started doing is going into stores that are really loaded, picking up spell books, scrolls, and wands, and reading scrolls at random (or zapping) to try to break out. Twice I've gotten scrolls of teleport, which spirited me out and I got to keep the loot (well, sort of, the Kops got me one time). Also I've gotten wands of polymorph twice, which make for an easy escape (if you turn the shopkeeper into a rock mole, also, you get his wand of striking) or a not-so-easy escape (if you turn him into a python which kills you -- oh well).
I've had the most success so far playing the monk, I like the combination of spells and fighting ability.
A few specific questions:
1. What to do with puddings, besides dissolve my stuff when I attack?
2. Are unicorns just really annoying?
3. I guess you use the mirror on cockatrices. I never seem to have one when one of those little buggers shows up.
4. Sometimes my spell percent to-fail suddenly goes up. Is that a curse? Is it because my god is angry with me?
5. Autopickup -- on or off?
6. What to wish for? The only game I got wishes, I got two of them, both on level one, both from fountains. I had no idea what to wish for (first time I got a wand of striking, most powerful item I had seen up to then. Second wish, I went online to some web site that shows items, looked it over briefly, and got a dragon scale mail. I probably didn't use those as effectively as I could have).
Thanks in advance for any tips -- now i'm back to work.
Edit: added #6