Chaotic Quest
- Not to be confused with Chaos Quest (dNetHack).
The Chaotic Quest is one of the new alignment-based quests in SLASH'EM, and arguably the hardest of the three. Unlike normal quests, the alignment quests do not have quest leaders, nor do you actually have to belong to the alignment in question to attempt the Quest. They are also only one level each. You have to complete at least two of the three alignment quests to get the keys to the indestructible doors in Vlad's Tower.
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Level
On entering the Chaotic Quest, you will receive the message "You feel deathly cold." Unlike the Lawful and Neutral Quests, the Chaotic Quest does not have a fixed map. Instead, it looks like a standard rooms-and-corridors level with one bigger 14x10 room. The level contains 17 random L, six random W, eight random V, and 14 random Z; eight chests, nine random gems, ten random potions, nine random scrolls, six random spellbooks, and 34 other random items; and seven random traps.
An example map.
| % + L) ( V |# | V .##### ##. ! |
| !! ?V L %%L W! |# | | # -------- # | W |
| ^ ? W W ^* W |# | |## ####. ^ [ | ### | L ) |
|VL ! !)!(! ? |# | ^ | # # | L | # | |
| ^ ( +(% L|# | | ### ##. | ### -----------
| (L( + ! L |# | L| # -.-+-.-- #
|L[ !?L *? L (W !|# -.-.-- ### # # # ###
|* V* *LV ?( |# # # # ##### #
| ?( V L V !|# # ### ### # ### ###
| ++L L %( %?! * )!|# # # # ####### #
----------------------# # # ### -+-+-|-#
# # # # | |#
### ---.---+-- ###| ^ |#
# | L ^| #- |
###| % | | |
#+ | | |
---------- -------
Vecna himself is located in the 14x10 room; on defeat, he will drop the Key of Chaos, and if killed without digestion or disintegration he will also drop The Hand of Vecna, a very powerful item that gives slotless hungerless regeneration and half physical damage, and can be invoked to summon undead.
Note that the portal back to the Dungeons of Doom can be generated anywhere on the level, including inside the 14x10 room.
Tactics
- Have fire resistance: the random V may include fire vampires, who will quickly wipe out any character without it. Reflection is also important, as it will protect you from the disintegration breath of a summoned black dragon.
- Make sure you have a +4 weapon or extremely powerful spell attacks. You want to be able to kill Vecna for his hand and key. Do not disintegrate him or digest him, as this loses you the hand, one of the best items in the game.
- Engrave Elbereth with a wand of lightning or of fire, or drop a scroll of scare monster for the same effect. Be aware that high-level liches will often generate on the quest, and these may summon minotaurs and couatl, which ignore Elbereth. Even if no purple L are generated or they are genocided, Vecna himself can always summon nasties, and at a higher base level than an arch-lich. Make sure you have a way to deal at least with minotaurs. Teleportation, taming, sleep and polymorph are all good options, especially the last three since minotaurs have zero MR.
- Magicbane can be very useful here if you have it. It is considered a +4 weapon to hit, even if its real enchantment is only +0. It can engrave Elbereth in one turn. It also absorbs almost all the curse inventory attacks that the Liches can throw at you. And it also provides magic resistance while wielded.
- Putting on a ring of conflict can help with the waves of monsters summoned by the Liches.
- Wear deep dragon scale mail, or wield Excalibur, either of which will prevent level drain, but you still have to be quite powerful to survive the waves of enemies. At the very least, have MC 3, which will mostly prevent level drain. Regeneration will help you weather their attacks.
- Genocide : Genociding L/Z/V is very useful : Vampire mages, master/arch-liches, and ghoul queens can easily create fatal summoning storms. Genociding them before entering the quest for the first time will replace them with random monsters, but genociding them after entering the quest for the first time will not do so, and will leave their starting inventories on the ground, which is often more useful, but beware of other monsters using them before you get to them.
- Always have an active means to prevent/survive a fall in the water. Vecna and high-level liches can cast Create Pool, plunging you into water if you're not flying, levitating, or wearing boots of water walking. If they've surrounded you with summoned nasties, you won't be able to climb out, resulting in instadeath.
