Difference between revisions of "Master Kaen"
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==Strategy== | ==Strategy== | ||
| − | Kaen is incredibly ferocious in a straight-up fight. Fortunately, he has weaknesses, and a wise Monk will exploit them--in the | + | Kaen is incredibly ferocious in a straight-up fight. Fortunately, he has weaknesses, and a wise Monk will exploit them--in the words of Sun Tsu, "You may advance and be absolutely irresistible, if you make for the enemy's weak points." Kaen's weaknesses include his predictable behavior (teleporting to the upstair to heal), and his lack of key resistances (sleep and disintegration). The strategies listed below generally strive to play upon these weaknesses. |
Even with a good game plan, you may find Kaen a deadly opponent. You will want a very low AC to degrade his attacks (-20 is comfortable; you may get by with less), enough HP to survive multiple rounds of combat against him (200+), and a very high Luck to ensure that you are able to hit him. All of this--and the strength of the other enemies you face on the Quest--indicates postponing this battle until you have had enough time to prepare for it. Generally, you will be strong enough after you have finished the [[Castle]] and retrieved the [[luckstone]] from [[Mine's End]]. | Even with a good game plan, you may find Kaen a deadly opponent. You will want a very low AC to degrade his attacks (-20 is comfortable; you may get by with less), enough HP to survive multiple rounds of combat against him (200+), and a very high Luck to ensure that you are able to hit him. All of this--and the strength of the other enemies you face on the Quest--indicates postponing this battle until you have had enough time to prepare for it. Generally, you will be strong enough after you have finished the [[Castle]] and retrieved the [[luckstone]] from [[Mine's End]]. | ||
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Wield or throw a [[potion of paralysis]] while wearing a [[ring of free action]] or zap him with the [[sleep]] spell or wand. Make sure you can use this method multiple times to ensure his immobility--you may miss, or he may wake up before you finish killing him. | Wield or throw a [[potion of paralysis]] while wearing a [[ring of free action]] or zap him with the [[sleep]] spell or wand. Make sure you can use this method multiple times to ensure his immobility--you may miss, or he may wake up before you finish killing him. | ||
| − | [[Sleep]] is a keyword to defeat him even at Lvl 14--it is difficult to overstate the power of this lowly spell against Kaen. After rendering him helpless, be sure to hit him hard. [[Mjollnir]] is an excellent choice if you have it, as are the [[martial arts]] at Grand Master skill level. But one or two of the stronger attack [[wand]]s, such as Lightning, Fire or Cold will work nicely as well. | + | [[Sleep]] is a keyword to defeat him even at Lvl 14--it is difficult to overstate the power of this lowly spell against Kaen. After rendering him helpless, be sure to hit him hard. [[Mjollnir]] is an excellent choice if you have it, as are the [[martial arts]] at Grand Master skill level. But one or two of the stronger attack [[wand]]s, such as Lightning, Fire or Cold will work nicely as well. About 12 shots total should suffice, again assuming your luck is sufficiently high and you don't have too many misses. |
===Boulder fort=== | ===Boulder fort=== | ||
Revision as of 23:35, 10 May 2009
@ Master Kaen 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 31 |
| Attacks |
Claw 16d2, claw 16d2, spell-casting (clerical), claw 1d4 quest-artifact-stealing |
| Base level | 25 |
| Base experience | 1066 |
| Speed | 12 |
| Base AC | -10 |
| Base MR | 10 |
| Alignment | 20 (lawful) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | Unique |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 1450 |
| Nutritional value | 400 |
| Size | Medium |
| Resistances | Poison, stoning |
| Resistances conveyed |
Poison (100%)
|
- This page is a stub. Should you wish to do so, you can contribute by expanding this page.
Master Kaen, @, is the Monk quest nemesis.
He is extremely difficult: hits hard and often, casts spells, and ignores Elbereth.
Contents
Strategy
Kaen is incredibly ferocious in a straight-up fight. Fortunately, he has weaknesses, and a wise Monk will exploit them--in the words of Sun Tsu, "You may advance and be absolutely irresistible, if you make for the enemy's weak points." Kaen's weaknesses include his predictable behavior (teleporting to the upstair to heal), and his lack of key resistances (sleep and disintegration). The strategies listed below generally strive to play upon these weaknesses.
Even with a good game plan, you may find Kaen a deadly opponent. You will want a very low AC to degrade his attacks (-20 is comfortable; you may get by with less), enough HP to survive multiple rounds of combat against him (200+), and a very high Luck to ensure that you are able to hit him. All of this--and the strength of the other enemies you face on the Quest--indicates postponing this battle until you have had enough time to prepare for it. Generally, you will be strong enough after you have finished the Castle and retrieved the luckstone from Mine's End.
Paralysis or sleep
Wield or throw a potion of paralysis while wearing a ring of free action or zap him with the sleep spell or wand. Make sure you can use this method multiple times to ensure his immobility--you may miss, or he may wake up before you finish killing him.
Sleep is a keyword to defeat him even at Lvl 14--it is difficult to overstate the power of this lowly spell against Kaen. After rendering him helpless, be sure to hit him hard. Mjollnir is an excellent choice if you have it, as are the martial arts at Grand Master skill level. But one or two of the stronger attack wands, such as Lightning, Fire or Cold will work nicely as well. About 12 shots total should suffice, again assuming your luck is sufficiently high and you don't have too many misses.
Boulder fort
After Kaen ports to the upstairs, go up and read a scroll of earth and use ranged attacks such as spells or wands. You can also try this on the upstair to prevent him from porting away.
Drain life
Use the drain life spell until he croaks. It is a good idea to do this on the level above and when he teleports away (to heal the modest HP damage that drain life does on top of the draining effect), go downstairs to heal yourself, preferably on a burned Elbereth. Eidolos uses this method for his instructional ttyrec posted on RGRN.
Levitation
Use fireproof water walking boots while fire resistant or levitate over the lava and use ranged attacks. At a distance, Kaen only casts the heal self and create insects spells. Beware of losing your ability to levitate--as from lightning destroying your ring!
Polymorph
Although Master Kaen gains magic resistance from the quest artifact, he is NOT immune to disintegration. Polymorphing into a Black Dragon and using #Monster will allow you to kill him VERY easily. One thing to note is his low AC causes the beam to miss him occasionally. To be extra safe, polymorphing can be combined with the boulder fort or levitation strategies mentioned above (Levitating over lava can be risky as if the polymorph wears off, you'll lose the dragon's flying ability and die in the lava. However if the levitation or polymorph comes from a ring, you can remain over lava safely).
Melee
Fight Kaen mano-a-mano. Not recommended. Master Kaen has a higher base damage than any other monster, resulting in very stable and impressive damage, counterintuitive to the monk's low AC. You are therefore opposing his strengths with your weaknesses. Sufficiently advanced players have managed to do this, however.
External links
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