Plane of Earth
| Plane of Earth | |
|---|---|
| Location | Level −1 of the End Game |
| Bones | No |
| Mappable | Yes |
| Teleportable | No |
| Diggable floor | No |
| Diggable walls | Yes |
The Plane of Earth is the first of the Elemental Planes. It is reached by going up from the top level of the Dungeons of Doom while carrying the Amulet of Yendor - after this point, the Dungeons of Doom become permanently inaccessible to the hero, and they must make their way towards their goal of the Astral Plane.
The Plane of Earth is ineligible to leave bones files. The entire level is no-teleport and has a non-diggable floor.
Map
...
.... ..
..... ... ..
.... .... ...
.... ... .... ... .
.. .. ....... . ..
.. ... .
. .. . ...
.. .. . .. .
.. ... .
... ...
.. ... ..
.... ..
.. ...
.. .....
... ..@
....
..
Most of the level is filled with solid rock around caverns that are scattered as shown above, including single-square areas placed randomly on the level. The hero will enter the level in the bottom-right cavern, and the magic portal to the Plane of Air is randomly placed in one of the other caverns.
The entrance cavern contains a minotaur with a guaranteed wand of digging and an Elvenking with a guaranteed pick-axe, and upon entering the level, the Wizard of Yendor will immediately appear before the hero carrying a spellbook of dig (resurrecting if necessary).[1][2][3] The remainder of the level contains 27 earth elementals, eight rock trolls, five stone giants, five pit vipers, three barbed devils, three pit fiends, a rock piercer, an umber hulk, a dust vortex, four stone golems, a scorpion, and a second minotaur, distributed fairly evenly among the caverns.
Digging with a pick-axe or dwarvish mattock has a 1⁄3 chance of generating earth elementals and xorns.[4] Digging with blessed tools also has a 1⁄3 chance of a 3x3 area of rock immediately clearing around the hero[5] - otherwise, digging with tools has a 1⁄6 chance of a cave-in creating walls in that same area if the tool is uncursed, and a 1⁄4 chance of doing so if the tool is cursed.
Strategy
The Plane of Earth is the most straightforward of the planes. Once the Wizard has been dispatched, the primary challenge is quickly locating the portal.
Moving
The single wand of digging dropped by the minotaur may not be sufficient to reach the portal, especially if exploration is required. Bringing a few wands of your own or a source of charging is strongly recommended, and there should be several available by the time you are ready to enter the Planes. If you find that you must use digging tools to clear a path, make sure to bless them in order to potentially speed up progress.
Surviving
Most of the monsters should pose no real threat to an ascension-worthy character. However, the many earth elementals on the Plane will phase through the solid rock to get to you, and can impede progress if you dig too slowly; they are also generated with 3 times the HP of those encountered in the dungeons.[6] Conflict can help if you are surrounded, as does polymorphing into a phasing monster yourself, which will enable you to move around rapidly - the usual polyselfing caveats to those forms apply.
Portal detection
The portal can be located by the usual methods—scroll of gold detection, wand of secret door detection, spell of detect unseen, wearing the Amulet of Yendor, and so on. Reading a cursed scroll of gold detection is the fastest and easiest—just remember where it was, because it will become invisible when you get near. Non-cursed scrolls also work if the hero has a source of confusion - players lacking a source may consider seeking out the umber hulk in the center of the level, which also makes it possible to enter the Plane of Air confused as well. If all else fails, it is possible (though much slower) to locate the portal by visiting each cavern and searching or walking over every square - having the automatic searching property can easily assist in this regard.
Messages
- The debris from your digging comes to life!
- Earth elementals and/or xorns were generated from digging using a pick-axe or dwarvish mattock.
- A mysterious force <creates a/extends the> cave around you!
- An opening was created by digging with a blessed pick.
- Crash! The ceiling collapses around you!
- Walls were generated from digging with a non-blessed pick.
References
This page is based on a spoiler by Dylan O'Donnell. The original license is:
Redistribution, copying, and editing of these spoilers, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
- The original contributors to any spoiler must continue to be credited.
- Any modifications to the spoiler must be acknowledged and credited.
