Crawl Cosplay Academy
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Asterion the Fallen King
Once a king infamous for waging bloodthirsty campaigns, Asterion was exiled to the depths of the dungeon for his crimes. Here he lurks in his tattered finery, dreaming of a new kingdom. In his lust for power, the minotaur king turned to the worship of Makhleb, and Makhleb has rewarded him with horrifying destructive might.
Asterion says: Soon your soul will belong to Makhleb.
View YouTube videos of this CCA challenge by:
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Challenge Details
| Species | Background | Gods |
|---|---|---|
| Minotaur | Fighter | Makhleb |
The Species, Background, and God choices are all mandatory. You must be worshipping one of the gods listed above before entering Lair, Orcish Mines, the Vaults or Depths, unless this isn't possible in which case you must worship them as soon as you can. Don't use faded altars (except in challenges where you can choose any god), and don't do anything to lose your religion unless otherwise specified.
NOTE: Except for Beogh, Ignis, Jiyva and Lugonu, an altar for the other gods will ALWAYS show up by D:10.
Strategy
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Minotaur fighters are considered one of the "easiest" combos with which to get a win. This is because they are very well rounded without any major weaknesses. You should be able to have very high AC and SH for defenses along with a strong axe for offense. It is important to remember that although the axe will let you cleave multiple enemies at once, it is still more efficient to engage enemies one at a time when possible.
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Worshipping Makhleb will give you a lot of additional firepower, at the cost of your own health. Most of the time this is a great trade, but it only takes one bad sequence of events to lose the game. When looking to summon demonic allies, be sure to put significant investments into Invocations, and then when it looks like a large encounter is about to happen, summon the demon early. You always want to prepare for the worst, and if the demon turns hostile, it is better to have opportunities to disengage early rather than when you are already in severe danger.
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Makhleb will often grant you passive healing when you kill enemies, but it is not guaranteed and it is inconsistent. Try not to rely on it too heavily, and continue to only take fights you are confident you can win. The extra healing is just a bonus when it happens.
Cosplay conduct points
- 1. Weapon
At character creation, select a War Axe as your starting weapon.
- 2. Leveling up
Select Strength (STR) at experience levels (XL) 3 and 9.
- 3. Blocker and big Axe
Train Shields skill to at least 14, and Axes to 16 to reach the War Axe MinDelay. If you wield a Broad Axe train Axes to 18 to reach MinDelay.
Conducts are worth +5 points each, to a maximum of half your score from milestones, rounded down. (So if you achieve 3 milestones (15 points) you can earn up to 7 points from conducts.) Small mistakes in following conducts will usually be forgiven. These challenges are built around a best-practice approach. If you broke some conduct or bonus because it was "better" to do so, explain why you did when you submit your morgue.
NOTE: for CCA, the first 2 conducts are usually to help you make choices at startup or in early game, while the 3rd conduct is usually a small fun challenge.
Bonus challenges
- 1. It doesn't cost piety
Use Mahkleb's Unleash Destruction 27 times at least in total.
To find out how many times you've used it, consult your morgue/dump by pressing the # key in game.
- 2. Allies on call
Reach max piety (6*), imbue yourself with Makhleb's infernal mark, and get a rune!
Bonus challenges are worth one star each, similar to banners in Crawl tournaments. Small mistakes will usually be forgiven.
The 1st bonus can usually be accomplished after clearing the Dungeon (D), Lair (L) & the Orcish Mines (O), while the 2nd bonus will be a bit more challenging and will involve something like: "...and get your first rune!" as a caveat.
Milestones
- Reach XL3.
- Enter Lair, Orc, or Depths.
- Reach the bottom of Dungeon, Lair, or Orc.
- Collect your first rune.
- Find the entrance to Zot. (Just using magic mapping doesn't count.)
- Collect your third rune.
- Win the game.
The main way to score points. +5 points each, and can be done in any order.