I've been splitting my gaming time (usually about an hour each night) between Moria and The Game of Dungeons, so I haven't been making a great deal of progress in either. (Indeed, when it comes to Moria my progress has been backwards, as I died very stupidly and have to start from scratch.) The majority of my time on The Game of Dungeons in the last week has been spent grinding for experience, which isn't the most interesting thing to write about. Instead I thought I'd describe the various monsters, and their weaknesses. Here is a screenshot showing every monster in the game:
Shadows: Rather than attacking your hit points, Shadows drain a point from your Strength on a successful hit. This means that they don't pose much of a threat to your mortality, although they can apparently kill you if your Strength is drained to 0. This hasn't happened to me yet, mostly because Shadows aren't all that difficult to kill. The Cleric spell Light Candle kills them quite easily.
Rust Monsters: If a Rust Monster attacks you, it will eat your sword. If you attack it, you will also lose your sword. This isn't much of a problem if your sword is normal: you just have to go back to the surface to get another one for free. If your sword is magical, that magic is gone forever. The best spell to use on them is the Magic spell Eye of Newt; this turns the Rust Monster into a newt, allowing you to step on it (often with a satisfying "Squish!" message).
Mind Flayer: Mind Flayers drain your IQ rather than your hit points. They're a little more difficult to deal with than Shadows, as I haven't worked out a good spell to use against them. They are strangely susceptible to being charmed, though, and they're great to send into battle against Wizards. My current character has a really low IQ, so I always get a little concerned whenever I have to fight a Mind Flayer.
Vampire: Vampires drain your experience points, which is just the worst. If you lose enough XP your level will drop, and if they drain you below 0 you die. This can be used to your advantage, though: if you gain a level and don't get many extra hit points, you can always get drained by a vampire and try again. Like Mind Flayers, they're easy to charm, and the Cleric spell Holy Word is effective on them as well. Apparently you can defeat them with a cross as well, but I've yet to find one.
Dragon: Counter to most games, Dragons aren't all that difficult. You just have to remember that the Magic spells Fireball and Flaming Arrow barely affect them. I usually go with Eye of Newt.
Wombat: I live in Australia, and I've seen a lot of wombats in real-life. Threatening they ain't, and I'm quite mystified as to what they're doing in this game. Regardless, a Flaming Arrow spell is usually enough to kill them.
Death: Actually not all that deadly. Their only special ability is that it's impossible to run away from them. A Holy Word spell works well on them, as do the usual damage spells (Flaming Arrow, Fireball, Lightning Bolt).
Spectre: Thankfully, unlike in tabletop D&D, Spectres don't drain experience. They simply damage your hit points. A Lightning Bolt spell won't work on them, but Flaming Arrow and Fireball do, as does Holy Word.
Eye of Thieving: If you get into melee combat with an Eye of Thieving, there's every chance that it will steal one of your magic items. It's chances depend on the difference between its level and yours. The only way to avoid it for sure is to use magic, and I've found that the Cleric Dispell is the best against them.
Phantom: Strangely for an undead creature, it's resistant to Cleric spells like Holy Word. I find that a Flaming Arrow works okay, or just plain melee. I've had a lot of trouble with Phantoms; I haven't found a spell that's super-effective against them, and they seem to do a lot of damage in combat.
Warrior: It's almost refreshing to encounter one of these guys, and to know that you're just fighting a regular dude. If they're 4th level or under a Sleep spell will defeat them, otherwise Flaming Arrow is good. I find that Charm also works well, and will net you a versatile minion with a decent number of hit points.
Balrog: The first time a Balrog attacks you can be a bit scary, but any reputation they have from Tolkien hasn't translated to this game. They're not all that tough, and a Holy Word or an Exorcise spell does well against them. I'm pretty sure they're resistant to fire spells.
Wizard: Wizards are very susceptible to the Magic spell Mind Blast, and the Cleric spell Light Candle. I don't think they have any particular special abilities, and I've never had all that much trouble with them.
Demon: Demons are resistant to fire spells, and most of them will be killed by an Exorcise spell.
You might have noticed that I didn't detail the various Slimes. That's because it's quite difficult to figure out which type you've encountered. You can see their icon from one step away, but to actually discover what type of slime it is you have to enter their square. I've been blowing them away with spells where possible, so I haven't gone about cataloging their abilities.
(Oh, and while I was tooling around in the dungeon trying some things out for this blog, my 10th level character got blown up by a trapped chest. Fuck this game.)
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