Come to know capriphobia as I have! Let's Play Desktop Dungeons!

Really, I think the high density of warlocks works to the benefit of the warlord. They have little health, and death protection takes the worst of their attack with ease.



Now we're far enough in the game that the more expensive items are showing up. Granted, the sign of the spirits would be useful if we could afford it, but we can't, so bluh.



Hey, remember this glyph? BLUDTUPOWA is actually pretty handy for warlords, since they need to spend a lot of time exploring to recover mana, and this will expedite the process nicely.



Oh fine we'll worship the Pactmaker again.



As you can see, once you recast CYDSTEPP after using it, you need to get that mana back up as fast as possible.



We don't really need ENDISWAL here, because the imps are kind enough to get out of our way if we ask them. With our sword/axe/lance/mace/turducken.



The first boon you should get when following the Pactmaker is Learning, unless you follow him late and get just enough piety to take the Experience boon. In that case, what the hell are you doing why are you following the Pactmaker that late in the game.



Dragonspawn, as high-health enemies, are the least profitable of the enemies for the warlord to fight, but hey, it's just above our level and in the way of exploration, therefore we kill it.



Sadly, we've already used the two classes most likely to follow Mystera Annur, and warlords have no business worshipping her. But hey, who knows, maybe I'll show her off somehow.



So, let's see if my idea about the challenge was right.



Yeah, not really seeing the challenge of playing a warlord here, man.



This seems like a foolhardy move, here...



Can you guess what I do next?



If you guessed "kill a level 1 imp for a free level", you are correct! Have a hug.



Since warlords get a bunch of attack modifiers, I decide to show it off. I think each attack powerup in the dungeon offers +10%, the BYSSEPS glyph adds another 30%, as do both of the warlord's special traits.

Ooh, more mana potions!



We're about set to take on Aequitas. But first!



While I normally wouldn't go for Mana with a fighterly character, warlords get such mileage out of CYDSTEPP and potions that it works even better for them than Health.



Welp, let's go kill Aequitas. I think convention dictates you go for the weaker of the two bosses first, so you expend fewer resources killing them and get a 10+ XP bonus for the next boss.

-

We have enough mana now for two consecutive CYDSTEPP, but that's not enough to finish off Aequitas.



On the other hand, with our HUEG maximum mana, potions now heal 9 points of mana, enough for one more CYDSTEPP!



Awesome. Let's go prepare ourselves for the Matron, then.



An undetermined amount of time later, we're in much the same situation that we were against Aequitas.



This time, though, we snag a level-up midfight. Normally, warlords don't get as much benefit from midfight leveling, since they've probably spent at least one CYDSTEPP by then, and their ideal state is one prepared, and a second waiting with their full mana, but we can cast it twice, so we're probably good.



Oh man, nearly there!



Potion for the win!



And with that, we've cleared the "ultimate warlord challenge", and have unlocked the special half-dragon race!



Also, here's where BURNDAYRAZ was: at the ass-end of the map. Man, that would've been annoying if I was playing a bloodmage.



But I wasn't. Hooray!



Anyway. Half-dragons are one of the three special races. These guys have such a different playstyle from usual, they don't even let you select a class to go with them! Half-dragons have a few noteworthy feature. Their base attack is magical (and they can't use BURNDAYRAZ as a result), and every attack they land will knock an enemy one tile away. If they collide with a wall or another enemy, both things take damage. Also, they have loads of health. It's an interesting and fun playstyle, but I've never really gotten the hang of it. Like the transmuter, half-dragons don't unlock anything on a win.

Next time: Things are getting interesting! Rogue, monk, or half-dragon?

MONK!

Each class tree gets one challenge dungeon. Assassins get shafted by the Crypt, Monks have trouble with the Snake Pit, and Wizards get screwed in the Factory. Berserkers actually have the easiest time in the Library, so they went with the martial class that at least requires a unique playstyle.

Y'know what would've been challenging there? Paladins.. Library denies them two of their three strengths.

Oh what the hell, I'll vote for rogue.

Since when is being a warlord defined by spending most of your time bloodied and near death?

Oh well, monk good times?

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONK POWAH

I'm voting for monk because Nodal told me to. Why yes, I am a sheep, why do you ask?

Oh, you dashing rogue...

I think it's more that they're bold fighters who never surrender even when their back is to a wall.

But hey, whatever works.

They have a cute picture too.

I'll cast a vote for Rogue next. Or the rogue class. Whichever you've got handy.

Am I the only one who thinks it looks like the hero is wearing a ballgag?

Not anymore.

Oh man, Half-Dragons. Best thing about them is playing the enemies like you're playing pool. I love them.

Rogue.

Monk.

rogue rogue rogue


that is 3 votes!

Methinks its time to backstab... oh wait thats EQ XD
Rogue anyways rogue rogue rogue rogue rogue rogue (gasp) rogue rogue rogue rogue

Wizard again!

Or Monk.

Rouge!

By which I mean, whichever class is the most red.

So it looks like the votes are pretty closely tied.

I GUESS THAT MEANS A DOUBLE UPDATE THEN

Glee!

A double update is what I would have voted for anyway!

I vote triple update!

Votes were tied again, this time for rogue and monk. So, another update with the two of them, I guess! Starting with rogue cuz I like them more.



Here's our dashing daredevil. First thing I want to point you at is his stats up top. Dangerous, indeed! His attack bonus doesn't have a lot of impact just yet, but the health penalty definitely does. The first goal of any rogue is getting either enough health to offset the penalty, or enough attack power that you never get hit.



Oh no, we've had too many Binlor runs as of late. Besides, there's a few gods that suit rogues way better.

For the record, Binlor's punishment lowers both of your resistances by 10%. Yes, this can go negative, in which case attacks deal extra damage to you. Fortunately, it's kinda tough to actually anger Binlor that much.



Excellent, this will handle the health penalty nicely.



VENGEANCE!



Had we found a few more attack powerups earlier, we could one-shot a higher level monster at level 1. Rogues can be pretty dang awesome.



Goo blobs are a problem to most physical characters, but rogues do enough damage that their resistance really doesn't mean a thing to them.



Glowing Guardian? I dunno, we could be pretty valorous by fighting higher level monsters, but let's see if there's not a better option.

The Glowing Guardian's punishment is kind of neat: he actually renounces you as a follower, meaning that you can no longer gain piety or boons from him, but you can't switch gods either.



Newer items will be showing up with more frequency here. This works like the fighter's Instincts, only it's independent of level, so it kinda loses a bit of merit.



Huh... well, rogues can get a lot of use out of BURNDAYRAZ, but they work pretty well under Taurog, too...



Ah, why not.



Converting GETINDARE, which is totally useless for rogues anyway, and killing a few enemies, we quickly get the basic Fury boon. The reason Taurog works so well for rogues is that base damage boosts like Fury get amplified by the Dangerous trait, so they count for even more than usual.



Now, you'd think this is a pretty nice setup right here, right?



It gets better, though: a rogue comes blessed with a 20% dodge chance, so we take no damage here. Unfortunately, it's hard to build a strategy around elements of chance, but I find that picking fights with guys you can't normally handle in between exploration in the hopes of a lucky dodge works nicely.



I'm not sure why I picked up this boon. I think it was so that I could take out high level warlocks easier. I probably should've just ignored it in favor of saving up for the RAGE boon.

Oh well, may as well reap the benefits.



Several times over.



Balls. If I hadn't bought that pendant of health earlier, I could've gotten this to complement my new magic resistance.



These glyphs are useful only as piety for Taurog for this character. Rogues don't get much use out of BLUDTUPOWA anyway, although they get more than some classes.



This is where I start trying to put my innate dodge chance and first strike to good use, by trying to kill this guy in between exploration.



Granted, with BURNDAYRAZ, I maybe could've gotten somewhere, except I'm already following Taurog. On the other hand, I've got just enough MP for one cast, so if I wasn't trying to get the RAGE boon, I could get away with using it here and there. But I am trying to get RAGE, so I convert it.



Dodges aren't just for terrible strategies, they're also for making total overkill just that more satisfying.



Goblins are actually kind of a problem for rogues, since they strike even faster. Not a huge problem, mind you, but enough that you can't go after high level ones.



Hah! Finally got my dodge, sucker!



Two dodges, even!



As you can see, for a rogue, the problem is less with high-health enemies and more with high attack ones.



Gorgons don't count as high-attack enemies, but if you're not careful (or playing a human rogue) they can still be a thorn in your side.



You might note that the zombie nearby is wounded. I thought going after this guy here for a mid-fight levelup would be smart. It wasn't really a bad move, either.



We pick up our last level on this snake, and go fight Frank.



Unfortunately, our devotion to Taurog has rendered our four mana potions kinda useless.

So while a few BURNDAYRAZ could have turned the tide here, instead we're hoping against hope that we pull off a last-second dodge. We've already had two dodges this fight, third time's the charm, right?



Afraid not. Dang!



Well, if at first you don't succeed, have everyone responsible killed.



On our second try, I decide to pass up the early health pendant at first, in the hopes of finding something cool like the platemail.



Yeaaahhh... not happening.

I'll figure out a way to show off Mystera Annur, honest.



This time, we pick up BURNDAYRAZ early. Since rogues have such low health, anything they can do to avoid retaliation is useful. If the warlord's CYDSTEPP glyph was generated in a rogue dungeon, you'd be sitting pretty.



Today's boss is J�rmungandr, who's stopped lounging around the Snake Pit long enough to go mock me for losing to Frank twice in a row.



Eeeehhhhh... I really don't want to, but if the other altar doesn't turn up a good result, I may as well make good on my personal challenge.



Okay, then. Earthmother it is.



Guess we can go get the pendant of health, too.



Before worshipping the Earthmother, it's a good idea to kill whatever serpents and goats you were planning on killing.

That has nothing to do with why I'm killing this goblin.



Now, following the Earthmother is supposed to give you the IMAWAL glyph, assuming it doesn't already exist. Also, her starting piety, I think, is based on potions used. We haven't used any, so no starting piety for us.

But we don't get the IMAWAL glyph, because it's somewhere else here. So we have to go actively search it out. Lousy goddamn stupid nature goddesses.



The first step in following the Earthmother, aside from getting IMAWAL, is to kill ten enemies. Doesn't matter what level, really. Also, here is a viper ward if we cared about trivializing the Greenblood boon (we don't).



BLUDTUPOWA again. I turn it into a health boost.



I decide to hang onto LEMMISI, just in case, however.