ToME Wiki
DitL-based Learning Competition
Background
BsVeteran: Yes, I'm repeating stuff that's already on the DitL homepage, but it bears repeating...
DitLs could be a useful way to get your characters past "humps" in the game where they tend to die very often. This learning competition is intended for a group to play a character together and write parallel DitLs in the spirit of learning from each other and improving play style.
This is not the kind of competition that confers on its winners the glory of a Lord Dimwit or a Neil Stevens. It draws on group contributions to aid individual gameplay, and brings a bonus "fun" aspect through interesting DitLs.
This is not to understate the importance of our personal achievements through this competition.
A new character is decided (about) every month. There will be multiple winners in a month, one at each goal level. Goals are self-selected and based on CL or DL.
The Competition
Objective
Run a pre-selected character past your chosen goal, and tell us all about it as you go!
Rules
- Pick your CL goal for the month. (In future competitions, this goal could depend partly on your previous achievements. DL goals might also be introduced.)
Generate a specified character as listed below for the relevant month, subject to any restrictions on module, version and character generation options.
Post DitL updates as you play the character under the page for the relevant month.
- Start with brief summaries once in a few CLs, until your character gets to within 10 CLs of your goal.
For these last 10 CLs and beyond, post DitLs in greater detail. (Don't power level in this zone! The idea is use your DitL to interact with the group as an aid to keeping alive.)
- Start with brief summaries once in a few CLs, until your character gets to within 10 CLs of your goal.
Winning criteria
You are the winner at your goal level for the month, if:
- You survive the greatest number of CLs past the goal
- You write the most helpful DitL
as judged by others not directly competing with you at your goal level.
Monthly Event Pages
Current Competition
/LearningcompOctober-December2007
Previous Competitions and Winners
/LearningcompApril2007
/LearningcompJune2006 (Note: Never started, added simply for posterity)
/LearningcompFebruary2006
/LearningcompJanuary2006
/LearningcompDecember2005
/LearningcompNovember2005
/LearningcompOctober2005
/LearningcompSeptember2005
/LearningcompAugust2005
Chatter
NeilStevens: Note to original page author: Please stop using http links. See the Style Guide and SyntaxReference for how to do links correctly.
And please move the competition to a subpage. Prefix a link with a slash to do a subpage, for example this:
["/August 2005"]
thank you,
BsVeteran: Neil, thank you for pointing out the right way to do this. (My newness to creating whole wiki pages showing through...)
NeilStevens: Thank you for being so responsive to our particular structure here on the wiki.
As for this competition, I should do one sometime anyway, just to show people how radically different I play from (what I assume is) the norm.
ElIott: Neil, I'll be curious to see what that is. I always thought of myself as someone who dove quickly, skipped around through the dungeons, and generally exhibited a serious lack of patience with his characters. Then the thread on average turns per win came up, and I realized that my average turns played was actually a bit *higher* than average. Turns out I'm actually patient and plodding, but never realized it.
GreyCat: Who's going to set up the next one for September? It's September. 
TheFury: How about a FuryMod High-Elf Jedi? Or a GerBand Mindflayer Sorceror? I can't write very well, but I would give it a try. Both of those setups are somewhat unique. If you want, I could set up a few more rules.....
TobiasParker: I have a really good one for next month. Get this.
Classical Kobold Ranger. Restrictions: No quests, Gods: Only Tulkas or Yavanna, cannot convert or go atheist.
ScrawnyCat: What's the deal with everyone suggesting challenge characters? Is the game too easy?
TobiasParker: I just like Kobolds, and hardly anyone plays them...c'mon spread the Kobold love....wait hardly anyone plays rangers either....
ScrawnyCat: And hardly anyone worships Yavanna. That might not be a bad thing for a competition such as this one, of course.
GreyCat: I really like Yavanna. The weird thing about a Ranger worshipping her, though, is that her magic overlaps the class's spell school of Nature, so it feels like you're wasting potential. (Then again, the same could be said for a Ranger or Rogue who worships Manwe....)
The Kobold thing is a little strange, but it might inspire some creative role-playing....
TobiasParker: Some thoughts are here... /Kobold Rangers
GreyCat: It's Sep 22 now, and no other proposals for the October competition have been put forward (and no objections that I've seen). If there aren't any better ideas (or vociferous objections) in the next 8 days, then TobiasParker should probably go ahead and start up the next competition on or around October 1.
FedericoOdorizzi: 23rd October; no ideas, yet, for November's competition?
ElIott: Check the Chatter section for the October competition itself. We're batting around ideas over there.
TobiasParker: Any thoughts on december? a christmas character?
JasonStitt: Well, we just did elves. Scrooge? You play an evil (Melkor-worshipping) character (troll?) bent on ruining Christmas, but as soon as you have encountered three different types of ghosts you can no longer use Melkor spells/prayer and must convert at the first opportunity (if you go that far).
(I was actually going to suggest a necromancer -- any race with an undead subtype, i.e. skeleton, zombie, specre or vampire -- as they are underplayed and rather underpowered, but it's perhaps not a holiday class! If you do this, don't allow sorcerers who happen to pick up necromancy...)
TobiasParker: I rather like the idea of a spectre character. what about a troll spectre necromancer just for the sheer bizarity of it.
VeryFoobar: A Christmas Troll sounds cool. If it's a Necromancer, I'd prefer a Troll Vampire, to keep it legal. How about a Troll Demonologist, and keep the subrace open for variety? Any character would probably run into at least 100 ghosts before it had a chance to convert.
JasonStitt: I've never played a necromancer or a demonologist before, so either would be interesting. But I was kind of into the necromancer idea. What's wrong (illegal) with spectres? A troll specre necromancer seems viable. I just rolled one up. The strategic possibilities are interesting. Blood drinking is also interesting for this sort of character, which is why I was thinking any undead subtype.
FedericoOdorizzi: Never played necromancers nor demonologists, so one of the two could be very interesting... I also think we should go for Melkor as a god (especially with a Troll, then in general for the last two months there were two "good" valar).
(btw, please this time don't start too soon, else I'll be the last to finish again :P)
TobiasParker: by illegal i think he meant greyed out. I dont see how that really matters for this though. I could see a Melkor Troll Spectre necromancer as a very wierd mix.
VeryFoobar: Thanks Tobias, yeah, that's what I meant. Since this is a learning comp after all, and I've never played greyed-out options, I suppose it would be good to try.
TobiasParker: With the release of 2.3 i propose we postpone Decembers competition until january where we can play it on 2.3.3. or whatever the latest version is.
ElIott: Is there a 2.3.3 coming out? 3.0 is out, but it looks like it could be quite a while before its in playable form. I don't think we should wait for 3.0, because we might be waiting for a while. I wonder if the return of 3.0 will bring LordDimwitt back.
TobiasParker: oops i meant 3.0.0 is 2.3.2 the final version?
FedericoOdorizzi: I don't think 3.0.0 will be ready soon, so I'm for having a december learning competition.
TheFalcon: I think that 2.3.3 is indeed coming out, and has been ready for release for a while, but noone's actually gotten round to it yet. I think that it is to be the final version of 2.x.
ElIott: If 2.3.3 is indeed the final version and will be out soon, I'd be shocked if it doesn't provide backward compatibility for save files. If it comes out during December, we could ask that everyone upgrade.
TobiasParker: Alright i will make Decembers Competition.
TobiasParker: It is about time for the Mid-Month think tank on next month's competition. We have not run a straight warrior yet so i was thinking a Dwarven Axemaster who cannot worship Melkor. Subrace is optional. Bonus points for worshipping Eru :-P, we can find out what all this complaining about axes is umm all about.
ElIott: I have a soft spot in my heart (or perhaps my head) for axe-masters. There aren't as many good artifact axes as artifact swords (about 1/5 as many), though the Hatchet of the Night stacks up nicely against anything short of Ringil or the sentients. Something about hunting for that first light war axe really appeals to me, for reasons I can't explain. How about a Yeek Axemaster? A classic Yeek Axe-master can make level 2 before even encountering an enemy by picking the first couple of locks in the Thieves' Den quest.
TobiasParker: I was thinking Dwarven because of their modifier gives you a ton of extra skill points, so we could see some variations. Come on someone else discuss!
ElIott: Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Hopefully a couple folks will check in once they get after the holidays.
ErintiAkairis: I kind of like the dwarf idea (thematic reasons and, yes, that higher modifier). Not that I exactly participate in these competitions much, though, so we'll see what the rest of the population says.
ElIott: Well, anyone who can be bothered to post here gets a vote, whether they play or not, so Dwarf Axe-master is in the lead. I say we give it through Friday night, and if no one else votes by then, we go with it.
Ewan McNay: This is an official non-vote :). I'll probably get dragged in to whatever emerges, but really *don't* have time to do so in Jan, and an axemaster doesn't sound interesting so that's a good thing for me :))). Warriors are all the same really, right? ...
VeryFoobar: Dwarf Axemaster sounds good to me, and I agree with the no Melkor worship. Can we also have a no Mindcraft rule?
ElIott: Awwww, it won't let you pick Eru as your starting diety. I had visions of an Eru worshipping manathrusting Hermit Dwarf Axemaster, but it looks like I won't be allowed to subject myself to that. Yavanna, anyone? No mindcraft sounds like a good rule.
VeryFoobar: Start athiest, hike to Lothlorien, and you can pick up Eru as your diety there.
ElIott: Oh, right. Duh. It seems like a painful combination, so I'm kinda glad you're doing it instead of me.
VeryFoobar: It was painful until a Mystic in the Maze dropped a Staff of Wishes. I haven't had much trouble since then :-).
ElIott: Any thoughts on next months' competition?
EwanMcNay: Possessor would be of interest to me. So would bearform-combat, but I don't know whether there's enough to that to justify a month.
ElIott: Either could be interesting. With a possessor, we could see what bodies people use at what points of the game. Bearform combat isn't THAT interesting by itself, but perhaps combined with an interesting class it would be nice. For specific suggestions, how about: A) An Ent Possessor or; 
A Beorning Geomancer? Any choice of sub-race, god, and optional quest total for both, so the Geomancer could actually be melee with Tulkas/Barbarian.
VeryFoobar: How about a Yeek Possessor for Feb? I've never run a Yeek. I've got several dead bears, they always die in the god quests.
ElIott: Its been a few months, so I thought I'd check to see if anyone was up for another one of these, perhaps starting in June. As for suggestions, I've got 2: Dunadain Bard or Beorning Geomancer. Any interested in another challenge?
FedericoOdorizzi: Look like most of us doesn't check this page anymore 
Anyway, if someone reads this, please post suggestions for the next Competition! Between the two proposed by ElIott I'd say Dunadain Bard, never tried anything similar.
Anonymous: I think it might be interesting to see a few characters with the Lygrog demon subrace from Theme, but not the typical mage. Maybe a Loremaster? The lack of slots would make a real challenge.
--
MrConceit: Anybody interested in doing another one of these for January?
NeilStevens: Feel free to just launch one and see if anyone joins.
ShadUs: Someone whip one up for January, I'm game to play, but I've never done one of these before so I'm reluctant to make a suggestion on what to run (eg what would be interesting and informative.) For those who have run some but not all a quick look shows that the ones that have been done are: Gnome Summoner, Classic Hobbit Rogue, Classic Kobold Ranger (Req God- Tulkas/Yavanna), Elf Priest of Manwe, Spectre Troll Necromancer (Req God- Melkor), Classic Dwarf Axe-Master (Req God- Any BUT Melkor, no mindcraft.), and Yeek Possessor. My suggestion although somewhat hard would be something like a Maia unbeliever/monk, powerful race with powerful disadvantages also and classes you don't see played much due to their restrictions. *shrug*
Some Random Schmuck: Since there hasn't been one of these in over a year, I decided to just go ahead and make one, any complaints, keep in mind that this is long overdue.
RiLoKi: Nobody really seems to be interested in these anymore, but for the sake of it I'll make one instead for just a month, finish up the year. That way more people get a chance to join.
FedericoOdorizzi: Maybe after 2.3.5 comes out there will be more people around and we'll be able to make a new one.