Crawl Cosplay Academy
Bai Suzhen, Madame White Snake
A weary draconian with foreign and watery scales. She has come to the Dungeon in hopes of resurrecting her mortal husband; a noble cause, for a being once known for quarreling with saints and flooding unfortunate temples. If pressed to her limits, she will reveal her true form, the mere sight of which struck her husband dead. Adventurers may wish they were so lucky!
| Species | Background | Gods |
|---|---|---|
| Draconian | Shapeshifter | Ru |
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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As a shapeshifter, you will have access to extremely powerful melee capabilities in 1v1 situations. Unfortunately, it does take time to get going, and the first few floors of the dungeon can be especially difficult. Don't be afraid to temporarily use whatever strong weapons you find, even with no skill in them, just until you are able to improve your UC and shapeshifting skill enough to make them viable.
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The other typical drawback of shapeshifter is a lack of aoe or ranged offense. This gap is filled nicely at level 7 when you gain your dragon's color, as you will also unlock an associated breath attack that can range from strong to outright devastating. Use it liberally.
- Finally, your god Ru will provide you with a wide range of very powerful activated abilities as well as a potent passive. You should look to make bold sacrifices early and often in order to quickly gain piety. As a dedicated melee shapeshifter, you can afford to sacrifice many, many different things without being too crippled. The only sacrifices to completely avoid at all costs are Forms and Nimbleness. Even some of the more painful sacrifices like Hand, Eye, or Courage can be worthwhile.
Cosplay conduct points
- 1. Evolution
Shapeshift into something other than beast form (flux form being the most obvious choice, but if you find a better talisman that works too).
- 2. Dracarys
Use your breath attack 27 times or more.
- 3. Brawler
Train Unarmed Combat to 12 or higher.
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.
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. Cosmic Horror
Activate Apocalypse at least three times.
- 2. Transcendent
Reach six star piety with Ru... 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 D, 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.