From: utzoo!decvax!watmath!bstempleton
Newsgroups: net.games.rogue
Title: Re: Skill vs. Luck in Rogue
Article-I.D.: watmath.2568
Posted: Thu Jun 10 00:57:56 1982
Received: Thu Jun 10 05:22:35 1982
References: populi.199

Sure there is lots of luck in Rogue - but you can't deny there is skill.
As I learned to play the game, I was able to get progressively deeper and
deeper.  Now it is quite common for me to get into the below 20s area, while
before I would get killed earlier on.  You suggest I am getting luckier in
my old age?

Seriously, however, the question of whether there is too much luck in Rogue
is another one.  For example, part of my strategy, so as not to waste my time,
is to quit outright if anything slightly bad happens to a low level character.
By bad I mean not getting good hit points on the first or second roll, putting
on cursed armour etc.  I fight these guys without regard to caution on
levels 1-8, just hack and slay, since I figure if they die, I am wasting my
time and the wimp will be killed by the first Troll he meets.

On the other hand, the only time one gets to do serious damage to nasties like
Umber Hulks, Purple Worms and the like is when one has had the luck to get
good hit points, good weapons/armour past the Rs and possibly a lucky
magic stick like slow monster.