Background and race combinations for beginners

Crawl allows you to play using widely different play styles, depending on your character and god choice. The wide variety of choices offered might intimidate or even overwhelm new players. These are a selection of strong combos from the main character archetypes in the game.

• (Minotaur/Hill Orc) (Berserker/Fighter) (strategy guide): Pure melee builds. Find a big weapon and the heaviest armour, worship Trog or Okawaru and beat things to death.

• Centaur Hunter: A typical ranged character. Centaur speed and HP increase survivability. Worship Trog or Okawaru for weapon, armour as well as ammo gifts.

• Deep Elf Conjurer (strategy guide): Offensive caster. Your damage dealing capability is your best defense; with Iskenderun's Battlesphere you rip through dangerous enemies that many other characters would have to avoid. Worship Vehumet for even more punch and a steady supply of mana.

• Merfolk Ice Elementalist (strategy guide): A good hybrid (melee and magic) build. Great aptitudes for Charms, Dodging, Fighting, Polearms, and Ice Magic.

• Spriggan Enchanter (strategy guide): The classic stealth and stab build. Spriggans are a great stealth class for new players since their high speed lets them flee when stealth fails. Ensorcelled Hibernation makes stabbing things really easy.

• Gargoyle Earth Elementalist (strategy guide): A durable caster with powerful destructive spells. Worships Vehumet. A good choice for a first attempt as a caster.