[evilhack] Does the Castle's drawbridge guillotine approach still work?

[Janis Papanagnou]

Does the Castle's Drawbridge Guillotine approach still work in EvilHack?
Or has that option also been removed (or significantly changed)?

Janis

[Mobi Leuser]

The mechanics of drawbridges are unchanged. I can't say how effective the strategy is in Evilhack, personally I blow up all drawbridges as soon as I can.
BTW there is a drawbridge in the Valley of the Dead, it's the only one that cannot be destroyed.

[Janis Papanagnou]

Post by Mobi Leuser
The mechanics of drawbridges are unchanged. I can't say how effective
the strategy is in Evilhack, personally I blow up all drawbridges as
soon as I can. BTW there is a drawbridge in the Valley of the Dead,
it's the only one that cannot be destroyed.

Okay, thanks. So I'll try the usual pass-tune approach at the Castle.

Will the Valley's drawbridge also open by playing the pass-tune or is
it just by wands of opening (or similar magic)?

Janis

[Mobi Leuser]

For the Valley's drawbridge the pass-tune won't work, but the usual methods like wands of opening do.
There is a guaranteed wand of opening in a secret room in the bottom-left corner of the Valley.

[Janis Papanagnou]

Post by Mobi Leuser
For the Valley's drawbridge the pass-tune won't work, but the usual
methods like wands of opening do. There is a guaranteed wand of
opening in a secret room in the bottom-left corner of the Valley.

Good to know for other games. Currently I do have a wand of opening
already.

On a related question...
I seem to have somewhere read that a straight return from Gehennom
isn't possible, and you'd have to solve an additional quest first.
Or was that only the case once you've got The Amulet?
In Nethack the Valley was already considered Gehennom, but on the
Nethack-Wiki I read for EvilHack that it starts below the Valley;
this is of course important in case there's no simple return from
Gehennom. So, is it safe to descend into the Valley or should I
first better prepare?

And a final question; I obviously missed the Ice-Branch. Anything
I should know about it, do I need any special preparation for it?

Bear with me for the many questions. That variant has implemented
so many changes to existing functionality that I cannot rely on
anything from the Nethack base beforehand.

Janis

[Janis Papanagnou]

For this question...

Post by Janis Papanagnou
And a final question; I obviously missed the Ice-Branch. Anything
I should know about it, do I need any special preparation for it?

...I found a Wiki-entry:

https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/Ice_Queen%27s_Realm


Janis

[Mobi Leuser]

Post by Janis Papanagnou
On a related question...
I seem to have somewhere read that a straight return from Gehennom
isn't possible, and you'd have to solve an additional quest first.
Or was that only the case once you've got The Amulet?
In Nethack the Valley was already considered Gehennom, but on the
Nethack-Wiki I read for EvilHack that it starts below the Valley;
this is of course important in case there's no simple return from
Gehennom. So, is it safe to descend into the Valley or should I
first better prepare?

Once you've got the Amulet in the Sanctum, the stairs will disappear and there will be a portal (guarded by Lucifer) that takes you to Purgatory.
After 2 levels of that you will end up at the Castle. Makes for a shorter ascension run.
So for now, descending into the Valley is fine.