A Maze of Sewer Tunnels
General
Advice for how to get through the Sewers varies depending on the manner of the Sewer run. The tactics for a speed run are different from those for regular runs, although there appears to be a number of divergent opinions as to the best way to perform any of the runs. Here the assumption is that the Sewer adventuring party is generally interested in overall ease and simplicity rather than speed.
It is often stated that it takes 100 adventures to get through the Sewers without the required equipment. This is incorrect. A character entering the Sewers alone and without a Hobo Code Binder may expect to expend 150 to 250 adventures getting through the Sewers. The common belief fails to take into account the guaranteed loss of a huge number of adventures due to repeated imprisonment in the C.H.U.M. cage. The lesson here -- it is better to work together as a group when trying to get through the Sewers.
Objective
The general objective of an adventurer in this area is to get through the Sewers as quickly (i.e., in as few adventures) as possible. Adventuring parties who do not care about speed runs or obtaining special drop items which have adventure limits, will not be overly concerned with this.
To get through the Sewer Tunnels an adventurer must complete one hundred "explorations". Each adventure provides one exploration. It is possible to get extra explorations from the non-combat adventures, thus reducing the total number of actual adventures expended in the Sewer Tunnels.
Adventuring
The Sewers contain two types of adventures (as do all locations in the Kingdom of Loathing); combat and non-combat. Combat adventures give the adventurer one exploration and may drop items which may be made into items that speed the passage through the Sewers. The non-combat adventures come in a number of forms; Code Tests, Item Tests, Sewer Modifying Adventures, and the C.H.U.M. cage.
The most common approach to getting through the Sewer Tunnels appears to be to maximize non-combat frequency to take advantage of the extra explorations available from the numerous non-combat adventures. This is most effective with a well filled Hobo Code Binder equipped and lots of the items needed for the Item Tests.
An adventurer without a good Binder may instead want to maximize combat adventures, accepting the full number of fights and hope to minimize the number of time caught by the C.H.U.M.
In either case, it is better to traverse the Sewers with other adventurers who will help when someone is imprisoned.
Code Tests
There are three Code Test adventures; 3 Tunnels, Ladder, and 3 Ladders. These adventures look to see how many Hobo Glyphs are present in the Hobo Code Binder. The more glyphs, the greater the likelihood of passing each test. Each passed test provides a number of completed explorations.
Item Tests
Item Test adventures look to see if a character has a specific item in inventory or equipped. If so, the adventure is passed and extra explorations are credited. If not, the adventure is not passed and no exploration is credited.
Five items will be needed for the Item Tests. Except for the Gatorskin Umbrella, it is only necessary to have the item in inventory. The Gatorskin Umbrella must be equipped as a weapon. At the Sewer Pipe the Gatorskin Umbrella will be destroyed, and another must be equipped. An item will be expended in its associated Item Test, therefore have quite a few (10+) in inventory. The Iron Bars test uses three Oils of Oiliness, so having extra of these in Inventory is a good plan.
| Item | Item Test | Recipe | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sewer Wad | C.H.U.M. | Malus: 5 Clusters of Sewer Nuggets | ||
| Bottle of Ooze-O | Drunken C.H.U.M. | Still: Bottle of Sewage Schnapps | ||
| Unfortunate Dumplings | Goldfish | Wok: C.H.U.M. Chum, MSG, Dry Noodles | ||
| Oil of Oiliness | Iron Bars | Cook: Decaying Goldfish Liver, Scrumptious Reagent | ||
| Gatorskin Umbrella | Sewage Pipe |
Smith: Goatskin Umbrella, Gator Skin, or
Smith: Titanium Assault Umbrella, Gator Skin |
Sewer Modifying Adventures
A hallmark of Hobopolis adventuring is the effect an action or inaction in one adventure will have on other adventures or the overall situation. This is first encountered in the Sewers.
Disgustin' Junction.
- Head down the tunnel. This leads to an Item Test (see Equipment & Supplies above). If all of the Grates have been opened or adventuring alone in the Sewers with the needed items, select this option to advance quicker.
- Swim back towards the entrance. This leads to an encounter with a Giant Zombie Goldfish. Select this option only if the character does not have what is needed for Item Tests.
- Open the grate. Each time the crank is turned (maximum of twenty times), it increases the chances of getting through the Grate adventure. If the crank will not move, then it has been turned the maximum number of times and all of the Grates are open.
The Former or the Ladder.
- Take the tunnel. This leads to an Item Test (see Equipment & Supplies above). Select this option if no one is in the cage and the character has the items for Item Tests.
- Play in the water. This leads to an encounter with a C.H.U.M. Select this option only if an Item Test will not advance the character.
- Head down the ladder. This leads down to the C.H.U.M. cage. If someone is trapped in the cage, go down the ladder and free them. If no one is imprisoned, select one of the other options.
Somewhat Higher and Mostly Dry.
- Head down the dark tunnel. This leads to an Item Test (see Equipment & Supplies above). If the water is as low as it will go or adventuring alone in the Sewers, select this option to advance quicker.
- Dive back into the water. This leads to an encounter with a Sewer Gator. Select this option only if an Item Test will not advance the character.
- Turn the valve. Each time the valve is turned (maximum of twenty times), it lowers the water. This decreases combat adventures in the Sewers (a good thing). If the water level does not change, then it is as low as it will go and the valve has been turned the maximum number of times.
The C.H.U.M Cage
The C.H.U.M. Cage is the bane of Sewer adventurers. In the Despite All Your Rage adventure, an adventurer is captured and imprisoned in the C.H.U.M. cage. There are only three ways out of the cage; 1) rescue by another adventurer going down the ladder in The Former or the Ladder adventure, 2) gnawing through the bars (and expending ten adventures), or 3) the closing of the Sewer at the end of a run.
Clans which perform speed runs or strive for the Hobopolis leader boards universally forbid adventurers from gnawing through the C.H.U.M. cage. Clans which are not interested in such things, have no such restrictions. In these cases, each adventurer may elect to either wait for rescue (if there are other clan members adventuring in the Sewers), or gnaw their way out of the cage.
Cage Bait
One common tactic in group adventuring in the Sewers is for a character to volunteer to be the Cage Bait (i.e., a sacrificial prisoner). The Cage Bait enters the Sewers before the rest of the party. That character adventures until imprisoned. Since only one character may be in the cage at a time, other adventurers are thereafter safe from imprisonment. The rest of the party then enters the Sewers. When the chance of freeing the imprisoned character occurs, the rescuer releases the prisoner, but the prisoner does nothing. With the former prisoner still in the cage area, the game believes the prisoner is still imprisoned. Once the rest of the party is safely through the Sewers, the former prisoner may leave the cage area. In most cases the sacrificial character will not continue into the rest of Hobopolis.