# Forum:Doing the planes without ?oGD
&lt; Forum:Watercooler

So the RNG hasn't been kind.  After 72,655 turns my elf wizard has come across only two scrolls of gold detection, one of them he just wrote with the last charges of his magic marker.  I'm trying to do this without polymorphing anything.  I have one wish left (I'll try wishless some other time).
So here he stands on the vibrating square. 
Jistanidio the Wizard     St:18 Dx:22 Co:16 In:22 Wi:24 Ch:11  Chaotic S:205187
Dlvl:48 $:0  HP:250(250) Pw:428(428) AC:-50 Exp:28 T:72655 Burdened
Current Attributes:
You are the Glory of Arioch. You are piously aligned. You are fire resistant. You are cold resistant. You are sleep resistant. You are disintegration-resistant. You are shock resistant. You are poison resistant. You are magic-protected. You see invisible. You are telepathic. You are warned. You have infravision. You are invisible to others. You are stealthy. You aggravate monsters. You can teleport. You have teleport control. You can walk on  water. You are protected. You are fast. You have reflection. You have free action.  Your life will be saved. You are  extremely lucky. You have extra luck. Good luck does not time out for you. You can safely pray. 
I have everything I think I need for the ascension run except the scrolls of gold detection.  I do have the spell detect unsceen will that reveal the portals on the planes?  Finally should I hold out and try to get the next two XP levels?  
Also I'm rather reluctant about doing another sacfest.  I've had this character do two and now it is really time to start worrying about my spellbooks fading and my spells failing. Jistanidiot 00:02, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

First, you're still a long way from the planes.  You might get lucky and get another wish or find another ?oGD.  Have you tried a scroll of charging?  You can recharge a marker (but only once).
That spell of detect unseen will detect any traps, including portals, within line of sight and within a certain radius.  On Air, you'll need to cross the clouds first; the portal is always to the right of the clouds.  On Fire, you may need to cast it several times.  That leaves your two scrolls for Earth and Water.
I like to collect all the wands of digging I can find, in case I need to avoid using a scroll on Earth; I dig the entire plane out, in an inward-going spiral path.  This will find the portal eventually, but you'll have to fight a lot.  Use this as a last resort.
Finally, you can wear the Amulet of Yendor and it will feel warmer as you approach the portal.--Ray Chason 00:34, 20 August 2007 (UTC)
Don't really need a ?oGD for Earth - there are only a few places the portal can appear, so just dig from cave to cave.  I take it you couldn't find any crystal balls, either? --Snicker 16:57, 20 August 2007 (UTC)
Jistanidiot 00:23, 21 August 2007 (UTC) Thanks everyone for the help.  I managed to ascend the char.  He finally got up to XP:30.  I had him blow the last wish on 2 scrolls of gold detection (stupid I know I should have wished for another magic marker).  I managed to only use two of the scrolls on the planes.  Frankly after this experience, I think the only one where the ?oGD is needed is the plane of water.  Thanks again for the help Jistanidiot 00:23, 21 August 2007 (UTC)