Instead of doing "runs", I decided to try and "level up" as much as I can. After spending 6 months, I current have 81 HP and all 4 stats over 50, which is new for me. My guess would be that after this much leveling up, I should be able to get past anything.
The two guards in the vault beat me in 1 or 2 turns, I can't kill either. I'm choosing the Wait for it / Rush forward choice here: http://wiki.metroplexity.com/the-vault
I'm aware of all the other ways I could get around them. I could easily do the sneak option for example. I'm just baffled - am I really this lame of a player? The only other game I play is KoL - and in KoL I can easily just spend a few days leveling up (a week or a month would be massive!) to get past anything in the main quest line.
I just don't get it. Is my current stats super low for this fight, or for 6 months of progress? Just how strong does one have to be to beat those guys? Enlighten me!