My mage got very lucky finding enough "extra" food to store in the Horn of Plenty --> +10!
...but apparently even at +10 it's not enough to keep up with a normal rate of hunger?!!??
I get that no such warranty was either expressed or implied.
...but damn, this feels pretty bait-and-switch 😥
The horn charges based on exp gain, not based on time, mainly to prevent people using an upgraded horn to stall out hunger forever. The amount of charge you get per hero level scales from ~0.33 rations to ~2.25 rations at +10. Each ration you put into the horn will be recovered after about 5 levels.
Huh. So if you aren't leveling up it wouldn't generate any charges??
So I went back to look at the artifact description / hint. IMHO that statement is too vague to make it clear what the mechanism is tied to:
"...seems to fill up with food as you adventure and gain experience"
...I read this as a generic statement, something like "as you keep adventuring in the dungeon".
My misunderstanding lead me to make a particularly terrible choice: using my bonus food source to support a trip back up 3~4 levels with new potion of levitation to get the other 2-of-4 gold chests suspended in a chasm room. And starved -- but without understanding why.
@[email protected] may I suggest a more strongly-worded description, something more like:
I feel like many other items, you just need to learn how to use the items over time. It is helpful for the assassin for example to charge the cloak with "on-eat" effects. A warlock with soul-marking for satiety for example might have significantly less use for it. I find it's also quite helpful in the caves quest.
It may be annoying at times with failed runs, but even players who have played 100+ games find new tactics now and then, which makes the game way more fun in the long run!