Blade talisman

Version 0.32: This article is up to date for the latest stable release of Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.

For the spell present in 0.30, see Blade Hands (spell).

Causes long, needle-thin blades to grow from the user's hands and smaller fragments of metal to grow inside their body, deforming them and reducing the effectiveness of body armour. Shapeshifting skill mitigates and eventually eliminates the latter effect, as well as increasing damage dealt. While transformed, equipped weapons, shields, and gloves are melded.

A blade talisman is a talisman that gives you Blade Hands, greatly increasing your damage in Unarmed Combat.

Useful Info

When eVoked, a blade talisman grants Blade Hands, which lasts until you end the form. Entering or exiting a form takes 5 turns.

Blade Hands has the following effects:

Combat Bonuses

• Unarmed Combat: Linearly scales from the following points:
  • Below minimum: 6 damage (0 skill) - 15 damage (10 skill)
  • Above minimum: 15 damage (10 skill) - 23 damage (19 skill) ; +0.88 damage per level
• Your off-hand punch gains +6 damage.
• Reduces base AC of body armour; multiplies body armour base AC by (Shapeshifting - 10) / 9 (min. 0), where your total AC is rounded down. (+11.1% per level)
  • Does not impact enchantment, and AC gained from Armour skill is still calculated with the armour's full base AC. Stacks multiplicatively with Deformed / Pseudopods.

Restrictions

• Melded Gear: Weapon, shield, and gloves. Claws are also melded.
• You cannot throw items.

Blade Hands does not block mutations (other than claws), does not change your size, and gives no innate bonus to HP / AC.

It has a minimum Shapeshifting skill of 10, below which you get an HP penalty, and Unarmed damage scales down. It has a maximum skill of 19, where skill has no further impact.

Strategy

Blade Form is essentially two-handed Unarmed Combat. Even at 0 Unarmed Combat skill, you'll hit as hard as an eveningstar, while keeping the off-hand punch. It's certainly strong, but melds the shield slot and reduces AC (until max skill).

Unlike certain other forms, Blade Hands doesn't meld body armour. It's great for Shapeshifters wanting to focus on Armour skill.

Blade Hands deal piercing damage -- you don't have to worry about cutting off hydra heads in this form.

History

• Introduced in 0.31 in the transformation overhaul. Previously implemented as a spell, Blade Hands.

The previous spell had 22 base damage, cut hydra heads, had a spellcasting penalty, and didn't have an AC penalty. (However, since it was a spell, heavy armour made it harder to cast).