Glowing shapeshifter
Version 0.30: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.
| This chart is not updated automatically. It may contain outdated information. | |
|---|---|
glowing shapeshifter @ (Varies) 
| |
| HP | Varies |
| HD | Varies |
| XP | Varies |
| Speed | 10 (Varies) |
| AC | 0 (Varies) |
| EV | 10 (Varies) |
| MR | Varies |
| Attack1 | 15 (hit: plain) (Varies) |
| Attack2 | Varies |
| Attack3 | Varies |
| Attack4 | Varies |
| Max Chunks | 4 |
| Type of Meat | Mutagenic |
| Resistances | None (Varies) |
| Vulnerabilities | Silver (Varies) |
| Habitat | land |
| Intelligence | High |
| Uses | Open doors (Varies) |
| Holiness | Natural |
| Size | Medium (Varies) |
| Type | shapeshifter, glowing shapeshifter |
| Flags | No skeleton Glows |
| A shapeshifter which has lost control over its transformations, and is constantly changing form. |
Useful Info
Glowing shapeshifters are similar to standard shapeshifter monsters, but much more dangerous. They come with much higher HD, assume much more dangerous forms, and shift with frustrating frequency, often healing back to full health in a very short period of time. They can be found in the deeper portions of the Dungeon, the Elven Halls, and the Vaults.
If a shapeshifter dies, any of its derived undead will be of the form it last took.
Tips & Tricks
- Avoid fighting them while dealing with any other dangerous monsters. Because they can assume almost anything from the late game, you'll want to be giving them your full attention.
- Unlike regular shapeshifters, you can't simply run from one and hope for it to have a nicer form when you return. They simply change shape too often for that to work. Taking them out may require the player to take extreme measures:
- Heavily armoured, multiresistant characters can usually simply pound them to death, though this relies upon the shifter not assuming any particularly awful forms and usually takes a while before you find a form that you can crush quickly enough to overcome its healing.
- Similarly, spellcasters with access to powerful enough Conjurations can kill a glowing shapeshifter if they land enough solid hits quickly enough. This isn't as reliable as the above option, as many spellcasters rely on spells that are resistible in one form or another. Even if that isn't the case, you'll eventually run out of MP.
- Carrying a wand of polymorph can be very useful for avoiding forms that you don't like or can't handle, as it will almost infallibly force a glowing shapeshifter to assume a new form (they will resist it when transformed into monsters immune to magic, like shining eyes).
- Sources of draining will reduce the shapeshifter's HD, forcing it to assume weaker forms when it shifts. This reduces your XP gain, but makes killing it much easier and safer.
- Elyvilon's Pacification ability is also effective against them, particularly if their form matches your own species, is an animal, or has low max HP.
History
- Prior to 0.29, shapeshifter corpses could not be turned into zombies or skeletons. However, they could be turned into simulacrum, using the stats of the shapeshifter base monster.
