Granite 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 Statue Form (spell).

A heavy stone icon, bearing the countenance of some long-forgotten king or god. Transforms the user into a slow, stone statue. The user's stone body is immune to poison and miasma, and gains resistance to electricity, negative energy, and torment. Shapeshifting skill increases armour granted. While transformed, any equipped body armour, gloves and boots are melded.

A granite talisman is a talisman that changes you into Statue Form, granting you the durability (and speed) of a statue.

Roxanne always carries a granite talisman.

Useful Info

When eVoked, a granite talisman turns you into Statue Form, which lasts until you end the form. Entering or exiting a form takes 5 turns.

Statue Form has the following effects:

Combat Bonuses

• HP Bonus: 130% HP
• Innate AC: Linearly scales from the following points, rounding down:
  • Below minimum: 7 AC (0 skill) - 27 AC (16 skill)
  • Above minimum: 27 AC (16 skill) - 38 AC (25 skill) ; +1 AC per 0.81 level
• Unarmed Combat: 12 base damage.
• All melee damage, including from weapons, is increased by 50% (after AC is applied).

Resistances

• Non-living: Immune to poison, sleep, and miasma; does not have blood
  • Unbreathing: Immune to asphyxiation and spore effects (sleepcaps, wandering mushrooms, ballistomycetes, etc)
• rElec
• rN+
• Torment resistance (50% damage from torment, stacks with rN)
• Immune to petrification
• Vulnerable to Lee's Rapid Deconstruction and Shatter.

Restrictions

• Melded Gear: Body armour, gloves, boots.
• All actions slowed by +50%, as if you were slowed. This stacks with the slow status.
• Species movement delay set to 1.0. It is then slowed by 50% (to 1.5 with no other factors).

Statue Form has a minimum Shapeshifting skill of 16, below which you get an HP penalty, and the AC bonus scales down. It has a maximum skill of 25, where skill has no further impact.

Gargoyles cannot use this item, as they are already made out of stone.

Strategy

Being permanently slowed is always dangerous, but Statue Form is very durable. Unlike many forms, you get to keep a shield. And unlike heavy body armour, you'll have your full, unencumbered EV. With high HP, AC, EV, and decent SH, Statue Form offers more defense than any other form. It also has some nice resistances; torment resistance in particular is valuable in extended.

Statue Form primarily boosts Unarmed Combat. Other characters can use it for its defenses or resistances, but will find it less useful.

• This form does not explicitly penalize spells... but all actions, including spellcasting, are slowed by 50%. Thus, direct damage spells become less effective. A Conjurations-focused caster can still appreciate Statue Form for its defenses, but bear in mind the slowness. Of course, spells are not useless, as support magic can be very helpful.
• Statue Form boosts melee weapon damage by 50%, but it also slows melee by 50% - there's no net increase to damage.
• Like spells, Ranged Weapons are slowed with no damage boost.

In a 3-rune game, these characters should generally focus on Fighting and other defensive skills before using Statue Form. In extended, however, the torment resistance can give this form more merit.

Tips & Tricks

• Translocations spells are great to use in this form. Lesser Beckoning and Vhi's Electric Charge help a slow-moving melee fighter approach enemies. Manifold Assault lets you swing your fists at full-screen range.
• Can be good for (15 rune) low turncount speedruns. Since you act at 1.5 delay, you'll regenerate 1.5 decaAut per move, while only taking 1 "turn".

Humanoid	Armataur	Naga	Djinni	Octopode	Felid

History

• Prior to version 0.32, amphibious characters could still enter deep water in statue form, but could not swim and would suffer penalties for being in water.
• Granite talismans were introduced in 0.31, along with talismans themselves. This form was previously implemented as a level 6 Earth Magic/Transmutations spell, Statue Form. There are no direct changes between versions, but exiting a form now takes 5 turns, which is a notable nerf for this form in particular.