Wall

"I know not whether Laws be right, Or whether Laws be wrong; All that we know who lie in gaol Is that the wall is strong; And that each day is like a year, A year whose days are long." -Oscar Wilde, "Ballad of Reading Gaol"

The most prominent features of the dungeon, walls block movement and often LOS. In general, destroying or bypassing them requires one of several wands or spells, sometimes fairly powerful.

Wall Varieties

Rock

This wall consists of simple rock.

Very common walls made from unworked stone that block LOS, but are relatively easily removed. Electrical attacks will bounce right off them. Rock is the only material for which the Passwall spell operates, allowing you to slip through it. Destroyed by:

• Dig
• Disintegration
• Shatter
• Lee's Rapid Deconstruction
• Orb of Destruction
• Corruption
• Boring beetles
• Eyes of devastation
• Dissolution

Translucent Rock

The mineral this rock consists of is as translucent as good quality glass. Whether it is natural or magical, you can't tell.

Identical to rock walls, but they don't block LOS. Bear in mind that you can't blink through them, even if you can see what's inside. Smite-targeted attacks are blocked.

Stone

A harder obstacle than rock walls. Only the mightiest magic can shatter stone walls.

More durable than rock walls, these require stronger magic to remove. As with rock walls, electrical attacks will bounce off these. Destroyed by:

• Shatter (at high spell power)
• Lee's Rapid Deconstruction (at high spell power)
• Corruption

Translucent Stone

It has been imbued with arcane magics which render it translucent.

The stone analog to transparent rock.

Metal

A wall of bluish-grey metal. As every dungeon electrician knows, this stuff will ground.

The most resilient normal walls of all. Destroyed by:

• Lee's Rapid Deconstruction (at very high spell power)
• Shatter (at very high spell power)
• Corruption

Crystal

For some reason, some dungeon walls, like this one, have been made of this polished crystal, imbued with arcane energies. They prevent its easy destruction, and make it reflect heat and cold.

Immune to most wall-removal methods, these reflect fire and cold the way stone walls reflect lightning. Destroyed by:

• Shatter
• Lee's Rapid Deconstruction

Trees

While the dungeon is filled with dim magic light, in most places it is not bright enough to sustain any larger plants. It is uneven, though, and there are spots where, with the grace of Fedhas, trees as big as those on the surface can grow underground.

"Only YOU can prevent forest fires!"
-Smokey the Bear

Functionally walls, these block movement, and can block LOS if you try to look beyond two adjacent ones. Destroyed by:

• Powerful Fire Magic
• Lightning Bolt
• Disintegration
• Shatter
• Orb of Destruction
• Corruption

Mangroves

This tree is specially adapted for growing in swampy conditions. Its vines are too thick to see through.

These function identically to trees, except that they block LOS. Destroyed by:

• Powerful Fire Magic
• Lightning Bolt
• Disintegration
• Shatter
• Orb of Destruction
• Corruption

Slime Covered Rock

This wall is thickly coated with bright green slime. Ewwwwww.

Found only in the Slime Pits, these will corrode any adventurer who touches them. Destroyed by:

• Dig
• Disintegration
• Shatter (at high spell power)
• Lee's Rapid Deconstruction (at high spell power)
• Orb of Destruction
• Corruption
• Dissolution

Rune Carved Stone

This strangely slime-free wall is carved all over with countless mystic runes. One often repeated set of runes seems to refer to 'the royal jelly.'

These walls make up the central chamber of the bottom of the Slime Pits, where the Slimy Rune of Zot is found. If the royal jelly is dead (or if you have high piety with Jiyva), these walls will turn into translucent rock, allowing easy access to the rune. Without these methods, these walls can only be destroyed with:

• Shatter (at high spell power)
• Lee's Rapid Deconstruction (at high spell power)
• Corruption

Unnaturally Hard Wall

You cannot affect this wall by any means.

Walls which are described as unnaturally hard are completely indestructible. The only way past them is to go around.

Translucent Unnaturally Hard Wall

This wall is imbued with magic that not only makes it indestructible but also makes it translucent like glass.

The indestructible variant of translucent rock.

Open Sea

Nothing but endless wind and waves, and not a lighthouse in sight. You'd be lost beyond all hope in short order - better not risk it.

While not walls in the traditional sense, these impassable tiles mark the outer borders of the Shoals and certain Sewers layouts.

Endless Lava

A sea of fire and brimstone that goes as far as you can see. Which is not far because of the thick smoke.
Unlike small pools of lava where flight or levitation may allow short trips, floating above this inferno would cook you in no time thanks to runaway convection.

The fiery equivalent of the open sea tiles, these mark the outer borders of a floor across lava pools.

Iron Grate

This iron grate looks rusted, as if it could be disrupted with a spell or a wand quite easily. It's too strong to be breakable by hand, though.

These block movement, spells, and ranged attacks, but not LOS or smite-targeted attacks. They are usually found in special vaults, sealing away monsters with smite-targeted attacks, though they may also be generated as the result of stepping on a pressure plate. Destroyed by:

• Dig
• Disintegration
• Lee's Rapid Deconstruction
• Shatter
• Orb of Destruction
• Corruption

Gravestone

A nameless grave. The question remains: is it the grave that is nameless, or the person who lies in that grave?

Gravestones are generally found in special vaults or portal levels (like Zonguldrok's Mausoleum, for example). If they show up in the main dungeon, it's a sure sign that the undead are wandering the level.

Large Window

A window embedded in the side of an enormous metal pipe, allowing observation of the water flowing inside.

Large windows are found in the certain Sewers maps, and function identically to transparent rock walls.

History

Prior to 0.11, you could find walls of solid wax:

These walls are built by bees. Occasionally a dungeon architect will manipulate bees into building wax walls for aesthetic reasons. (Theirs, not the bees'.) They are susceptible to fire and will melt and burn, given sufficient heat.

Wax walls are frequently found in killer bee vaults, though they can also appear near altars to Xom or in the Abyss. They often hide treasure, in particular royal jelly and honeycombs. Destroyed by:

• Powerful Fire Magic
• Disintegration
• Shatter
• Orb of Destruction
• Corruption
• Boring beetles