Good mutations

This is a list of all of the good mutations which can be acquired. While most of these are useful to any character, some may in fact be significantly detrimental to some builds. Even so, they are included here because "good mutation" is a technical term in the game, not a qualitative judgment. Any of these can be acquired through any source of good mutations, such as a potion of beneficial mutation.

Offensive

Some of these mutations will prevent your character from wearing items in certain equipment slots. While this penalty may outweigh the gain your character receives, bear in mind that races which cannot use those slots (ogres, trolls, felids, etc.) anyway lose nothing.

Fangs

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	Auxiliary bite attack.	You have sharp teeth.
2	Improved auxiliary bite attack.	You have very sharp teeth.
3	Superior auxiliary bite attack.	You have razor-sharp teeth.
Damage: 1 + (2 * rank) Chance: 40% * (30 + XL)/59 per melee attack Having Acidic Bite adds 4 base damage and 2d4 acid damage. If Vine Stalker, add XL/3 damage, chance increased to 100% * (30 + XL)/59, and grants antimagic.
Species notes: Vampires and Felids start with rank 3. Gnolls have rank 1. Vine Stalkers start with rank 2 and upgrade to rank 3 at XL 8.
Good mutation, Demonspawn mutation

Beak

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	Auxiliary peck attack. Prohibits helmet.	You have a beak for a mouth.
Damage: 6 Chance: 66% * (30 + XL)/60 per melee attack
Species notes: Tengu start with Beak.
Good mutation

Claws

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+2 unarmed base damage. Negated by gloves.	You have sharp fingernails.
2	+4 unarmed base damage. Negated by gloves.	You have very sharp fingernails.
3	+6 unarmed base damage. Prohibits gloves.	You have claws for hands.
Using Unarmed Combat with level 3 Claws will decapitate hydra heads.
Species notes: Ghouls start with rank 1 and Trolls start with rank 3. Octopodes cannot gain claws.
Good mutation, Demonspawn mutation

Horns

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	Auxiliary headbutt attack. Prohibits helmets.	You have a pair of small horns on your head.
2	Improved auxiliary headbutt attack. Prohibits helmets.	You have a pair of horns on your head.
3	Superior auxiliary headbutt attack. Prohibits all headgear.	You have a pair of large horns on your head.
Damage: 5 + (3 * rank) Chance: 66% * (30 + XL)/59 per melee attack Minotaurs may retaliate against enemies with headbutts.
Species notes: Minotaurs start with rank 2, and Oni start with rank 1. Demonspawn can gain horns as a body slot option. Octopodes cannot gain horns.
Good mutation, Demonspawn mutation

Antennae

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	Shows the location of all invisible enemies in line of sight. Detects all monsters within 3 tiles, even through walls or opaque clouds. Prohibits helmets.	You have a pair of small antennae on your head.
2	Range increases to 5 tiles. Prohibits helmets.	You have a pair of antennae on your head.
3	Range increases to 7 tiles. Grants see invisible. Prohibits all headgear.	You have a pair of large antennae on your head.
When playing in console mode, creatures not in line of sight are revealed as { or { glyphs, depending on whether the entity is hostile or friendly. In tile mode, they appear as icons which similarly indicate hostility. Mimics will be identified as soon as they enter your antennae range.
Species notes: Formicids start with rank 3. Demonspawn can gain antennae as a body slot option.
Good mutation, Demonspawn mutation

Hooves

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	Auxiliary kick attack. Negated by boots.	You have large cloven feet.
2	Improved auxiliary kick attack. Negated by boots.	You have hoof-like feet.
3	Superior auxiliary kick attack. Prohibits boots.	You have hooves in place of feet.
Damage: 5 + (5/3 * rank) Chance: 100% * (30 + XL)/59 per melee attack
Species notes: Demonspawn can gain hooves as a body slot option. Nagas, merfolk, felids, and octopodes cannot gain hooves.
Good mutation, Demonspawn mutation

Talons

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	Auxiliary kick attack. Negated by boots.	You have sharp toenails.
2	Improved auxiliary kick attack. Negated by boots.	You have razor-sharp toenails.
3	Superior auxiliary kick attack. Prohibits boots.	You have claws for feet.
Species notes: Tengu start at rank 3. Demonspawn can gain talons as a body slot option. Nagas, merfolk, felids, and octopodes cannot gain talons.
Good mutation, Demonspawn mutation

Spit Poison

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	Grants the Spit Poison ability.	You can spit poison.
2	Upgrades to Breathe Poison.	You can exhale a cloud of poison.
Species notes: Exclusve to Nagas, who start at level 1.
Good mutation

Breathe Flames

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	Exhale a blast of flame.	You can breathe flames.
2	Exhale an improved blast of flame.	You can breathe fire.
3	Exhale a superior blast of flame.	You can breathe blasts of fire.
Species notes: Gargoyles and Red or Grey Draconians cannot gain this mutation.
Good mutation

Defensive

Tough Skin

Gives you +1 AC per rank. Ogres start at rank 1, trolls start at rank 2, and centaurs start at rank 3.

1. You have tough skin. 2. You have very tough skin. 3. You have extremely tough skin.

Shaggy Fur

Gives you +1 AC and 20% acid splash damage reduction per rank. Rank 3 also gives you rC+. Trolls and felids start at rank 1; felids then gain rank 2 at XL 6 and rank 3 at XL 12.

1. You are covered in fur. 2. You are covered in thick fur. 3. Your thick and shaggy fur keeps you warm.

Camouflage

Gives you +Stealth. The amount of stealth gained rises with rank (+40 per rank). Octopodes start at rank 1. This mutation is mutually exclusive with Translucent Skin.

1. Your skin changes colour to match your surroundings. 2. Your skin blends seamlessly with your surroundings. 3. Your skin perfectly mimics your surroundings.

Resistances

Heat Resistance

Gives bonuses to rF (rF+, rF++, rF+++).

1. Your flesh is heat resistant. 2. Your flesh is very heat resistant. 3. Your flesh is almost immune to the effects of heat.

Cold Resistance

Gives bonuses to rC (rC+, rC++, rC+++).

1. Your flesh is cold resistant. 2. Your flesh is very cold resistant. 3. Your flesh is almost immune to the effects of cold.

Shock Resistance

Give you rElec. Gargoyles start with this.

You are resistant to electric shocks.

Poison Resistance

Gives you rPois. Nagas start with this.

Your system is resistant to poisons.

Magic Resistance

Gives you +30 MR per rank.

1. You are resistant to hostile enchantments. 2. You are highly resistant to hostile enchantments. 3. You are extremely resistant to the effects of hostile enchantments.

Clarity

Gives you clarity.

You possess an exceptional clarity of mind.

Mutation Resistance

Gives you +66.6% resistance to further mutations at ranks 1 and 2, 100% at rank 3. Mutation removal fails 50% of the time at rank 2, 100% at rank 3. Rank 3 of the mutation can only be removed by Zin. Halflings start at rank 1.

1. You are somewhat resistant to further mutation. 2. You are somewhat resistant to both further mutation and mutation removal. 3. Your current mutations are irrevocably fixed, and you can mutate no more.

Movement

Blink

Lets you blink as an ability, which costs (maximum HP)/20 HP. Rank 1 has a high failure rate, while ranks 2 and 3 are more reliable.

1. You can translocate small distances at will. 2. You are good at translocating small distances at will. 3. You can easily translocate small distances at will.

Fast

Improves your movement speed (-2 at rank 1, -3 at rank 2, -4 at rank 3). Felids start at rank 1, centaurs start at rank 2, and spriggans start at rank 3.

1. You cover ground quickly. 2. You cover ground very quickly. 3. You cover ground extremely quickly.

Perception

Acute Vision

Lets you See Invisible. Nagas, spriggans, vampires, and felids start with this.

You have supernaturally acute eyesight.

Passive Mapping

Shows you random tiles outside your LOS. More ranks shows you more tiles. Deep Dwarves start at rank 1, then gain rank 2 at level 9 and rank 3 at level 18. Worshipers of Ashenzari eventually receive a similar ability.

1. You passively map a small area around you. 2. You passively map the area around you. 3. You passively map a large area around you.

Diet

Carnivorous

Each rank increases the nutrition gained from eating meat while reducing that of vegetation. With rank 1 you can eat raw meat until Full, with rank 2 until Very Full and with rank 3 at any time until engorged. Rank 3 prohibits eating vegetation. Ghouls, felids, and kobolds start at rank 3.

1. Your digestive system is specialised to digest meat. 2. Your digestive system is highly specialised to digest meat. 3. You are carnivorous and can eat meat at any time.

Slow Metabolism

Reduces base nutrition consumption: -1 at rank 1 and -2 at rank 2. Halflings, felids, and gargoyles start at rank 1, spriggans start at rank 2. This mutation is mutually exclusive with Regeneration.

1. You have a slow metabolism. 2. You need consume almost no food.

General

Evolution

Gives you further mutations over time. Whenever it triggers, there is a 50/50 chance of you receiving either a good mutation or a random mutation (which means you are 3× more likely to receive good mutations than bad). Unlike other mutations, Evolution will eventually disappear on its own, though only after leaving many other mutations in its wake. Rank 2 increases the rate of evolution.

1. You evolve. 2. You rapidly evolve.

Wild Magic

Reduces the spell success rate of all your spells, but increases their spell power. More ranks increase the effect.

1. Your spells are a little harder to cast, but a little more powerful. 2. Your spells are harder to cast, but more powerful. 3. Your spells are much harder to cast, but much more powerful.

Improved Attributes

Gives you +2 to an attribute per rank (each attribute has a maximum of 2 ranks). (Coded in-game as "Strong", "Clever", and "Agile" for increased STR, INT, and DEX, respectively.)

Your muscles are [very] strong. Your mind is [very] acute. You are [very] agile.

Regeneration

Increases your HP recovery rate. Trolls start at rank 2. Vampires gain rank 1 at Full satiation, rank 2 at Alive. This mutation is mutually exclusive with Slow Metabolism.

1. Your natural rate of healing is unusually fast. 2. You heal very quickly. 3. You regenerate.

Robust

Gives you +10% max HP per rank.

1. You are robust. 2. You are very robust. 3. You are extremely robust.

High MP

Gives you +10% max MP per rank.

1. You have an increased reservoir of magic. 2. You have a considerably increased reservoir of magic. 3. You have a greatly increased reservoir of magic.

Scales

Draconian scales function differently from those below: their AC increases as they level, and they may gain other resistances besides their scales. As such, they cannot develop any of these mutations. As they grow, Demonspawn naturally receive three ranks of a single scales mutation unless they are a "monstrous" demonspawn. They may still gain scales through other means of mutation, but they can only gain scales that they would eventually get on their own.

No character can have more than three total ranks of scales-type mutations at a time (e.g. if you already have Molten Scales 2, you could develop Large Bony Plates 1, but not Large Bony Plates 2). A Naga's serpentine lower half counts as one rank of a seperate scales mutation, so they can only have up to two ranks of other types of scales at a time.

Molten Scales

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+2 AC	You are partially covered in molten scales.
2	+3 AC	You are mostly covered in molten scales.
3	+4 AC, rF+	You are completely covered in molten scales.
Good mutation, Demonspawn mutation

Icy Blue Scales

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+2 AC	You are partially covered in icy blue scales.
2	+3 AC	You are mostly covered in icy blue scales.
3	+4 AC, rC+	You are completely covered in icy blue scales.
Good mutation, Demonspawn mutation

Slimy Green Scales

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+2 AC	You are partially covered in slimy green scales.
2	+3 AC	You are mostly covered in slimy green scales.
3	+4 AC, rPois	You are completely covered in slimy green scales.
Good mutation, Demonspawn mutation

Thin Metallic Scales

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+2 AC	You are partially covered in thin metallic scales.
2	+3 AC	You are mostly covered in thin metallic scales.
3	+4 AC, rElec	You are completely covered in thin metallic scales.
Good mutation, Demonspawn mutation

Yellow Scales

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+2 AC	You are partially covered in yellow scales.
2	+3 AC	You are mostly covered in yellow scales.
3	+4 AC, rCorr	You are completely covered in yellow scales.
Good mutation, Demonspawn mutation

Rough Black Scales

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+2 AC, -1 DEX	You are partially covered in rough black scales.
2	+5 AC, -2 DEX	You are mostly covered in rough black scales.
3	+8 AC, -3 DEX	You are completely covered in rough black scales.
Good mutation, Demonspawn mutation

Rugged Brown Scales

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+1 AC, +3% HP	You are partially covered in rugged brown scales.
2	+2 AC, +5% HP	You are mostly covered in rugged brown scales.
3	+3 AC, +7% HP	You are completely covered in rugged brown scales.
Good mutation, Demonspawn mutation

Iridescent Scales

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+2 AC	You are partially covered in iridescent scales.
2	+4 AC	You are mostly covered in iridescent scales.
3	+6 AC	You are completely covered in iridescent scales.
Good mutation

Large Bone Plates

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+4 SH	You are partially covered in large bone plates.
2	+6 SH	You are mostly covered in large bone plates.
3	+8 SH	You are completely covered in large bone plates.
Good mutation, Demonspawn mutation

Repulsion Field

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+2 EV	You are surrounded by a mild repulsion field.
2	+3 EV	You are surrounded by a moderate repulsion field.
3	+4 EV, Repel Missiles	You are surrounded by a strong repulsion field.
Prior to 0.19, the EV bonus applied even when paralysed, sleeping, etc.
Good mutation, Demonspawn mutation

Thin Skeletal Structure

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+2 DEX, +25 Stealth	You have a somewhat thin skeletal structure.
2	+4 DEX, +50 Stealth	You have a moderately thin skeletal structure.
3	+6 DEX, +75 Stealth	You have an unnaturally thin skeletal structure.
Good mutation, Demonspawn mutation
In earlier versions of Crawl, this mutation also reduced strength by 1 per rank.

Species exclusive

These mutations may only be acquired by certain species.

Poison Breath

Exclusive to nagas as an upgrade to their Poison Spit ability. Lets you exhale poison clouds at enemies.

You can exhale a cloud of poison.

Stinger

Exclusive to nagas and draconians. Upgrades your tail-slap attack, increasing damage and adding the Venom brand. Damage and poison strength rise with rank. Green draconians develop rank 1 of this mutation at level 14 (and may gain more via further mutation).

1. Your tail ends in a poisonous barb. 2. Your tail ends in a sharp poisonous barb. 3. Your tail ends in a wickedly sharp and poisonous barb.

Big Wings

Exclusive to draconians and gargoyles. Grants an ability which gives flight until activated again. Black draconians and gargoyles naturally develop this mutation at level 14.

Your wings are large and strong.

Tentacle Spike

Exclusive to octopodes. Upgrades your tentacle-slap attack, increasing its damage. Additional damage rises with rank. Octopodes may also temporarily induce rank 3 of this mutation with Beastly Appendage.

1. One of your tentacles bears a spike. 2. One of your tentacles bears a nasty spike. 3. One of your tentacles bears a large vicious spike.

See Also

• Bad mutations
• Demonspawn mutations
• Jiyva mutations

History

In 0.13, the Teleport Control, Strong Stiff and Flexible Weak mutations were removed, and Improved Attributes was changed to only have 2 levels, each of which granted +2 to an attribute.