Ghost crab

Version 0.17: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

ghost crab t
HP	38-78
HD	9
XP	948
Speed	10
AC	9
EV	6
Will	40
Attack1	20 (bite: drain experience)
Attack2	15 (claw: drain experience)
Resistances	rPois+++ rDrown rMiasma rN+++ rTorm
Vulnerabilities	Holy
Habitat	Amphibious
Intelligence	Animal
Uses	Uses nothing
Holiness	Undead
Size	Small
Type	crab, ghost crab
Flags	Evil Unbreathing No skeleton No zombie

A close relative of the fire crab, twisted by proximity to negative energy. Apparitions of the dead swirl around it, only barely visible.

For a list of all arthropods, see list of arthropods.

Useful Info

Ghost crabs are aggravating amphibious opponents which flood the battlefield with spectral mist clouds, damaging non-undead targets and summoning branch-appropriate spectral things to assault you. They are durable enough to take a hit or two, and inflict draining with their melee attacks, but more often than not simply blast you from the back row while their summons tear you apart. They can be found in the Swamp.

Tips & Tricks

• They aren't undead, and thus can't be affected by Dispel Undead or weapons of holy wrath. They are vulnerable to poison, however. If you can start off a fight hitting them with a couple poison needles (or better yet, curare), you'll have a much easier time inflicting lethal damage even as their summons make life unbearable.
• Laying down your own clouds will prevent a ghost crab from filling those tiles with spectral mist. A scroll of fog is your safest bet, and it's easy to lure the guy into your cloud bank so you can take him out at close range. If you have poison resistance, Mephitic Cloud also works wonderfully, especially if you confuse the crab in the process.
• Undead characters are healed by spectral mist, and thus have a much easier time with these opponents.