Stat zero

Version 0.28: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

When one of a character's primary attributes (strength, intelligence, or dexterity) is lowered to 0 or below, the character suffers crippling penalties until that attribute is restored and stays above 0 for a period of time equal to: 10 + 1d10 + the number of turns it was below 0 (Max: 200 turns).

Causes

The following can all drain your attributes:

• By 1 at a time:
  • The Deterioration mutation.
  • The melee attacks of certain monsters:
    • 5 Quasit (dexterity only)
    • y Ghost moth
    • W Eidolon
  • Decomposition from attempted mutation of an undead character.
• By more than 1 at a time:
  • Malmutate and Corrupting Pulse can give permanent and transient mutations respectively, which can include reduced attributes.
  • Brain Feed: this is really dangerous for players with low intelligence, as it can drain 1-3 in one go.
  • Hell effects and mummy death curses.
  • Casting spells while wielding the staff of Wucad Mu.
  • Stepping on or being in view of a monster stepping on Zot traps.

As you gain experience, you regain stats lost through any of these means (except malmutate).

Stats can be more permanently lowered by the following means:

• Mutations which affect attributes (this lasts until the mutation is removed somehow).
• Equipment with negative stat modifiers (but you can remove the equipment to restore the stat).

The last two never lower a base stat to zero.

Effects

The following effects occur when any stat reaches 0:

• you immediately suffer 2-4 turns of paralysis which ignores a Formicid's stasis
• you are slowed until the stat completely recovers. (doesn't stack)

The following effects are dependent on the specific stat which was drained to 0:

Collapse (Strength)

• You do not regenerate HP if monsters are in sight.

Brainless (Intelligence)

• You can't memorise or cast spells.
• You fail to read scrolls.

Clumsy (Dexterity)

• Your EV score is set to 2 + size_bonus + Repulsion field bonus.
• Your SH score is set to 0.
• Your stealth score is set to 0.
• You can't stab monsters.

Precautions

Any character with a particularly low attribute should be aware of the dangers involved. Any attribute below 5 could conceivably be reduced to 0 by a single unfortunate effect, and below 10 are vulnerable to stat zero from repeated effects.

• Hell effects, Zot traps, and mummy death curses can temporarily reduce an attribute by up to 4 in one go. You may wish to bring all of your attributes up to a minimum of 8 to guarantee that you can survive a single worst-case scenario shot from either one.

History

• Prior to 0.28, zero intelligence only had an 80% chance to fail reading scrolls. Zero strength's -Regen was a flat regen/4 modifier.
• Prior to 0.19, sustain attributes existed which would halve stat damage. Hence, multi-point stat damage was roughly halved in 0.19.
• Prior to 0.17, taking further stat damage after a stat reached 0 would inflict HP damage.
• Prior to 0.15, items had mass, and strength determined your carrying capacity. The "collapse" status effect serious reduced this.
• Stat zero was added in 0.13, replacing stat death.