Necromutation

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

Necromutation Necromutation is a level 8 Transmutations/Necromancy spell which transforms the caster into a lich. This state is often referred to by Crawl players as lichform. A higher spell power boosts the duration of the spell.

Under the effects of Necromutation, the caster becomes undead, gaining the following:

Pros

• +6 AC
• rC+
• Will+
• Immunity to negative energy
• Immunity to poison
• Immunity to miasma
• Immunity to sickness
• Immunity to torment
• Immunity to mutation
• Draining branded unarmed attacks
• A spell enhancer for Necromancy

Cons

• Cannot quaff potions
• Vulnerability to Dispel Undead, scroll of holy word, and weapons of holy wrath
• Cannot cast spells that require you to be alive (eg Sublimation of Blood, Borgnjor's Revivification, Death's Door)
• Cannot wield holy weapons
• Mutations instead cause stat deterioration. This might be beneficial if used as a defense against bad mutations, but situations where mutations are frequent may cause stat zero.

Strategy

Having this spell is a game-changer in late-game areas rife with effects that do not affect the undead, such as torment, negative energy, and mutations. The Hells, Pandemonium, and the Tomb in particular are good places to be a lich. Unlike naturally undead species, you can also go back to the world of the living to deal with foes that use Dispel Undead.

If your power with Necromutation is somewhat marginal, recasting it before it has expired is preferable, since the spell will take advantage of its own Necromancy enhancer and last longer. Casting it at a low success rate is usually a bad idea however, as the miscast effects from Transmutations and Necromancy are both fairly nasty, including heavy negative energy damage or large amounts of magic contamination.

While lich form boosts Necromancy, being undead restricts the use of many useful Necromancy spells. Sublimation of Blood, Borgnjor's Revivification, and Death's Door are uncastable in lich form, so watch your MP and take care when facing powerful enemies. Additionally, confusion is extremely dangerous: the regular cure, quaffing a potion of curing, is not available, and leaving lich form is impossible while confused. This makes a source of clarity invaluable for would-be liches.

Being in lich form makes you vulnerable to the devastating effects of Dispel Undead: see that article for a list of opponents to watch out for. A useful side effect of being in lich form is immunity to mutation: should you have dangerously high magic contamination or be staring down a shining eye, casting Necromutation is a useful way to avoid malmutations.

Finally, note that casting this spell while worshiping a good god will cause you to be immediately excommunicated.

Settings

Users of this spell may want to add this to their rcfile:

runrest_ignore_message -= transformation is almost over\.

This will stop autotravel if the spell is nearly over and allow you to recast it before it runs out.

Humanoid	Palentonga	Naga	Djinni	Octopode	Felid

History

• Prior to 0.26, lichform stopped your hunger clock.
• Prior to 0.24, Fedhas strongly disliked the use of this spell (penance).
• Prior to 0.13, the caster also received +3 strength and a bonus to stealth.