Vehumet

"Let it end in hellfire!"

Vehumet is a god of destructive magic. Followers gain various useful powers to enhance their command of the hermetic arts, and the favoured stand to gain access to some of the most fearsome spells known to man (or any other species, for that matter). In return, Vehumet asks only for worshipers to cause as much carnage and destruction as possible.

No background starts with this religion.

Appreciates

• You and your allies killing living and undead monsters.

Deprecates

• Forgetting him. Piety slowly falls over time (about 1 every 340 turns), and you are excommunicated if it falls to 0.
• Abandoning him.

Given Abilities

Piety level -: "Sorcerer's Apprentice"

• No new abilities.

Piety level *: "Scholar of Destruction"

• Gain power from killing - When you or your allies kill a monster, you gain 1d(HD/2) in MP, where HD is the hit dice of the monster killed. (Passive)

Piety level **: "Caster of Ruination"

• Aid to destructive magic - Your chance of miscasting destructive spells is reduced by 33%. (Passive)

Piety level ***: "Battle Magician"

• Range increase for destructive magic - The range of destructive spells is increased by 1 tile. (Exception: Sticky Flame and Freeze.) (Passive)

Piety level ****: "Warlock"

• Reduced cost of expensive destructive magic - Level 5+ destructive spells cost 1 less MP to cast. (Passive)

Piety level *****: "Annihilator"

• No new abilities.

Piety level ******: "Luminary of Lethal Lore"

• No new abilities.

What Vehumet Considers Destructive Magic
Vehumet's "Destructive spells" are all Conjurations spells, all Summonings spells, plus: Airstrike, Ignite Poison, Olgreb's Toxic Radiance, Inner Flame, Freeze, Ozocubu's Refrigeration, Sandblast, LRD, Shatter, Tornado.

Gifts

Piety 160+

• Spell books. If you are eligible for a gift and 1d(Piety) > 100, Vehumet will give you Conjurations or Summonings books, whichever skill is currently higher for you. Conjuration gifts include a book of Conjurations, book of Power, and book of Annihilations, in that order. Summoning gifts include a book of Callings, book of Summonings, and the Grand Grimoire, in that order. Once those are exhausted, books from the other group are given. Vehumet will not give you any book you already have, whether in your inventory or in your stash.

The gift timeout is 51~79 turns.

Punishments

• Random Conjuration or Summoning miscast effects, summon greater demon (like Balrug).

Strategy

All of Vehumet's bonuses are passive, making it a good choice for spellcasters who do not want to spend XP on the Invocations skill. Vehumet also awards piety for killing, and his spell book gifts include the most destructive spells in the game, very suitable for spellcasters who prefer a more aggressive play style.

The MP refund on kill, while not terrific early on, really shines in the mid-game and late-game with area of effect spells that can take out multiple enemies at once - not to mention that, as far as their cost is concerned, they are much more efficient (e.g. Fire Storm has a lot more destructive potential than 9 Magic Darts). Freezing Cloud, Fireball, and Poisonous Cloud are other spells that can refund a lot of MP. Delayed Fireball can even be used as a net MP gain in emergencies. Of course, no one says you have to kill enemies with spells to get MP back; bashing them to death with a staff or using a wand/rod to cast works too.

The miscast reduction is possibly Vehumet's most impactful power. It can let you cast spells well in advance of your time: for example, a level 15 character who focused the relevant skills has a good chance of learning one of the "ultimate" level 9 conjuration/summoning spells thanks to this! This can alter the course of your build and render some branches trivial, or allow for more flexible gearing because of the lesser need for wizardry enhancers.

Finally, the range increase and MP cost reduction are gravy that enhance a spellcaster's arsenal to be slightly more deadly. Of significant note, concerning the range increase, is that it lets some spells (such as Fireball or Fire Storm) hit enemies beyond your max line of sight: statues and oklob plants, among others, pose no risk with this method.

Combining all these powers makes Vehumet the god of choice for spellcasters planning on tackling Ziggurats, where you'll be facing large group after large group of enemies that you need to take down fast, and against whom your MP needs to last as long as possible.

Note that Vehumet does not grant piety for demon kills, which may cause you to take a piety hit when you tackle the Hell branches, or have an extremely long trip through Pandemonium or the Abyss. On the other hand, by the time you're ready for those areas, you will almost certainly have all the books that Vehumet grants anyway, so this is not likely to be a huge issue for you.

Because Vehumet's wrath isn't particularly severe (as divine retribution goes) and because his book gifts are predictable, another tactic is to worship him until you have all his powerful spells, then abandon him for another god.