Death curse

Version 0.33: This article is up to date for the latest stable release of Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.

Death curses fall on any creature who kills a guardian mummy, mummy priest, royal mummy, or Khufu. This does not apply to killing mummies that have been summoned in any way; only "naturally" occurring mummies have death curses.

The more powerful a mummy is, the worse its death curse will be. Followers of Kikubaaqudgha with enough piety are resistant to these curses - half of all curses are negated, and the severity of the remainder are halved.

No death curse is applied if a mummy is banished to the Abyss, slimified by Jiyva, kills itself while confused, falls down a shaft, or is killed by confused or a frenzied enemy. However, allowing an allied creature to kill a mummy still results in you suffering the death curse.

Death curses can also be caused by Kikubaaqudgha's wrath (in which case the severity is the player's XL) and the Scythe of Curses (in which case the severity is the melee damage of that strike).

Curse Selection

The severity of the curse depends on the HD of the mummy.

	Curse Effects					Severity
	Flavour	Smite	Slow	Drain	Torment
Guardian Mummy	42.9%	29.6%	9.2%	9.2%	9.2%	7
Mummy Priest	26.5%	33.7%	13.3%	13.3%	13.3%	10
Royal Mummy	0%	40%	20%	20%	20%	15
Khufu	0%	28%	24%	24%	24%	18

Flavour

Flavour curses have no effect.

"Nothing happens." "You smell decay." "You hear strange and distant voices." "You feel homesick." "Your skin prickles." "Pain shoots through your body." "Your bones ache." "The world around you seems to dim momentarily." "Strange energies run through your body." "You shiver with cold." "You sense a malignant aura." "You feel very uncomfortable." "Your bandages flutter." "[The killer] seems to dim momentarily." "[The killer] glows [colour] for a moment." "[The killer] shivers with cold." "[The killer] scowls horribly."

Smite

5 to 5 + 2 × [severity] points of irresistible damage.

"A forgotten god smites you!" "A forgotten god smites [the killer]!"

Slowing

The killer is slowed for [severity] turns.

"You feel horribly lethargic." "[The killer] looks incredibly listless."

Draining

The killer suffers draining proportional to the [severity]. Negative energy resistance will reduce this by 50% at rN+, 75% at rN++, and 100% at rN+++.

"You are engulfed in negative energy!" "[The killer] is engulfed in negative energy!"

Torment

The killer's current HP is halved. Any form of torment resistance can apply to this. Unlike most sources of torment, this is not a full-LOS effect.

"Your body is wracked with pain!" "You feel a surge of unholy energy." "[The killer] convulses!" "Something just walked over your grave. No, really!" "[The killer] seems frightened for a moment."

History

• Prior to 0.33, draining death curses would sometimes drain the player's stats. Smiting death curses were instead "pain" death curses, and could be resisted by torment resistance (but not negative energy resistance).
• Prior to 0.25, death curses were based on necromancy miscast effects, and could cause rotting and summon hostile demons and shadows.
• Prior to 0.17, normal mummies and Menkaure had a death curse that could curse your equipment.
• Prior to 0.15, allowing an allied or enslaved creature to kill a mummy would force them to suffer the death curse.
• Prior to 0.8, item curses could affect potions, turning them into potions of degeneration.