Laughing skull

Version 0.32: This article is up to date for the latest stable release of Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.

laughing skull z
HP	15-32
HD	5
XP	119
Speed	15
AC	4
EV	18
Will	20
Attack1	16 (headbutt: plain)
Resistances	rF++ rPois+++ rDrown rMiasma rN+++ rTorm
Vulnerabilities	Holy
Habitat	Land
Intelligence	Human
Uses	Uses nothing
Holiness	Undead
Size	Tiny
Type	laughing skull, laughing skull
Flags	Evil Flying Unbreathing

A blazing swift skull that cackles with the bleak malice of the dead. Fond of swarming, its laughter grows more spiteful and powerful for each nearby member of its own kind.

Useful Info

Laughing skulls are sinister pests found in bands of three to five in the Crypt and the Abyss, entrances to the former in the Vaults, and in pairs in the late Dungeon. For each laughing skull in LOS of another laughing skull, their Bolt of Draining will deal 25% more damage, capped at +100% damage at four other laughing skulls in sight.

Spells

Spell set I
Slot1	Bolt of Draining (3d(13-26))	Magical flag, Noisy flag

Tips & Tricks

• While they're very frail for the point in the game they appear in, their stacking bolt of draining bonus and capacity to fire through each other can do a lot of upfront damage against frailer characters or characters who rely on slower effects like Freezing Cloud, zombies, or summons. For characters without strong melee or direct-damage conjurations caught out in the open, zapping wands or swapping rings to put on negative energy resistance might be of interest, especially if there's even more than five skulls present at once.
• Don't forget these are some of the very few undead monsters in the game with fire resistance and no cold resistance.

History

• In 0.31, laughing skulls were added to the game, replacing the relatively harmless flying skulls.