Silent spectre

Version 0.25: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

silent spectre W
HP	29-59
HD	8
XP	314
Speed	10
AC	5
EV	15
Will	40
Attack1	15 (hit: plain)
Resistances	rC+++ rPois+++ rDrown rMiasma rN+++ rTorm rSticky
Vulnerabilities	Holy
Habitat	Land
Intelligence	Human
Uses	Open doors
Holiness	Undead
Size	Medium
Type	wraith, silent spectre
Flags	Evil See invisible Flying Unbreathing Speaks Insubstantial No stairs

The bane of wizards, these terrible spirits bring an unearthly silence to the area around them, making it impossible to recite the magical incantations involved with casting spells or reading scrolls. “There is a silence where hath been no sound, There is a silence where no sound may be,— In the cold grave, under the deep, deep sea, Or in the wide desert where no life is found.” -Thomas Hood, “Silence”. Early 19th cent.

Useful Info

Silent spectres are weak, insubstantial undead that would be no real threat except for the permanent 12-tile aura of Silence they radiate. A character with even moderate weapon skills should be able to defeat them easily, but pure casters will find themselves suddenly incapable of casting spells, reading scrolls, or shouting. They can be randomly found in the Crypt, the Abyss, Tartarus, and Ziggurats, and elsewhere as part of predefined vaults. Silent spectres cannot use stairs.

Strategy

Keep in mind that their aura disables spellcasting, invocations, and scrolls, but not wands, potions, abilities, or evocable items.

Their presence is never a surprise, as their large, wall-penetrating aura can be seen long before they enter your line of sight. However, for the same reason, magic users can never use attack spells on them and would do well to buff themselves and have tactics organized before entering the aura: e.g., Shroud of Golubria, Aura of Abjuration, Ring of Flames...

Most troubling is not the spectre itself, but the possible horde that might be interposed between you and the spectre. If the horde is mighty, pick away at it, with a ready avenue of escape. Keep in mind that once you do so, the spectre itself may move closer and previously "safe," non-silenced tiles near your escape route will now be affected by silence.

Having a penetrating weapon can be useful to attempt to pick off the spectre from afar. A lamp of fire or lightning rod can be quite useful, albeit the latter has a much shorter range.

A silent spectre can be a boon for competent melee fighters if there are dangerous spellcasters like liches around; that permanent aura of silence affects everything in its range, not just you.

History

Silent spectres were added to the game in 0.8.