Potion of lignification

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

A potion which temporarily transforms the imbiber into an animated tree with branches capable of holding weapons. Such a tree is quite resilient, although it is rooted in place while the transformation lasts, and cannot teleport.

Type	Potion
Name	Potion of lignification
Icon

Quaffing a potion of lignification transforms you into Tree Form for a little while. As a tree, you cannot move, blink, or teleport, and your EV is reduced to almost nothing. You can read scrolls, cast spells, wield weapons, and zap wands, however, and you are granted significant physical defense and plant resistances (rPois, immune to pain and torment). Ghouls and bloodless vampires are unaffected, while followers of Zin incur piety loss and penance if they knowingly drink this potion.

Strategy

• The power this potion can provide in the early game is considerable; the AC and GDR will make you nigh invulnerable to virtually any early-game foe, the to-hit bonus will give you considerable punch in melee (especially if you're using unarmed combat), and extra +50% HP and the slightly improved regeneration rate that comes with it will increase your likelihood of survival until it runs out.
• Quaffing lignification gives you poison resistance; great when fighting a highly venomous enemy. Even if you are lethally poisoned, the HP gain and associated boost to regeneration rate you receive upon quaffing could be the difference between life and death.
  • For characters with limited armour, such as Felids and Octopodes, these AC bonuses will still be useful for most of the game.
• Despite all of Tree Form's benefits, being unable to move is potentially very dangerous; any foe that can attack from a distance will have its way with you. A potion of cancellation will let you end Tree Form early, but such potions are rare and valuable; choose when to enter Tree Form carefully.
  • Of course, the inability to move comes with the inability to be moved, which can be useful for fighting some enemies that can shove you around (wind drakes, swamp worms, monsters with Force Lance, Roxanne).
  • A potion of attraction will force enemies, such as polearm wielding gnolls, to come closer.
• Lignification is also great in the late-game -- complete immunity to torment can make battles with enemies that rely on it (like the Tomb) much simpler.

Tips & Tricks

• Using this potion while in water will stabilize your footing and negate the attack penalties of standing in shallow water as a small or medium sized species. This can be a good way to boost your accuracy if you are fighting monsters in the water, while also potentially reducing their accuracy by 25% (depending on their size).
• Followers of Lugonu can still blink using the Bend Space ability while in Tree Form.
• Keep in mind that transforming into Tree Form will suppress the innate abilities associated with your original species, leading to possibily unexpected results. Eg, if you were a formicid, quaffing the potion to fight an invisible enemy will be counter-productive, since you will lose your Antennae which allowed you to see invisible.

History

• Prior to 0.28, plants, including players in treeform, gave rN+++.
• Prior to 0.27, treeform gave you 48% GDR (instead of AC determining it).
• Prior to 0.24, vampires below full were unaffected.
• Prior to 0.15, you could not quaff potions, eat, or speak while in Tree Form.
• Potions of lignification were added in 0.14, replacing potions of slowing.