Paralysis

Version 0.29: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

This page is about the status effect. For the monster spell, see Paralyse.

You are paralysed, and completely unable to act.

Paralysis is an effect which renders a player or monster unable to move or act for a period of time. Formicids are immune to paralysis due to their stasis.

Sources

There are several sources of paralysis. Some are resistible, while some are not.

Resistible sources of paralysis:

• The spell Paralyse, including wand of paralysis (2-5 turns for the player, must overcome the victim's willpower)
• The melee attack of a hornet (poison resistance blocks paralysis 2/3 of the time; poison immunity prevents it.)

Other sources are irresistible, except for stasis:

• Stunning Burst (1 turn)
• Zot traps (2-5 turns)
• A floating eye's gaze attack (2-4 turns)
• Uskayaw's or Zin's wrath (2-5 turns)
• Cancelling Death's Door with Borgnjor's Revivification (2-7 turns)
• Stat zero (2-4 turns, ignores stasis)

Duration and Effects

In general, paralysis lasts from 2 to 5 turns. During this time, the victim is unable to perform any voluntary actions. Monsters become vulnerable to stabbing and can be hit automatically. Players have their EV reduced to near-zero, meaning monsters will almost always hit them as well. The effect is similar in some ways to sleep and petrification, but the differences are important: unlike sleep, paralysis does not end when the victim takes damage, and unlike petrification, it does not have a delayed onset or provide any defensive bonuses.

Once paralysis ends, the player gets a brief (1-3 turns) period of immunity to paralysis from all sources except for hornets.

Paralysed creatures are still able to teleport if the status is somehow inflicted on them. This means that if you see a source of paralysis you know you can't block (e.g. a floating eye), it may be a good idea to trigger a teleport the instant you see it. Just remember that random teleports may drop your paralysed character somewhere even worse.

History

• Prior to 0.29, the Paralyse spell and godly wrath could last from 2-7 turns.
• Prior to 0.27, berserking had a chance to paralyze the player after it ends, and both Trog and berserkitis would protect from it.
• Prior to 0.25, severe Hexes miscast effects could paralyse the player.
• Prior to 0.24, needles of paralysis existed.
• Prior to 0.18, paralysis could be prevented by an amulet of stasis.