Yara's Violent Unravelling

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

Yara's Violent Unravelling
Level	5
School1	Alchemy
School2	Hexes
Source(s)	Great Wizards, Vol. VII Book of Misfortune
Casting noise	5
Spell noise	15
Power Cap	200
Range	LOS
Flags	Chaotic, No ghost, Target

If cast upon a creature already blessed (or cursed) with magical enchantments, those enchantments will be torn apart, transforming into a spray of destructive mutagenic radiation. The victim and anyone adjacent will be blasted and heavily deformed, weakening them and reducing their armour. Summoned creatures are particularly vulnerable, as the enchantments binding them to this plane will unravel and cause them to be dismissed immediately.

Yara's Violent Unravelling is a level 5 Hexes/Transmutation spell which dispels all cancellable effects on the target and, if any were dispelled, causes a damaging explosion of mutagenic energy around the victim. Summons that are not durable may also be targeted, and are instantly and violently abjured. It is smite-targeted, allowing you to affect monsters standing in virtually any space you can see -- only creatures behind transparent walls are safe from your unravelling.

For a full list of cancellable effects, see the appropriate section of the potion of cancellation page.

Strategy

• Monsters which summon others or provide buffs are the perfect targets for this spell. Even if they renew the enchantments, they lose time and are damaged and weakened by the blast.
  • Yara's is particularly good for shutting down problematic status effects like Haste or Invisibility. It even works on several oddball status effects like Bind Souls or Word of Recall!
• Hexers can use other enchantments like Slow or Inner Flame to make monsters vulnerable to the unravelling effect, while Evocations experts can use a wand of paralysis or light.
  • There are also some spells in other schools that induce cancellable effects, like Mephitic Cloud, Petrify, or Teleport Other.
  • Curare and atropa darts also render monsters vulnerable, and are often a better option against monsters with high willpower.
• Unravelling your own summons is a safe, albeit somewhat disappointing, way to deal damage (so long as you're not standing next to them, at least) -- creatures that are almost dead might as well go out in a blaze of glory and mutagenic radiation. However, be aware that some gods forbid this kind of betrayal of allies, and that any other summons caught in the blast will immediately leave.
• In a pinch, casting Yara's Violent Unravelling on yourself can work as a poor man's potion of cancellation. However, this makes a lot of noise, inflicts heavy irresistible damage, and malmutates you, so this is best reserved for true emergencies.

History

• Prior to 0.28, Yara's Violent Unravelling was not smite-targeted and could not affect summons.
• In 0.27, more monster enchantments were made dispellable.
• Prior to 0.19, this spell was not considered destructive by Vehumet.
• This spell was introduced in 0.18.