Plasma Beam

Version 0.30: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

This page is a stub. You could probably expand this page should you wish to do so.

Spell Details
Damage Formula	1d(11+(Power*3)/5)
Max Damage	2 x 1d131 electricity + fire
Max Power	200
Range	3-10
Targeting	Bolt
To-hit	7+Power/40
Special	Two bolts Elec ignores 1/2 AC

Plasma Beam is a level 6 Fire Magic/Air Magic spell. This spell fires 2 inaccurate bolts - 1 of fire, and 1 of electricity, directed at the furthest enemy in range.

Mechanics

Fires 2 bolts. It will fire at the furthest enemy that is both 1. in line of fire, and 2. within this spell's max range. Both bolts will always be aimed at the same target. If there are multiple enemies at the same distance, the target is randomly chosen.

When fired, the bolts follow the same trajectory as any manually-aimed projectile, if that projectile was aimed directly at the intended target. There will always be one (and only one) possible trajectory per target. You can view possible trajectories by targeting this spell.

Unlike traditional bolt spells, Plasma Beam doesn't reduce in range for each target you hit.

The electric bolt will ignore 1/2 of the target's AC, as a property of BEAM_ELEC damage. The fire bolt is fully affected by AC. This mean that Plasma Beam is impacted x1.5 by AC, when compared to a singular beam.

Strategy

• Awkward schooling, but a powerful spell. At 50 spellpower, this spell deals 2 x 1d41 damage (avg. 41). Iron Shot, another level 6 spell, would deal 9d6 (avg. 27). While Iron Shot has multiple advantages (more accurate, more consistent, irresistible damage, checks AC only once), this spell isn't weak by any means.

• It is a loud spell, so beware of the enemies you'll attract.

History

Plasma Beam was added in 0.30.