Tiamat

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

For a list of all draconians, see list of draconians.

Tiamat d
HP	254-513
HD	22
XP	5100
Speed	10
AC	30
EV	10
Will	140
Attack1	60 (hit: plain)
Attack2	45 (tail slap: plain)
Resistances	rF+ rPois+
Vulnerabilities	Silver
Habitat	Land
Intelligence	Human
Uses	Weapons & armour Starting equipment Open doors
Holiness	Natural
Size	Large
Type	draconian, draconian
Flags	Cold-blooded See invisible Flying Speaks Unique Female

The earthly avatar of Tiamat, deity of dragonkind, here incarnated as a mighty draconian warrior. Her scales seem to shimmer and change colour as you watch. “He saith that Tiamat our mother hath conceived a hatred for us, With all her force she rageth, full of wrath. All the gods have turned to her, With those, whom ye created, they go at her side. They are banded together, and at the side of Tiamat they advance; They are furious, they devise mischief without resting night and day. They prepare for battle, fuming and raging; They have joined their forces and are making war. Tiamat who formed all things, Made in addition weapons invincible; she spawned monster-serpents, Sharp of tooth, and merciless of fang; With poison, instead of blood, she filled their bodies. Fierce monster-vipers she clothed with terror, With splendor she decked them, she made them of lofty stature. Whoever beheld them, terror overcame him, Their bodies reared up and none could withstand their attack.” -Enuma Elish, Third Tablet. circa 668 BCE.

Useful Info

Tiamat is a unique draconian who sometimes appears in the Realm of Zot. One of the strongest uniques before extended, she is a draconian who constantly changes color, giving her access to any of the draconian breath weapons (and the matching resistance). She always wears the dragonskin cloak, and comes with a very large retinue of draconians.

Location

• The Realm of Zot

Spells

Spell set I
Slot1	Cold Breath (3d44)	Natural flag, Breath flag

Spell set II
Slot1	Lightning Bolt (3d25)	Natural flag, Breath flag

Spell set III
Slot1	Poisonous Cloud (3d13)	Natural flag, Breath flag

Spell set IV
Slot1	Quicksilver Bolt (3d20)	Natural flag, Breath flag

Spell set V
Slot1	Searing Breath (3d28)	Natural flag, Breath flag

Spell set VI
Slot1	Spit Acid (3d14)	Natural flag, Breath flag

Strategy

Be prepared for a long, dangerous, and difficult fight if you chose to take on Tiamat. With high HP and extreme HD, it's difficult to kill her quickly. She changes colour often, allowing for a variety of breath attacks (see the Draconian page for each kind). Her melee is no slouch, either.

If you do decide to take on Tiamat, make sure to clear her entourage first.

• Melee/ranged fighters should have great defenses (AC, EV, SH). Most characters will want to buff up; Might and Haste are easy. Berserk is dangerous; since she has such good defenses, it's likely that berserk will run out before she dies.
• Magic users often have a tough time killing her before running out of MP. A potion of brilliance can alleviate that issue, but Tiamat is still a tough foe. She can gain elemental resistances (from colour and cloak), which can make it difficult if you rely on an elemental spell. However, these resistances aren't regular, so you can wait them out.

If nothing else, remember that you don't have to kill everything in Crawl. Tiamat is a 10-speed enemy, so under normal circumstances, you can run away. If you do decide to fight, be prepared to run if things go badly. Her breath weapons can do a lot of damage, and teleports are delayed in Zot.

An easy (and often deadly) mistake is to simply not notice her until it's too late. She's very recognizable in Tiles mode, but console players can make the mistake. Tiamat's habit of constantly changing colors means that she isn't a unique color, and thus does not visually stand out from the draconian band that invariably surrounds her.

Tips & Tricks

• Pay attention to what's near Tiamat. Draconian shifters can teleport her (and 7 other draconians) directly adjacent to you. A moth of wrath can berserk Tiamat, which you really don't want.
• Like other draconians, Tiamat is cold-blooded. She can get rC+ from colour or the dragonskin cloak. Otherwise, she is slowed by cold attacks.
• Tiamat only has moderate EV, so spells such as Lehudib's Crystal Spear or Iron Shot are effective. But her high health means that most casters will need some method of restoring MP to last long enough to kill her.
• Don't forget about any other items you may have picked up:
  • Throwing nets will pin Tiamat down for several turns, giving you time to flee or deal some serious stabbing damage.
  • A phantom mirror creates a clone for a few turns; a friendly version of Tiamat is one of the strongest allies you can ask for.
  • A scroll of vulnerability can make it reasonable to paralyse, polymorph, or otherwise hex her. Just beware the usual risks of this scroll.

Trivia

In Babylonian mythology, Tiamat is a goddess considered to be the monstrous embodiment of primordial chaos. Although there are no early precedents for it, some sources (including Dungeons & Dragons) identify her with images of a sea serpent or dragon.

History

• In 0.28, Tiamat got a much more impressive tile. Previously, she blended into other draconians.
• Prior to 0.10, Tiamat wore gold dragon armour, granting her phenomenal AC. As player Draconians lost the body armour slot in this version, her armour was replaced with the dragonskin cloak.