Ballistomycete

Version 0.11: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

ballistomycete f
HP	20 - 32
HD	4
XP	500 (when colony is destroyed) "(whencolonyisdestroyed)" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 500.
Speed	0
AC	1
EV	0
Will	Immune
Resistances	rPois+, rN+, rTorm
Vulnerabilities	None
Habitat	land
Intelligence	Plant
Uses	Uses nothing
Holiness	Plant
Size	Tiny
Type	fungus, ballistomycete
Flags	Stationary No experience gain (until colony destroyed)

A lumpy reddish fungus covered in knobbly rhizome growths, growing well in the dank underground dungeon.

Useful Info

A ballistomycete is a plant-type monster, capable of spawning giant spores for both reproductive and combat purposes. Although seemingly harmless, they can become a serious menace if left unchecked, taking over the level and spitting out explosive spores at you endlessly. They give no experience individually, but offer a large chunk for killing off the entire colony.

Ballistomycete Life Cycle

• After wandering for 40 turns, crashing into a player, or taking damage, a spore will explode, dealing damage, confusion, and food destruction. This also creates a random number of new inactive ballistomycetes in the blast radius (2~3 on average)
• When this explosion occurs, a random ballistomycete on the level is activated. Roughly 500 turns later, it will create a new spore, continuing the cycle.
• If you kill an active ballistomycete, a random number of other ballistomycetes will activate.
• There can be up to 25 ballistomycetes on a floor at any given time. Any spore explosions beyond that will cause damage and confusion, but nothing else.
• Killing the entire colony will remove all moldy floor tiles, reward you with experience, and display the message:

Having destroyed the fungal colony, you feel a bit more experienced.

• • If you've killed everything attached to a particular patch of mold and it doesn't disappear, there's probably another patch (or maybe just a single spore) lurking somewhere else on the floor.
• Followers of Fedhas Madash may use his Evolution ability to upgrade a ballistomycete to a hyperactive state. Hyperactive ballistomycetes will repeatedly cause explosions of spores before eventually dying.

Tips & Tricks

• Giant spores leave a trail of moss behind them which lights a trail when a new ballistomycete activates, giving you a good idea of where to go next.
• Killing inactive ballistomycetes does not cause others to immediately become active, as is the case when you kill active ballistomycetes. Because of this, it's possible to "prune" an out-of-control outbreak without dooming yourself.
• Conservation will protect your food from contamination, and clarity will stop you from being confused, but it's best not to get caught in spore explosions at all. A wand of magic darts can reliably one-shot them.