Demonspawn mutations

Version 0.13: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

As demonspawn characters level up, they gain useful mutations due to their demonic ancestry. Demonspawn mutations are semi-random, according to the following rules. A 'facet' is a set of three levels in one mutation:

• 90% of the time, they mutate as follows:
  • They gain one body-slot facet
  • They gain one scales facet
  • They gain two tier 2 facet
  • They gain one tier 3 facets
• 10% of the time, they are "monstrous", and instead mutate as follows:
  • They gain three body-slot facets (claws, horns or antennae, hooves or talons)
  • They have no scales facets
  • They gain two tier 2 facets
  • They gain one tier 3 facet

Monstrous demonspawn are far more offensive-minded: they have lower AC due to their inability to wear any armour other than cloaks, shields, and body armour, but their claws make them well-suited to Unarmed Combat. Your auxiliary attacks also support close combat.

Here is a list of all possible demonspawn mutations. Note that many of these mutations can also be gained randomly. However, demonspawn mutations are unique in that they cannot be removed by any means. You can check your current mutations with shift-A.

Body-Slot Facets

Monstrous demonspawn develop 3 body-slot facets, while others gain 1.

Claws

Improves the damage of your Unarmed Combat fist attacks. Damage rises with rank. Wearing gloves negates the effects of this mutation; at rank 3, gloves are prohibited.

1. You have sharp fingernails. 2. You have very sharp fingernails. 3. You have claws for hands.

Horns

Grants an auxiliary Unarmed Combat headbutt attack. Damage rises with rank. At any rank, helmets are prohibited; at rank 3, all headgear is prohibited.

1. You have a pair of small horns on your head. 2. You have a pair of horns on your head. 3. You have a pair of large horns on your head.

Antennae

Lets you detect any monsters within a certain radius of you, even if invisible or through walls - usefully, this includes mimics. Any rank prohibits use of helmets, and rank 3 prohibits use of any headgear.
Rank 1: 3 tile radius (including the player). Rank 2: 5 tile radius. Rank 3: 7 tiles, plus gives see invisible.

A pair of antennae grows on your head! 1. You have a pair of small antennae on your head. 2. You have a pair of antennae on your head. 3. You have a pair of large antennae on your head.

Hooves

Grants an auxiliary Unarmed Combat kick attack. Damage rises with rank. Wearing boots negates the effects of this mutation; at rank 3, boots are prohibited.

1. You have large cloven feet. 2. You have hoof-like feet. 3. You have hooves in place of feet.

Talons

Grants an auxiliary Unarmed Combat kick attack. Damage rises with rank. Wearing boots negates the effects of this mutation; at rank 3, boots are prohibited.

1. You have sharp toenails. 2. You have razor-sharp toenails. 3. You have claws for feet.

Scales Facets

Most demonspawn develop scales; monstrous demonspawn do not. Demonspawn may still acquire scales through random mutation, but non-monstrous demonspawn can only get ranks of a scales mutation if it matches the one they would eventually develop later.

Molten Scales

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+1 AC	You are partially covered in molten scales.
2	+3 AC, -1 EV	You are mostly covered in molten scales.
3	+4 AC, -1 EV rF+	You are completely covered in molten scales.
Beneficial, Demonspawn Scales Facet

Icy Blue Scales

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+1 AC	You are partially covered in icy blue scales.
2	+3 AC, -1 EV	You are mostly covered in icy blue scales.
3	+4 AC, -1 EV rC+	You are completely covered in icy blue scales.
Beneficial, Demonspawn Scales Facet

Slimy Green Scales

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+2 AC	You are partially covered in slimy green scales.
2	+3 AC	You are mostly covered in slimy green scales.
3	+4 AC, rPois	You are completely covered in slimy green scales.
Beneficial, Demonspawn Scales Facet

Thin Metallic Scales

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+2 AC	You are partially covered in thin metallic scales.
2	+3 AC	You are mostly covered in thin metallic scales.
3	+4 AC, rElec	You are completely covered in thin metallic scales.
Beneficial, Demonspawn Scales Facet

Yellow Scales

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+2 AC	You are partially covered in yellow scales.
2	+3 AC	You are mostly covered in yellow scales.
3	+4 AC, rAcid+	You are completely covered in yellow scales.
Beneficial, Demonspawn Scales Facet

Rough Black Scales

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+4 AC, -1 DEX	You are partially covered in rough black scales.
2	+7 AC, -2 DEX	You are mostly covered in rough black scales.
3	+10 AC, -3 DEX	You are completely covered in rough black scales.
Beneficial, Demonspawn Scales Facet

Rugged Brown Scales

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+1 AC, +3% HP	You are partially covered in rugged brown scales.
2	+2 AC, +5% HP	You are mostly covered in rugged brown scales.
3	+3 AC, +7% HP	You are completely covered in rugged brown scales.
Beneficial, Demonspawn Scales Facet

Iridescent Scales

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+4 AC	You are partially covered in iridescent scales.
2	+6 AC	You are mostly covered in iridescent scales.
3	+8 AC, rAcid+	You are completely covered in iridescent scales.
Beneficial, Demonspawn Scales Facet

Large Bone Plates

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+2 AC, +2 SH	You are partially covered in large bone plates.
2	+3 AC, +4 SH	You are mostly covered in large bone plates.
3	+4 AC, +6 SH	You are completely covered in large bone plates.
Beneficial, Demonspawn Scales Facet

Repulsion Field

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+2 EV	You are surrounded by a mild repulsion field.
2	+3 EV	You are surrounded by a moderate repulsion field.
3	+4 EV, Repel Missiles	You are surrounded by a strong repulsion field.
Beneficial, Demonspawn Scales Facet

Thin Skeletal Structure

Rank	Effect	Flavor
1	+2 DEX, +25 Stealth	You have a somewhat thin skeletal structure.
2	+4 DEX, -1 STR, +50 Stealth	You have a moderately thin skeletal structure.
3	+6 DEX, -2 STR, +75 Stealth	You have an unnaturally thin skeletal structure.
Beneficial, Demonspawn Scales Facet

Tier 2 Facets

All demonspawn develop two tier 2 facets.

Ignite Blood

Actually consists of three seperate mutations grouped together, the first two of which are indistinguishable from the tier 1 mutation:
Rank 1: Grants conservation for scrolls. Rank 2: Grants Heat Resistance 1. Rank 3: Ignite Blood. Whenever you make enemies bleed (whether by inflicting bleeding or just random splashes of blood from strong blows), it creates clouds of flame.

1. You are very good at protecting items from fire. 2. You are resistant to fire. 3. Your demonic aura causes spilled blood to erupt in flames.

Icemail

Actually consists of three seperate mutations grouped together, the first two of which are indistinguishable from the tier 1 mutation:
Rank 1: Cold Resistance 1. Rank 2: Grants conservation for potions. Rank 3: Icemail. It grants +10 AC and melts away when you take fire damage or cast Fire Magic, but it regrows over time. Icemail also lets you walk through freezing clouds without losing potions or taking damage.

1. You are resistant to cold. 2. You are very good at protecting items from cold. 3. A meltable icy envelope protects you from harm and freezing clouds.

Powered by Death

This mutation triggers whenever you kill anything that leaves a corpse. Increases your regeneration rate by 100 (same as the spell) for each corpse within (3 * rank) tiles of you. Duration is (8 * rank) + 2d8 turns (Max: 40). All corpses contributing to this effect will rot slightly faster.

A wave of death washes over you. 1. You can steal the life force of nearby defeated enemies.. 2. You steal the life force of defeated enemies. 3. You quickly steal the life force of defeated enemies.

Mana Shield

The mana shield mutation has three levels. The first gives you innate spirit shield. Level two increases your MP regeneration rate. Level three causes your HP regeneration to instead fuel regeneration of MP when you are at low MP.

1. When hurt, damage is shared between your health and your magic reserves. 2. You regenerate magic rapidly. 3. When low on magic, you restore magic in place of health.

Demonic Guardian

Summons one or more friendly demons to aid you temporarily. Only occurs when tension is high, and dismisses them when tension drops. Higher mutation levels require higher tension to activate. This mutation will not activate for worshipers of Okawaru.
Rank 1: Tier 5 (White imp, lemure, ufetubus, or iron imp. Rank 2: Tier 3 or 4 (Orange demon, hellwing, or smoke demon). Rank 3: Tier 1 or 2 (Executioner or balrug).

1. A weak demonic guardian rushes to your aid. 2. A demonic guardian rushes to your aid. 3. A powerful demonic guardian rushes to your aid.

Nightstalker

Grants +40 Stealth per rank, while reciprocally reducing LOS by -1 per level, making both you and all monsters less likely to see each other.

1. You are slightly more attuned to the shadows. 2. You are significantly more attuned to the shadows. 3. You are completely attuned to the shadows.

Spiny

Any monster that attacks you in melee is attacked for ((mutlevel)d6 - player EVP). Blocked attacks don't count, and the attack is subject to monster EV and AC.

1. You are partially covered in sharp spines. 2. You are mostly covered in sharp spines. 3. You are completely covered in sharp spines.

Powered by Pain

If d(Damage) > 2+3*Rank, or Damage > HP/2 ("Ouch! That really hurt!"), you either:

• regain 3d(2+3*Rank) MP. (50% chance)
• get a Might effect (25% chance)
• get an Agility effect (25% chance)

1. You sometimes gain a little power by taking damage. 2. You sometimes gain power by taking damage. 3. You are powered by pain.

Foul Stench

The foul stench tier has three levels. In the first, you gain one rank of the Saprovore mutation. In the other two, you obtain the first and second level of Foul Stench proper.

When adjacent monsters attack you in melee, they have a 33% chance per level to become sick. When monsters land a strong hit, there is also a 20% chance per level you may cause miasma to appear over the monster. This mutation also provides rot resistance, which negates rotting, sickness, and the effects of miasma.

1. You emit a foul stench, and are resistant to rotting and decay. 2. You radiate miasma, and are resistant to rotting and decay.

Tier 3 Facets

All demonspawn gain one tier 3 facet.

Hurl Hellfire

Actually consists of three seperate mutations grouped together, the first two of which are indistinguishable from the tier 2 mutation:
Rank 1: Grants conservation for scrolls. Rank 2: Heat Resistance 1. Rank 3. Lets you hurl Hellfire as an ability, but it costs 15% of your max HP. Damage is far greater than monster hellfire: it depends on XL, but at XL27 it does 6d28 damage, as compared to 3d15 or 3d20 for monsters. Like monster hellfire, it ignores AC and fire resistance, but not hellfire resistance.

1. You are very good at protecting items from fire. 2. You are resistant to fire. 3. You can hurl blasts of hellfire.

Passive Freeze

Actually consists of three seperate mutations grouped together, the first two of which are indistinguishable from the tier 2 mutation:
Rank 1: Cold Resistance 1. Rank 2: Grants conservation for potions. Rank 3: You passively cast Freeze on any monster that attacks you in melee. Like the spell, this always hits.

1. You are resistant to cold. 2. You are very good at protecting items from cold. 3. A frigid envelope surrounds you and freezes all who hurt you.

Robust

Gives you +10% max HP per rank.

1. You are robust. 2. You are very robust. 3. You are extremely robust.

Negative Energy Resistance

The first two ranks grant increasing resistance to negative energy. The third rank grants Stochastic Torment Resistance (you have a 50% chance of negating damage from a torment).

1. You resist negative energy. 2. You are quite resistant to negative energy. 3. You are somewhat able to resist unholy torments (1 in 2 success).

Augmentation

Each level gives a spell enhancement and slaying bonus that kicks in at high HP. Bonuses are equal to max(0, ceiling(mutlevel*(2*hp - maxhp)/maxhp))*(0.4*spell power + 4 slaying), so you become more powerful at higher levels of HP.

1. Your magical and physical power is slightly enhanced as your life falls. 2. Your magical and physical power is enhanced as your life falls. 3. Your magical and physical power is greatly enhanced as your life falls.

History

Prior to 0.13, Demonic Guardian would function for Okawaru worshipers, often resulting in massive piety losses. Hellfire cost 25% of max HP instead of 15.

Mana Shield was added in 0.13.

Prior to 0.12, Augmentation kicked in at low HP instead of high HP.

Prior to 0.11, magic resistance was available as a Tier 2 facet.