Natasha

Version 0.17: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

Natasha h
HP	9-20
HD	3
XP	35
Speed	10 (move: 80%)
AC	2
EV	12
Will	20
Attack1	10 (claw: plain)
Resistances	None
Vulnerabilities	None
Habitat	Land
Intelligence	Human
Uses	Starting equipment Open doors
Holiness	Natural
Size	Little
Type	felid, felid
Flags	See invisible Speaks Warm-blooded Unique Female

A magical cat. Once a powerful wizard's familiar, Natasha was abandoned after her master was consumed by the very necromantic forces he sought to control. Now she patrols the dungeon, taking a bloody vengeance with spell and claw upon any adventurer who crosses her path. This cat doesn't have nine lives, but just one death isn't going to be enough to put her down for good. “It dooth appéere that there is in Cats as in all other kindes of beasts, a certaine reason and language wherby they vnderstand one another. But as touching this Grimmalkin: I take rather to be an Hagat or a VVitch then a Cat. For witches haue gone often in that likenes, And therof hath come the prouerb as trew as common, that a Cat hath nine liues, that is to say, a witch may take on her a Cats body nine times.” -William Baldwin, “Beware the Cat”, 1584

Useful Info

Natasha, Servant of Life and Death is a unique felid wizard. Although not very durable, she is fast and capable of summoning a variety of imps to her aid, as well as inflicting irresistible damage at any range and disabling you with status effects. On top of all that, she has three lives; when killed, she will respawn elsewhere on the floor twice before finally dying for good.

Location

• The Dungeon:2-4

Spells

Spell set I
Slot1	Magic Dart (3d4)	Wizard flag
Slot2	Slow	Wizard flag
Slot3	Call Imp	Wizard flag

Tips & Tricks

• The threat level of her imps is very variable. Crimson imps are mostly harmless. White imps are capable of dealing significant cold damage. Shadow imps are capable of raising the dead and hitting you with negative energy damage. Iron imps are serious threats in melee. In all cases, however, it is easier to kill Natasha than to try to kill off her summons, as they will all die once she's beaten. Consider retreating and returning later if she manages to get a sizable imp army up before you can reach her.

• Natasha can wield wands and has been known to spawn with a wand of polymorph. Be cautious if you have low magic resistance.

• If you are trying to track down her two further respawns in an otherwise cleared out level, consider reading any previously discarded scrolls of noise to help draw her out, as they are much louder than your shout. You might even consider the search command (Ctrl-f) to see if there is a bypassed pile conveniently nearby. Locating her faster in such a setting means preserving more of your perma-food and patience.

Trivia

Although never explicitly stated, the unrand dagger Morg once belonged to a "powerful mage called Boris" who "got lost in the Dungeon while seeking the Orb." Given Natasha's flavour text, this strongly suggests that Natasha was once the unique lich Boris' familiar, making the pair into one of Crawl's sneakier pop culture references.

History

Prior to 0.16, Natasha knew Mephitic Cloud.

Natasha was added in 0.14.