The Sewers

Version 0.14: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

Every inhabited place needs to dispose of its waste products. The Dungeon too has its stinking sewers and drains, full of filthy water and ignored by most but used as hideaways by the disgusting and the desperate. Old tales speak of dangerous creatures stalking through the foul-smelling green water, preying on each other without mercy. The tales also allude to valuable items accidentally washed into the drainage tunnels, forgotten and left to grow mouldy in the damp caverns.

Every settlement brings forth the unpleasant sewers and drains, ignored by most but hideaways for others. Old tales speak of dangerous creatures, bathing in disgustingly green water, preying on each other without mercy. The tales also tell of the valuable items left by daring and unfortunate visitors, left to collect dust in the damp caverns. You have an uncanny feeling that the drain will fall apart rather soon.

Useful Info

The Sewers is an optional mini-branch, located somewhere between floors 3 and 6 of the Dungeon (though it does not generate in all games). Although its layout varies dramatically from instance to instance, it's usually filled with regions of shallow and deep water, a variety of (mostly) weak early game opponents, and some useful potions, scrolls, and occasionally equipment to help you on your way.

The entrance to the Sewers is a timed portal, which will close forever if you take too long reaching it. Once you reach a floor with a Sewers portal, you'll receive a message about hearing "the sound of rushing water". When you get close, you'll usually see patches of dirty green and blue water, as well as a large number of rats, roaches, snakes, and other vermin guarding the entrance. If you have one available, a scroll of magic mapping can help you find the entrance much faster.

Monsters

The exact inhabitants of the sewers vary from layout to layout, but many monsters are common to most possible layouts:

b Bat	r Rat	r Green rat	h Jackal
l Giant newt	l Giant gecko	S Ball python	S Adder
B Giant cockroach	s Giant mite	K Kobold

Other monsters only appear in specific layouts, usually as the "boss" defending the loot at the end:

J Ooze.

J Jelly.

w Worm.

r Orange rat- Surprisingly deadly if allowed to swarm you, and a legitimate draining threat.

j Giant slug- Very dangerous in melee, but easy to kite or outrun.

F Giant frog- Two or three are found in the watery center of a couple spiral vaults. Surprisingly dangerous in melee.

l Crocodile- Very dangerous in melee.

K Big kobold- Dangerous if armed with curare needles or a crossbow. One layout contains a few big kobold necromancers, which have Animate Dead to take advantage of the rat corpses lying around.

m Mermaid- Found in a couple areas of deep water in the middle of one layout. Dangerous, and potentially a starvation threat if you lack the ability to fight at range.

m Siren- Found in a large area of deep water at the end of one layout, very dangerous.

T File:Purgy.png Purgy- Found in a large circular island layout, very dangerous.

Loot

Loot only appears at the ending, in small chambers along the path, or in kobold rooms. Mermaid endings generally do not have much loot, while jelly/frog endings have loot ranging from evocable items, magical staves, and randarts to stacks of potions, usually common in nature. Sometimes there is an altar to Elyvilon or Zin, perhaps with potions scattered about. Frequently there's a deep-water shortcut or route to more treasure; merfolk, tengu, octopodes, or grey draconians might go for that, but other characters will have to depend on a ring or potions of flight, which can be risky. Another way to reach loot that lies behind deep water is to use Spider Form, though non-Transmuters may not have access to it.

There are always readily accessible exit gates near the entrance in case you're quickly overwhelmed, but once you leave the Sewers, you can never return.

Tips & Tricks

• Remember that enemies that are not amphibious are easier to defeat if you face them while they're standing in shallow water. This is very useful for taking out big kobolds (assuming they don't simply kill you at range with darts and needles).

Portal Timeout Messages
1st: "The drain is slowly rusting away."
2nd: "The drain is rusting away."
3rd: "The drain is quickly rusting away."