Passwall

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

Passwall
Level	3
School1	Earth
Source(s)	Book of Burglary Book of Geomancy
Casting noise	0
Spell noise	0
Power Cap	120
Range	3
Flags	Escape, Not self, Target, Utility

Tunes the caster's body such that it can instantly pass through solid rock. It takes some time for the caster to attune to the rock, during which they will be helpless. “He says the best way out is always through.” -Robert Frost, _A Servant to Servants_. 1915.

Passwall is a level 2 Transmutation/Earth spell that allows the caster to pass through a short range of solid rock wall.

Earth Elementalists start with this spell in their libraries.

Useful Info

Rock wall can be passed in a straight orthogonal or diagonal line. The transfer is instantaneous, but requires an uninterruptible setup phase of wall depth + 1 turns. The maximum range is a function of spell power and ranges from 1 to 7 squares (as shown on the spell info screen).

After direction with at least one passable wall has been selected, the MP will be spent regardless of the result. Potential failures are:

• "You sense an overwhelming volume of rock." -- the rock wall extends to the edge of the level.
• "Something is blocking your path through the rock." -- there is an impassible wall or stationary monster on the way.
• "You finish merging with the rock. ...and sense your way blocked. You quickly turn back." -- This can be 2 possible situations:
  • In the Abyss, new terrain can generate that prevents you from landing.
  • If you try to passwall into a monster, the spell will try to move the monster one tile away, which will awaken it. However, if there's no room to move the monster, Passawll will fail.
• "This rock feels extremely deep." -- there are too many walls to pass with the current spell power (or at all).
• You may also sense deep water, lava, or other dangerous terrain on the other end, which will cancel the move if you cannot currently move through that terrain.

Strategy

• Passwall can be used to escape dangerous situations, as there's nothing better between you and a dangerous enemy than a wall. Don't get yourself killed during the setup phase, though.
• Passwall can be an aid to stabbing - after you passwall, you always have a chance to move before enemies. This is silent to cast, so popping up beside a sleeping enemy will not wake it, giving you time for a stab.
• If you don't have access to a means of digging, Passwall can be used in a pinch. While you won't be able to create tunnel networks or kill holes with it, it's perfect for getting to items located behind transparent rock walls or for taking shortcuts in long, winding tunnels.
• Passwall can come in handy for Cheibriadites or other slow characters, as it isn't affected by movement speed. Using Passwall can shave off significant amounts of travel time or help you reposition more quickly than usual.
• Passwall is a useful alternative to digging on the orb run, since you spend the same amount of travel time as you would to evoke a wand of digging and walk through, but will leave any monsters behind.

History

• Prior to 0.18, Passwall was a level 3 spell and the maximum possible depth to pass was randomized on each cast.
• Prior to 0.15, Passwall's range was dependent on only your Earth Magic skill.
• Prior to 0.8, it was possible to kill yourself with this spell if your destination tile contained lava or deep water.
• Prior to 0.5, Passwall could be interrupted by attacks, making it much less useful for escape.
• Prior to 0.4, Passwall took one fewer turns to cast and could not be interrupted, making it much better for escapes.
• In 0.3, a Passwall bug made the spell very risky; instant death would occur if the spell was used around certain arrangements of rock and stone walls, most often found on Tartarus:7. Because of this, going any deeper than 4 tiles was hazardous.
• In even earlier versions, death would occur anytime you failed to travel all the way through a wall. This was considered a feature.