Djinni

Trunk-only: This article pertains to a feature of Crawl which is being tested. It will likely change before the next release, and may even be removed entirely.

Of the same stock as angels or demons, these spirits have been created from smokeless fire by some deranged god. Unlike regular living beings, they draw their sustenance from magic rather than eating or drinking, although for some reason they can still do the latter - probably due to being unintelligently designed by a creator with no knowledge of evolution. Magic is literally their life, to the point of their health and magical powers' being one force, called "essence". The Djinn can also withstand more magical contamination than most, and slowly recover from its effects. Being spirits of fire, they obviously suffer no harm from any kind of fire, but the same cannot be said of their equipment. Accordingly, cold and water cause them great harm. Fortunately, levitation allows them to cross bodies of liquid, although without external means to power their flight it takes them much effort to do so. Djinn make great fire mages (duh). They are competent with air magic, enchantments, magic items, and weapons with long reaches that don't require high dexterity. They are terrible with ice, earth, necromancy and poison.

Innate Abilities

• A Djinni's HP and MP are unified as essence. This affects their gameplay in several ways:
  • Djinn pay 2EP for every MP they would normally spend. MP costs are displayed in EP, not MP.
  • Djinn can't evoke crystal balls of energy, the Staff of Wucad Mu, or sublimate their own blood. This may not be the case when 0.14 is finally released, however.
  • Using the Regeneration spell causes magical contamination.
  • MP draining attacks apply a monster-like antimagic effect instead of draining essence points.
  • Sources of guardian spirits are useless.
  • They can't wield weapons with the antimagic brand.
• Djinn don't have any food clock, but they can still quaff potions and eat food for the additional benefits they provide.
• A Djinn's magical food costs (such as spell hunger) cause magic contamination instead. This includes invocations and evocations. Mundane and hunger-themed costs like vampiric weapons are free.
• Magical contamination causes two unique effects:
  • Mutations caused by magical contamination are temporary.
  • It applies an anti-wizardry penalty depending on how severe the glow is.
• Djinn have full immunity to fire, including hellfire and holy fire.
• Djinn are vulnerable to cold damage. They also take 150% damage from Primal Wave.
• Djinn cannot memorise the following spells: Ice Form, Ozocubu's Armour, and Leda's Liquefaction.
• Djinn don't have legs and cannot wear boots. They are permanently flying.
• Life Protection 3: Djinn are almost immune to the effects of negative energy.
• Djinn can't go berserk.

Preferred Backgrounds

Djinn are recommended for the following backgrounds:

• Warriors: Fighter, Hunter
• Zealots: Abyssal Knight, Death Knight, Healer
• Warrior-mages: Warper, Arcane Marksman, Enchanter
• Mages: Wizard, Conjurer, Summoner, Fire Elementalist, Air Elementalist
• Adventurers: Artificer

Level Bonuses

• +1 to a random stat every 4th level.
• Djinn have EP instead of HP and MP, but their EP is just the combined total of their HP and MP. Their HP and MP modifiers are as follows:
  • 10% less HP than average.
  • Average MP.
• +3 magic resistance per level.

Starting Skills and Equipment

Djinn receive the skills and equipment listed for their background.

Skill aptitudes

The higher the value, the better the aptitude.

Skill	Aptitude	Skill	Aptitude	Skill	Aptitude
Attack		Miscellaneous		Magic
Fighting	0	Armour	0	Spellcasting	11
		Dodging	1
Maces & Flails	-2	Shields	0	Conjurations	11
Axes	-2	Stealth	-1	Hexes	11
Polearms	-2			Summonings	11
Staves	-1	Invocations	0	Necromancy	11
Unarmed Combat	0	Evocations	0	Translocations	11
Throwing	-2	Shapeshifting	-2	Alchemy	11
				Fire Magic	11
Short Blades	-1			Ice Magic	11
Long Blades	-1			Air Magic	11
Ranged Weapons	-2	Experience	1	Earth Magic	11

Strategy

• Djinn are immune to fire, so you can do things like cast Fireball or Inner Flame in melee range or Conjure Flame behind yourself then flee through it.
  • You might be immune to fire, but your scrolls aren't. Just be careful if you haven't found conservation yet.
• The lack of a food clock means you can afford to hang around for long periods to get your essence back to full, though followers of especially bloodthirsty gods like Trog or Okawaru will probably want to keep the resting to a minimum.
• Djinn have to worry about a slightly different set of monsters than other characters. Sources of fire damage, be it a wand-bearing goblin or an orb of fire, are largely negligible, but an ice beast or merfolk aquamancer can spell sudden doom.
• Playing a spellcasting Djinn means you're essentially slowly killing yourself every time you enter combat, especially once you start casting higher-level spells. While it might not matter how much essence you have left if everything else is dead, keep in mind that Crawl is a game where discretion is very often the better part of valor.
  • Djinn have more reason than most spellcasters to branch out into a hybrid playstyle. You might take more damage from enemies, but their attacks can be resisted or dodged.
  • Djinn have a decent Evocations aptitude; don't be afraid to put a few levels in it to make better use of the various wands or rods you find lying around. Sure, it's less effective than casting the spells yourself, but at least zapping a wand doesn't (usually) hurt you.