Malign Gateway

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

Malign Gateway
Level	7
School1	Summoning
School2	Translocation
Source(s)	Grand Grimoire Akashic Record
Casting noise	6
Spell noise	10

This spell tears a gash in reality, creating a self-sustained but thankfully temporary portal to an unknown, tainted otherworld. It requires open space to succeed. After a short time, a powerful clawed tentacle will reach through the portal, remaining bound to the caster's will for a duration depending on power. With the protal's expiry, the tentacle will be severed and turn on the caster.

Malign Gateway is a level 7 Summonings/Translocations spell which summons a portal through which an eldritch tentacle emerges. These horrors are powerful and fast, capable of hitting the average monster for up to 70 HP of chaotic damage per attack and inflicting all manner of extra effects with each hit. It will be friendly for a number of turns dependent on your spell power, but eventually it will either turn neutral and attack everything around it, or simply die when the spell ends, closing the portal and severing the tentacle.

There can only be one such portal open at a time. This means that if you cast the spell, enemies who know the spell will be unable to cast it until yours closes (and vice versa). A monster-created portal is referred to in-game as "a portal to somewhere," and because of the danger inherent in facing a hostile tentacle, attempting to move next to a hostile portal triggers the warning:

Are you sure you wish to approach this portal? There's no telling what its forces would wreak upon your fragile self.

Actually stepping into such a portal will cause you to take minor irresistible damage and blink.

Strategy

• Although extremely powerful, the tentacle is not summoned instantaneously. Several turns will pass before the tentacle emerges from the portal. Plan accordingly, and use other summoned allies in the meantime.
• This spell requires an open area to cast. Attempts to cast in a narrow corridor will fail.
• The tentacle can attack outside of the player's line of sight.
• Eldritch tentacles cannot be hasted or abjured.

History

Prior to 0.17, casting this spell had a 20% chance of causing 1d3 points of temporary Intelligence damage. Malign Gateway was added in 0.8.