Tiamat

Version 0.28: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

For a list of all draconians, see list of draconians.

Tiamat d
HP	254-513
HD	22
XP	5100
Speed	10
AC	30
EV	10
Will	140
Attack1	60 (hit: plain)
Attack2	45 (tail slap: plain)
Resistances	rF+ rPois+
Vulnerabilities	Silver
Habitat	Land
Intelligence	Human
Uses	Weapons & armour Starting equipment Open doors
Holiness	Natural
Size	Large
Type	draconian, draconian
Flags	Cold-blooded See invisible Flying Speaks Unique Female

The earthly avatar of Tiamat, deity of dragonkind, here incarnated as a mighty draconian warrior. Her scales seem to shimmer and change colour as you watch. “He saith that Tiamat our mother hath conceived a hatred for us, With all her force she rageth, full of wrath. All the gods have turned to her, With those, whom ye created, they go at her side. They are banded together, and at the side of Tiamat they advance; They are furious, they devise mischief without resting night and day. They prepare for battle, fuming and raging; They have joined their forces and are making war. Tiamat who formed all things, Made in addition weapons invincible; she spawned monster-serpents, Sharp of tooth, and merciless of fang; With poison, instead of blood, she filled their bodies. Fierce monster-vipers she clothed with terror, With splendor she decked them, she made them of lofty stature. Whoever beheld them, terror overcame him, Their bodies reared up and none could withstand their attack.” -Enuma Elish, Third Tablet. circa 668 BCE.

Useful Info

Tiamat is a unique draconian who sometimes appears in the Realm of Zot. The most powerful unique to appear outside of the extended endgame, she is a draconian who constantly changes color, giving her access to any of the draconian breath weapons. She always wears the dragonskin cloak, and comes with a very large retinue of draconians.

Location

• The Realm of Zot

Spells

Spell set I
Slot1	Cold Breath (3d44)	Natural flag, Breath flag

Spell set II
Slot1	Lightning Bolt (3d25)	Natural flag, Breath flag

Spell set III
Slot1	Poisonous Cloud (3d13)	Natural flag, Breath flag

Spell set IV
Slot1	Quicksilver Bolt (3d20)	Natural flag, Breath flag

Spell set V
Slot1	Searing Breath (3d28)	Natural flag, Breath flag

Spell set VI
Slot1	Spit Acid (3d14)	Natural flag, Breath flag

Strategy

Be prepared for a long, dangerous, and difficult fight if you choose to take on Tiamat. Given her extremely high HD (22), her breath weapons will do a lot of damage on top of the unique effects that each draconian breath weapon has - the Draconian page has details on each kind. Her unpredictable damage types make her dangerous from a distance, unless you are omniresistant. Fighting up close isn't much better; she hits harder than any monster in the game, save Antaeus, and tends to carry a good weapon.

Defeating Tiamat in melee is doable with high AC and EV, but you will want to buff yourself in as many ways as possible first: Haste and Might are a good start, but don't neglect any other useful bonuses, such as god-given buffs like Heroism, Finesse, or Vitalisation. Going berserk is a risky move; it greatly increases your damage output while it lasts, but Tiamat is durable enough to be able to weather all but the most destructive rages - and being slowed and possibly paralyzed next to Tiamat is something to be avoided at all costs. Meanwhile, conjurers should drink a potion of brilliance to spam their most powerful spells.

Finally, an easy and often deadly mistake to make is to simply not notice her until it's too late. Tiamat's habit of constantly changing colors means that she isn't a unique color, and thus does not visually stand out from the draconian band that invariably surrounds her. She's very recognizable when playing in Tiles Mode, but it's still an understandable mistake. One should always be vigilant in the Realm of Zot; Tiamat is one of many reasons for this.

Tips and Tricks

• Anyone wishing to kill her will want to lure her away from her retinue (or vice versa), as fighting both draconian stormcallers and Tiamat is very likely to be very lethal.
• Be prepared to run if things even start to go badly -- remember how much damage she can do with her breath weapons. Also keep in mind that the Realm of Zot interferes with translocative effects -- a scroll of teleport will take much longer to kick in, making it an unreliable escape option at best.
• Her cloak gives her occasional resistance to all elements, but not with such regularity that elemental casters are completely out of luck. Just keep an eye out for her current color, to make sure you aren't wasting a turn and several MP.
• Tiamat only has moderate EV, so spells such as Lehudib's Crystal Spear or Iron Shot are effective, but her high health means that most casters will need some method of restoring MP to last long enough to kill her.
• Don't forget about any other items you may have picked up; a throwing net will pin Tiamat down for several turns, giving you time to flee or deal some serious stabbing damage. Using a phantom mirror can also be helpful; a friendly copy of Tiamat herself is one of the strongest allies you could ask for.

Trivia

In Babylonian mythology, Tiamat is a goddess considered to be the monstrous embodiment of primordial chaos. Although there are no early precedents for it, some sources (including Dungeons & Dragons) identify her with images of a sea serpent or dragon.

History

• Tiamat got a much more impressive tile in 0.28.
• Prior to 0.10, Tiamat wore gold dragon armour, granting her phenomenal physical durability as well as a wide array of elemental resistances. When draconians lost access to the body armour slot, she was instead given the dragonskin cloak.