Petrify

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Petrify
Level	4
School¹	Alchemy
School²	Earth
Source(s)	Book of Sloth Book of Transmutation
Casting noise	3
Spell noise	0
Power Cap	100
Range	6
Flags	Wl check, Dir or target, Needs tracer

Petrifies a targeted creature. If successful, the target is slowed down for a while until it is temporarily turned into stone. In this state, the target will take less damage upon being hit.

Petrify is a level 4 Earth/Transmutation spell that first slows, then petrifies its target a few turns later.

Effect

If the target fails a magic resistance check, it will gain the petrifying status, slowing down and turning to stone soon after. Successfully casting Petrify a second time causes immediate petrification. This leaves the victim unable to move or act for several turns, during which time they cannot dodge attacks or use shields, are vulnerable to stabbing attempts, and will no longer be airborne. However, because the victim is now made of stone, it receives significantly less damage: -50% while petrified, -33% while petrifying (after AC)^[1]^[2]. This spell requires a clear line of fire.

Earth elementals, gargoyles, catoblepases, statues, and insubstantial creatures cannot be petrified by any means. Players can become immune by activating Zin's Vitalisation, being gargoyles or by being in Statue, Wisp, or Shadow Form. Potions of cancellation, Elyvilon's Purification, and Ru's Draw Out Power all cancel the petrifying status effect. Unfortunately, being completely petrified leaves you unable to act; at that point, your only recourse is to hope you survive until the status wears off.

Strategy

Stopping opponents with Petrify can be extremely useful for making escapes. Individual pursuers can be frozen in place while you run to a safe place to heal. Petrifying the lead monster of a pack that's chasing you through a narrow hallway will stop all the others behind it. When successful, Petrify is generally more effective and longer lasting than Conjure Flame, Confusing Touch, or Slow for escaping foes. This is especially true since clouds will nowadays immediately disperse once out of your line of sight, allowing monsters to keep chasing you. Petrification lasts, LOS or not.
Petrify has nice synergy with Lee's Rapid Deconstruction (and to a lesser extent with Shatter): petrified targets have the same vulnerability to these spells as statues. If you wait until the target is entirely petrified, hitting it with LRD will create an explosion of shrapnel, which can be quite useful against groups of monsters.
- Of course, this vulnerability also applies to players, meaning you should take great pains to avoid being petrified when monsters that can cast LRD or Shatter are around. Jorgrun is particularly dangerous, having both Petrify and LRD.
Winged monsters can be drowned with this spell. This is particularly useful against the harpies in the Shoals, which have fairly low magic resistance. This trick doesn't work against monsters that fly using magic (including the player character). Disclaimer: This may no longer be true since Instadeath through drowning has been replaced with heavy stat draining.
Casting this spell multiple times on the same target will speed the petrification process up. Two successful applications will turn most targets to stone immediately.