Death scarab

Version 0.29: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

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

death scarab B
HP	18-38
HD	8
XP	876
Speed	30
AC	7
EV	14
Will	60
Attack1	33 (bite: scarab)
Resistances	rPois+++ rDrown rMiasma rN+++ rTorm
Vulnerabilities	Holy
Habitat	Land
Intelligence	Animal
Uses	Uses nothing
Holiness	Undead
Size	Little
Type	beetle, death scarab
Flags	Evil Unbreathing Batty No skeleton Web immune No zombie

A hideous swarming undead insect, exuding death and decay and feeding on the life energies of those unfortunate enough to encounter them.

Useful Info

Death scarabs are debilitating undead pests that assault intruders in packs, afflicting their foes with slow and healing themselves with each bite. Groups of death scarabs can be found throughout the Tomb or in Tomb-themed rune vaults in the Spider's Nest, and they may be summoned by royal mummies.

Tips & Tricks

• On their own, death scarabs are unlikely to kill a character capable of reaching the Tomb, but they make the Tomb's other inhabitants significantly more dangerous. Their Slow attacks magnify the number of enemy actions, and their erratic swarming behavior often blocks attacks against more serious foes.
  • When possible, kill them at range before they get a chance to affect you, and give yourself time to recover after a fight so you don't find yourself getting tormented while slow and injured.
• Their undead nature makes them immune to poison. They lack any fire or cold resistance, however, making Freezing Cloud and Fireball excellent (if noisy) methods for defeating them from a distance.
• Unlike many undead, you can use Necromancy just fine with death scarabs:
  • They are very, very effective allies when raised with Animate Dead, retaining speed while losing their batty nature. A small pack will murder royal mummies without breaking a sweat.
  • You can rise your own army of death scarabs with Infestation, and can even infest enemy death scarabs ("The death scarab's many legs skitter faintly").

History

• Prior to 0.19, death scarabs used to trail clouds of miasma, but were somewhat less tough.
• Death scarabs were added in 0.16.