Paralysis

Paralysis is an effect which renders a player or monster unable to move or act for a period of time.

Sources

There are several sources of paralysis. While all are blocked by wearing an amulet of stasis, some can be resisted in other ways, noted below:

• Needles of paralysis - Resistance to these is dependent on the HD of the monster vs. the Throwing skill of the shooter and the enchantment level of the blowgun
• The melee attack of a red wasp or a yellow wasp - Poison resistance gives immunity to this effect.
• Resistible via magic resistance
  • A wand of paralysis
  • The monster spell Paralyse
• Only resistible with an amulet of stasis
  • Severe Charms, Hexes, or Transmutations miscast effects
  • Zot traps (when duplicating the above spell school miscasts)
  • A giant eyeball's gaze attack
  • Zin's wrath
  • Drinking a potion of paralysis

Duration and Effects

In general, paralysis lasts from 2 to 7 turns. During this time, the victim is unable to perform any voluntary actions. Monsters become vulnerable to stabbing and can be hit automatically. Players have their EV reduced to near-zero, meaning monsters will almost always hit them as well. The effect is similar in some ways to sleep and petrification, but the differences are important: unlike sleep, paralysis does not end when the victim takes damage, and unlike petrification, it does not have a delayed onset or provide any defensive bonuses. After it has finished, the player gets a brief period of immunity to paralysis (1-3 turns).

Paralyzed creatures are still able to teleport if the status is somehow inflicted on them. This means that if you see a source of paralysis you know you can't block (e.g. a giant eyeball), it may be a good idea to trigger a teleport the instant you see it. Just remember that random teleports may drop your paralyzed character somewhere even worse.