Paralyse
| Prevents a creature from taking any action for a short time. |
Paralyse is a monster-only spell which attempts to induce paralysis for 2-5 turns, temporarily rendering you unable to move, attack, or defend yourself. Your SH value is set to 0 for the duration while your EV is reduced to near-zero (the actual number depends on your size and a few other factors), giving any nearby enemies several turns to tear you to pieces (though your AC and GDR continue to function as normal). Fortunately, it first has to overcome your willpower, and Formicids are immune to the effect entirely. Also, if you were waiting for a teleport to kick in, that will still occur when enough time has passed.
After being paralysed, the player gets a brief period of immunity to paralysis (1-3 turns). Like most Hexes, its spellpower is 4 × monster's HD, and after applying a stepdown function, it is compared to your willpower. If your willpower is 100 points greater than a monster's spellpower, you are immune to that monster's paralyse; if they are equal, there is only a 50% chance of resisting it.
Note that the paralytic gaze of floating eyes does not work the same way as this spell; their gaze does not require line of fire and does not check willpower.
Although this spell is not available to players, you can duplicate its effects with a wand of paralysis.
Monsters
The following enemies cast Paralyse:
- L
Dread lich - &
Ereshkigal - 5
Grinder - O
Ogre mage - o
Orc sorcerer - @
Rupert - H
Sphinx - V
Vampire knight - D
Xtahua
The following enemies may be able to cast Paralyse, depending on their spell set:
- &
Pandemonium lord (3.4% chance)
History
- Prior to 0.29, paralysis lasted for 2-7 turns.
- Prior to their removal in 0.18, you could wear an amulet of stasis to block paralysis.
- Prior to 0.4, Paralyse was available to players as a level 4 Enchantments spell. It was removed in favor of Petrify.
