Hailstorm

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

Hailstorm
Level	3
School1	Conjuration
School2	Ice
Source(s)	Book of Frost Book of the Tundra
Casting noise	4
Spell noise	0
Power Cap	100
Range	3
Flags	Area

Conjures a cannonade of hail. The eye of the storm is wide enough that monsters adjacent to the caster are unaffected. Due to the strong impact and cutting edges a significant portion of its damage bypasses cold resistance.

Spell Details
Damage Formula	3d(3.33+Power/6)
Max Damage	3d20
Max Power	100
Range	2-3
Targeting	Area
To-hit	Never miss
Special

Hailstorm is a Level 4 Conjurations/Ice Magic spell that drops hail on all tiles that are 2-3 spaces away from the caster (marked with 'x'):

.........
.xxxxxxx.
.xxxxxxx.
.xx...xx.
.xx.@.xx.
.xx...xx.
.xxxxxxx.
.xxxxxxx.
.........

Hailstorm deals unavoidable cold damage. 40% of the damage is physical, which makes it usable against creates with cold immunity (like ice beasts or simulacra).

Ice Elementalists start with this spell in their libraries.

Strategy

• Hailstorm has excellent synergy with Frozen Ramparts and Ozocubu's Armor.
• Conjure Flame, Iskenderun's Mystic Blast, Fedhas Madash's Wall of Briars, and other abilities that can prevent enemies from closing to melee range are excellent choices for keeping your targets right in the line of fire. It's even better if you can contrive to stand just inside the entrance to a corridor, meaning the bulk of the spell will hit everything beyond the single tile monsters can hit you from.
• If the opportunity presents itself, allowing weaker enemies to stand next to you will force stronger ones to stand helplessly 2-3 tiles away. Be warned; strong pack creatures or intelligent monsters can generally force their way to the front, so this tactic may not always work.
• While Hailstorm is most useful when fighting large groups of monsters, don't forget that it deals perfectly respectable damage that ignores evasion; using it against even a single target can prove worthwhile.

History

• In 0.30, Hailstorm will be a level 3 spell, but with a chance to miss. It will be available to the new Reaver background instead of Ice Elementalist.
• Prior to 0.27, Hailstorm didn't affect creatures made entirely out of ice - ice beasts, ice statues, and simulacra.
• Hailstorm was added in 0.25, replacing Throw Icicle in player spell lists.