Delver

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

Delvers have, through some mishap, found themselves several floors below the surface of the dungeon. They're equipped with a wide variety of magical escape tools, and are well advised to use them to travel to earlier dungeon floors as quickly as possible.

Preferred Species

Gnoll, Felid, Spriggan, Kobold, and Vampire are the recommended species if you pick a Delver Background.

Starting Equipment

Some species may receive different items based on their unique restrictions.

• +0 weapon of choice (hand axe, spear, short sword, falchion, mace, or unarmed)
• +0 leather armour
• Scroll of fog
• Scroll of fear
• Scroll of magic mapping
• Potion of haste
• Wand of digging with 3 charges

Delvers start on Floor 5 of the Dungeon, always on top of a downstair.

Starting Skills and Stats

Adjusted for your species' aptitudes:

• Fighting: 3
• Chosen Weapon's Skill: 2
• Dodging: 2
• Stealth: 5

Choosing Delver adds 4 to your starting Strength, 2 to your starting Intelligence, and 6 to your starting Dexterity.

Strategy

Delvers are bound to luck; a stray orc priest or centaur noticing you can end your game instantly. Thankfully, you start with high Stealth to (hopefully) avoid said encounters; playing as a naturally stealthy species like a Spriggan or Gnoll boosts Stealth even higher. Use your starting equipment wisely:

• A scroll of fear can scare away just about any living monster in sight reliably.
• A scroll of fog blocks line of sight, preventing ranged monsters from attacking you until they are in sight again.
• A scroll of magic mapping can let you scout a floor for escape routes or potentially dangerous vaults.
• A potion of haste gives you the speed to run away from foes, including fast ones like adders. Haste also gives you a noticeable combat boost.
• The wand of digging can help in getting to a stair safely, most useful in conjunction with magic mapping.

Attempting stabs on dangerous monsters is as likely to go poor as it is to provide a massive starting advantage. Trying to skewer a water moccasin may very well rocket you to level 4 instantly, or oneshot you. If playing for consistency, it is preferable to use upstairs as they come, and arrive in D:1 with the experience advantage obtained from a few trivial, non-risky stabs on the way.

One strategy, albeit unreliable, is to use your magic mapping in order to find an altar or the Temple early. This may be considered start scumming, but gives you a competent god as soon as D:1. The current lowest turncount game used Delver in order to enter the Temple on turn 21.

History

• In 0.30, Delvers will be considered as shafted. Players can only face one shaft effect from sourceless malevolence per branch, so Delvers are immune to further shafts in the Dungeon.
• Delvers were added in 0.26.