Potion of attraction
| Type | Potion |
|---|---|
| Name | Potion of attraction |
| Icon | 
|
| A potion which makes the drinker attract enemies, translocating them quickly closer for the duration of the effect. The effect is surprisingly subtle, and unwary victims may sleep through it entirely. |
Quaffing a potion of attraction will pull all monsters towards you for several turns. Every turn, monsters in LOS will be pulled 3-ish tiles closer. As monsters are translocated towards you, it won't wake them up, and they can pass through obstacles like deep water. (You can't use this potion to make monsters fall into deep water/lava, though.)
Strategy
Being able to forcibly pull monsters towards you can serve a variety of different purposes:
- Pull monsters into clouds or other areas of effect to maximize their impact. A scroll of poison works well, as do spells like Cigotuvi's Dreadful Rot or Eringya's Noxious Bog. You can also pull pesky spellcasters into a zone of Silence surrounding you.
- Pull sleeping monsters towards your stealthy stabber; attraction doesn't disturb sleeping monsters.
- Pull ranged enemies, e.g. centaurs, fauns, satyrs, and merfolk javelineers, next to you. This works especially well against the likes of deep elf archers, who like to blink around.
- Allows you to stair dance enemies more reliably.
- If you are stuck in Tree Form, the potion can help you fight monsters with polearms.
- Attraction affects allies too, which can be useful if your character is faster than your summons. Necromancers can use the potion to drag a crowd of slow zombies into fights.
But attraction is not without serious risks. It can pull things that you weren't aware of; dangerous monsters can wander into LOS after you quaff the potion. And attraction makes it very difficult to escape. If a fight turns sour, you have few options. You'll be quickly surrounded, and even a scroll of blinking only gives you a turn or two to breathe. A scroll of teleport can bring you out of the situation, but it doesn't stop the effect. A potion of cancellation will end the effect, but you'll still be surrounded.
History
- Prior to 0.28, potions of attraction physically dragged monsters closer instead of translocating them.
- Potions of attraction replaced the potion of stabbing in 0.26.
