Starcursed mass

Version 0.30: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

starcursed mass X
HP	99-200
HD	12
XP	1337
Speed	10
AC	10
EV	0
Will	100
Attack1	16 (touch: plain)
Resistances	rPois+++ rDrown rMiasma rN+++ rTorm
Vulnerabilities	None
Habitat	Land
Intelligence	Animal
Uses	Uses nothing
Holiness	Non-living
Size	Giant
Type	starcursed mass, starcursed mass
Flags	See invisible Unbreathing

A mass of stellar detritus that glows with the sickly putrescence of a dying star, forever shrieking soundlessly in a voice beyond mortal grasp. Its form quivers and undulates constantly, dividing spontaneously and then withdrawing when threatened. While the voice of even a single one is unsettling, in chorus, their screams can overwhelm the minds of even the bravest warriors, leaving them stunned and helpless. “Did you see that star go out? I seen it burn. That little star went out, your little eyes went out. Our burnt little dreams are hid up where the stars get lit.” -Thee Silver Mt. Zion, “I Built Myself a Metal Bird”. 2010.

Useful Info

Starcursed masses are the Lovecraftian equivalents of slime creatures, with two unique mechanics. They can be found in the Abyss.

Starcursed masses can combine and divide randomly. A combined starcursed mass has more HP, but otherwise share the same stats. It displays no sign that it is combined (unless the XP boost happens to increase its threat level). On their own, these monsters tend to divide, but if struck they will regroup.

In addition, starcursed masses have a shriek ability. If you are in line of sight, you can be hit for 2 + 1d5 + 1d(1.5 * #_masses) AC-ignoring damage. If there are 5 or more masses in sight, you have a 33% chance to be paralysed for 1 turn. If there are 7 or more masses in sight, you have a 50% chance to be paralysed for 2 turns. Combined masses are treated as one monster for the purposes of shrieking.

Tips & Tricks

• Using area-of-effect attacks, like Fireball, will force starcursed masses to regroup. AOEs also deal high damage, since you get to hit multiple targets at a time.

History

• Prior to 0.17, starcursed masses' shrieking did not affect monsters with mindless or insect intelligence.
• Starcursed masses were added in 0.12