Hermit's pendant

Version 0.31: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

An ascetic once took a sacred vow, forswearing use of magical tools and ownership of everything but this pendant. Which god they made this vow to remains a point of bitter contention among the devout, but their pendant's power - and limitations - are irrefutable.

the Hermit's Pendant
Amulet of faith
Sets the wearer's Invocations skill to 14 and their Evocations skill to 0.
+5 MP

Desirability

The Hermit's pendant is usually found early, before you'll have another amulet. Even as a regular amulet of faith, it can help you survive the early game. The Evocations downside is clear, though many wands remain useful at 0 skill. Meanwhile, 14 Invocations will greatly boost the strength and/or success rates of your divine abilities. It also means that you don't have to train the Invocations skill, saving you some XP.

The benefit of faith and 14 Invocations will depend on your current god. Gods like Nemelex and Uskayaw benefit greatly from both faith and Invocations. Yet, even if your god doesn't use Invocations skill, the faith intrinsic alone can be worth it. Even if your god doesn't use faith, casters can use it for the +5 MP.

The only penalty of removing this artefact is the usual piety penalty from any amulet of faith. It may be wise to take the pendant off if you want to train Invocations past 14, or if you want Evocations skill at all. If your god doesn't benefit from faith, you can remove this item with no penalty.

This artefact is more likely to spawn in the early game, where it is more likely to be useful.

History

• The Hermit's pendant was added in 0.30.