Wall
"I know not whether Laws be right, Or whether Laws be wrong; All that we know who lie in gaol Is that the wall is strong; And that each day is like a year, A year whose days are long." -Oscar Wilde, "Ballad of Reading Gaol" |
The most prominent features of the dungeon, walls block movement and often LOS. In general, destroying or bypassing them requires one of several wands or spells, sometimes fairly powerful.
Contents
Wall Varieties
Rock
This wall consists of simple rock.
Very common walls made from unworked stone that block LOS, but are relatively easily removed. Electrical attacks will bounce right off them. Rock is the only material for which the Passwall spell operates, allowing you to slip through it. Destroyed by:
Translucent Rock
The mineral this rock consists of is as translucent as good quality glass. Whether it is natural or magical, you can't tell.
Identical to rock walls, but they don't block LOS. Bear in mind that you can't blink through them, even if you can see what's inside. Smite-targeted attacks are blocked.
Stone
A harder obstacle than rock walls. Only the mightiest magic can shatter stone walls.
More durable than rock walls, these require stronger magic to remove. As with rock walls, electrical attacks will bounce off these. Destroyed by:
- Shatter (at high spell power)
- Lee's Rapid Deconstruction (at high spell power)
- Corruption
Translucent Stone
The stone analog to transparent rock.
Metal
A wall of bluish-grey metal. As every dungeon electrician knows, this stuff will ground.
The most resilient normal walls of all. Destroyed by:
- Lee's Rapid Deconstruction (at very high spell power)
- Shatter (at very high spell power)
- Corruption
Green Crystal
For some reason, some dungeon walls, like this one, have been made of this polished crystal, imbued with arcane energies. They prevent its easy destruction, and make it reflect heat and cold.
Immune to most wall-removal methods, these reflect fire and cold the way stone walls reflect lightning. Destroyed by:
- Shatter
- Lee's Rapid Deconstruction
Trees
While the dungeon is filled with dim magic light, in most places it is not bright enough to sustain any larger plants. It is uneven, though, and there are spots where, with the grace of Fedhas, trees as big as those on the surface can grow underground.
"Only YOU can prevent forest fires!
-Smokey the Bear
Functionally walls, these block movement, and can block LOS if you try to look beyond two adjacent ones. Destroyed by:
- Powerful Fire Magic
- Lightning Bolt
- Disintegration
- Shatter
- Orb of Destruction
- Corruption
Mangroves
This tree is specially adapted for growing in swampy conditions. Its vines are too thick to see through.
These function identically to trees, except that they block LOS. Destroyed by:
- Powerful Fire Magic
- Lightning Bolt
- Disintegration
- Shatter
- Orb of Destruction
- Corruption
Slime covered Rock
This wall is thickly coated with bright green slime. Ewwwwww.
Found only in the Slime Pits, these will corrode any adventurer who touches them. Destroyed by:
- Dig
- Disintegration
- Shatter (at high spell power)
- Lee's Rapid Deconstruction (at high spell power)
- Orb of Destruction
- Corruption
- Dissolution
Rune carved Stone
This strangely slime-free wall is carved all over with countless mystic runes. One often repeated set of runes seems to refer to 'the royal jelly.'
These walls make up the central chamber of the bottom of the Slime Pits, where the Slimy Rune of Zot is found. If the royal jelly is dead (or if you have high piety with Jiyva), these walls will turn into translucent rock, allowing easy access to the rune. Without these methods, these walls can only be destroyed with:
- Shatter (at high spell power)
- Lee's Rapid Deconstruction (at high spell power)
- Corruption
Unnaturally Hard Wall
Walls which are described as unnaturally hard are indestructible. Better find another way around.
Iron Grate
This iron grate looks rusted, as if it could be disrupted with a spell or a wand quite easily. It's too strong to be breakable by hand, though.
These block movement, spells, and ranged attacks, but not LOS or smite-targeted attacks. They are usually found in special vaults, sealing away monsters with smite-targeted attacks, though they may also be generated as the result of stepping on a pressure plate. Destroyed by:
- Dig
- Disintegration
- Lee's Rapid Deconstruction
- Shatter
- Orb of Destruction
- Corruption
Gravestone
An ancient gravestone.
Gravestones are generally found in special vaults or portal levels (like Zonguldrok's Mausoleum, for example). If they show up in the main dungeon, it's a sure sign that the undead are wandering the level.
Large Window
A window embedded in the side of an enormous metal pipe, allowing observation of the water flowing inside.
Large windows are found in the certain Sewers maps, and function identically to transparent rock walls.
History
Prior to 0.11, you could find walls of solid wax:
These walls are built by bees. Occasionally a dungeon architect will manipulate bees into building wax walls for aesthetic reasons. (Theirs, not the bees'.) They are susceptible to fire and will melt and burn, given sufficient heat.
Wax walls are frequently found in killer bee vaults, though they can also appear near altars to Xom or in the Abyss. They often hide treasure, in particular royal jelly and honeycombs. Destroyed by:
- Powerful Fire Magic
- Disintegration
- Shatter
- Orb of Destruction
- Corruption
- Boring beetles