Lost soul

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

lost soul *
HP	16-34
HD	10
XP	0
Speed	13
AC	0
EV	10
Will	Immune
Resistances	rF+ rC+ rElec rPois+++ rDrown rMiasma rN+++ rTorm rSticky
Vulnerabilities	Holy
Habitat	Land
Intelligence	Brainless
Uses	Uses nothing
Holiness	Undead
Size	Small
Type	lost soul, lost soul
Flags	Evil Flying Unbreathing Insubstantial No experience gain Maintain range

The echo of a unmourned soul, flickering in and out of the mortal world. Though the memories of its living self are long-faded, it is drawn to the moment of death by some lingering instinct. So powerful is its drive for self and purpose that it seizes upon the passage of other souls, losing the last vestiges of its being in the memories of another's life. “She walks in the twilight, her steps make no sound, Her feet leave no tracks on the dew-covered ground. Her hand gently beckons, she whispers your name— But those who go with her are never the same.” -Magic: the Gathering

Useful Info

Lost souls are wandering confluxes of necromantic power. They do nothing on their own, but lost souls can sacrifice themselves to revive a living or undead monster in its line of sight.

A monster can only be revived once. If a valid ally is killed, the lost soul may sacrifice itself the moment it dies.

• Undead allies are restored to full HP and have their status effects reset. Derived undead cannot be revived.
• Living, zombifiable monsters are turned into "ghostly" monsters. Ghostly monsters are almost identical copies, keeping gear, spells, and status effects. However, they become undead: ghostly monsters are immune to poison and negative energy, but are vulnerable to holy.

Lost souls do not always choose to sacrifice themselves; if monsters of varying strength are present, they will often ignore the deaths of weak monsters in order to save themselves for the strong. If several lost souls are clustered together, they will be more likely to sacrifice themselves for weaker things. On their own, lost souls move quickly and avoid getting close to you, but are generally fragile.

Lost souls can be summoned by deep elf death mages. Non-summoned lost souls are quite rare and can be found only in ziggurats, the Borgnjor's Mausoleum wizlab or in Tartarus.

Tips & Tricks

• While it's normally reasonable to focus your attention on the largest threat in a fight with multiple enemies, be careful when doing so with lost souls around. They're fairly fragile, so it's usually worth spending a turn or two to take them out before finishing off any powerful foes.
• Area-of-effect attacks, like a tin of tremorstones or lightning rod, can prove to be effective.

History

• Prior to 0.19, non-summoned lost souls could be found in the Crypt.
• Prior to 0.18, lost souls could submerge if no allies were in sight.
• Lost souls were added in 0.13.