Merfolk avatar

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

For a list of all merfolk, see list of merfolk.

merfolk avatar m
HP	55-113
HD	13
XP	932
Speed	10 (swim: 60%)
AC	4
EV	12
Will	120
Resistances	rDrown
Vulnerabilities	None
Habitat	Amphibious
Intelligence	Human
Uses	Uses nothing
Holiness	Natural
Size	Medium
Type	merfolk, merfolk
Flags	Speaks Warm-blooded No gen derived

A beguiling merfolk whose voice mesmerizes listeners. It carries no weapon, but its song summons drowned souls to defend the sea against intruders. “Then up it raise the mermaiden, Wi the comb an glass in her hand: ‘Here’s a health to you, my merrie young men, For you never will see dry land.’” -“Sir Patrick Spens”, Scottish folk song, version 58J in Francis James Child, _The English and Scottish Popular Ballads_. 1898.

Useful Info

A merfolk avatar is similar to a merfolk siren, but more insidious. Like sirens, they will attempt to mesmerise you shortly after noticing you. Unlike sirens, however, they summon drowned souls to kill you, and retreat from those who try to approach. They are occasionally found throughout the Shoals.

Merfolk avatars have a special A.I. - they'll move backwards if it detects you are trying to go closer, and move closer if you attempt to retreat.

Spells

Spell set I
Slot1	Avatar Song	Wizard flag

Tips & Tricks

• High willpower will let you ignore the singing effect. The spell can also be broken early by killing or confusing the siren, as well as through a number of other methods. See the mesmerise page for a full list.
  • Although random blinks and teleports can also break mesmerism if you manage to leave LOS, you cannot willingly make controlled blinks away.
• Drowned souls aren't very durable, but there are a lot of them and they won't stop coming until the avatar is dead. Focus on killing her quickly, and all her souls will dissipate.
• For melee-focused characters, if you have a means of flying and hasting yourself, then you can just chase down the avatar and take her out up close. This poses significant dangers, of course, as you'll be taking significant amounts of asphyxiation damage from her drowned souls as you rush in. If possible, use ranged attacks instead to take her out more quickly.
• Unbreathing species (undead, Gargoyles, and grey Draconians) have little to fear from the drowned souls. Focus on other, more immediate threats first.

History

Merfolk avatars were introduced in 0.16, freeing up the monster name siren, which mermaids were then renamed to.