0.31

Version 0.31: This article is up to date for the latest stable release of Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.

0.31 is a version of Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup. It was released on January 19th, 2024.

Highlights

• New skill and background: Shapeshifters, using Talismans to change forms.
• New skill and background: Alchemists, melding Venom Magic and Transmutation.
• A variety of exciting new spells for sorcerers and sword-slingers alike.
• Many dangerous new monsters, from the early Dungeon to the Realm of Zot.
• Major changes to many species.

Artefacts

• New unrand: Mule, a +7 flaming hand cannon which sometimes knocks the user backwards when fired.
• The dreamshard necklace now has Acrobat, but only restores the player to 1 HP when they'd otherwise die, rather than healing 50-100% of their max HP.
• Artefact staves and orbs can now enhance other schools of magic, even those which don't have corresponding base enhancer staff types.
• Gyre & Gimble's enchantment is reduced from +12 to +8.
• The macabre finger necklace is now evil, and the amulet of Vitality no longer is.
• Glaive of the Guard no longer gives +5 AC.

Branches, Environment

• The Slime Pits now have many new endings, instead of one fixed ending.
• Fast-moving adventurers can find gems at the bottom of many branches. These have no use, but are great for bragging rights.
• Negative energy clouds have been replaced with clouds of excruciating misery, which deal damage based on max HP %.
• The Ecumenical Temple is now fully mapped on entry.
• The lairs of the lords of Pandemonium have been reworked.
• Bazaars now have other (friendly!) patrons.
• Crypt now has a 1/3 chance of containing a talisman of death.
• The Hall of Blades in Elf:2 now holds weapon-enhancing scrolls, and sometimes has a blade talisman.
• 'Hard' ice caves are displayed pre-entry as "glacial chasms".

Character

• New skill: Shapeshifting, used for talismans.
• New background: Shapeshifter, replacing Transmuter. Shapeshifters enter the dungeon with a beast talisman, a potion of lignification, and an animal skin.
• Merged skills: Poison Magic and Transmutations have been merged into Alchemy.
• Reworked background: Venom Mage has become Alchemist, which has the reworked spells Mercury Vapours and Sticky Flame, along with Sting, Mephitic Cloud, and Olgreb's Toxic Radiance.
• Reworked Hexslinger, which now starts with new spells Jinxbite, Sigil of Binding, and Dimensional Bullseye, along with Inner Flame and Cause Fear.
• Conjurers no longer start with Dazzling Flash.
• Shields no longer degrade in effectiveness with each hit taken per-turn. Instead, they now have a limit on per-turn blocks, based on shield type.
• New mutation: persistent drain, which makes HP drain take more XP to cure.
• Hunters and Chaos Knights now start with scrolls of butterflies instead of immolation and xom's chesspieces, respectively.

Gods

• Okawaru now gives exactly one weapon gift and one armour gift as a capstone (chosen by the player), rather than giving many random gifts.
• Ashenzari now gives perfect mapping, but only maps within LOS radius.
• Trog now disables pain brand instead of becoming angry at it.
• Nemelex:
  • The Swarm card can now summon higher level bees.
  • The Elements card has had its summon set adjusted.
  • The Cloud card now produces different types of cloud based on power.
  • The Deal Four ability now costs more piety.
• The Wu Jian Council now allows rampaging.
• Cheibriados piety gain now only depends on monsters' base speed.
• The good gods now hate distortion-branded weapons.
• Gozag no longer detects gold.
• Kikubaaqudgha's wrath has been overhauled to be much more dangerous.

Interface and Options

• Monsters with unusual items (e.g. distortion) are now highlit in purple by default.
• Monster descriptions have been compacted and made more informative.
• Monster resists from equipment is now used for display and targeting.
• For many list options, commas can now be escaped with backslash.
• The ctrl-T "toggle travel speed" option has been removed.

Items

• New item type: talismans.
  • When used, talismans transform the player into a corresponding form. This transformation lasts until the player chooses to end it. It takes five turns to use a talisman.
  • Shapeshifting skill increases the power of talismans' forms. Insufficient Shapeshifting skill reduces the player's maximum HP while in a form. Different forms have different min and max Shapeshifting skills.
  • Beast talisman: starting talisman for Shapeshifters. Gives +Slay but melds aux armour.
  • Flux talisman: starting talisman for Shapeshifters. Over multiple hits, contaminates enemies with magical radiation until they explode.
  • Serpent talisman: transforms the player into a big, constricting python.
  • Maw talisman: melds the body slot, transforming it into a devouring maw. Launches auxiliary chomp attacks and heals the player by devouring foes.
  • Blade talisman: gives the player blade hands and also a blade body, reducing AC from body armour at lower Shapeshifting skill.
  • Statue talisman: turns the player into a slow-moving, durable statue.
  • Dragon-blood talisman: turns the player into a fire-breathing dragon.
  • Storm talisman: turns the player into living lightning.
  • Talisman of death: turns the player into an undead abomination, blighting foes on hit and tormenting them to heal.
• New item: sack of spiders, an XP-charged evoker which webs foes and summons creepy-crawlies. Alternates with boxes of beasts.
• Potions of flight replaced with enlightenment, which also give Will+.
• Scrolls of magic mapping replaced with revelation, which also give X-ray vision and sInv for one turn.
• New weapon: orcbow, between a shortbow and an arbalest in strength.
• Hand crossbows are now hand cannons, alchemically belching smoke and death.
• Ranged weapons' damage, delay and accuracy have been adjusted.
• Quick blades now hit twice for every swing, with a higher attack delay.
• Boomerangs of dispersal have been replaced with darts.
• Condenser vanes are now more effective at low power.
• Spectral weapons now share 70% of damage taken (from 50%).
• Staves of earth now check only 1x AC, but deal 1/3rd damage to fliers.
• The 'chaos' brand has a new set of possible effects.
• Wands of light no longer affect undead, plant and nonliving monsters.
• Wands of quicksilver can no longer be self-targeted.
• Troll leather armour now has slightly less base AC.
• Removed books: Sky, Rime and Transfigurations.
• Removed: silver boomerangs and xom's chesspieces.

Monsters

• Uniques:
  • New: Jeremiah, a peaceful barachi trapped between sleep and waking. Their dreams leak into reality in a stream of beautiful butterflies.
  • Returned and revamped: Norris, a death cultist who surfs into battle with a gang of skysharks.
  • Maurice is now a vine stalker, with high regen and antimagic bites.
  • Erica is now an octopode, with constriction and a more focused spell set.
  • Frederick holds an orb, has a new spell set, and is much stronger.
  • Boris now sprays clouds of misery instead of casting Invisibility.
  • Xtahua and Mnoleg are considerably stronger.
• Other new and returned monsters:
  • Arcanists, fairly dangerous vitrifying wizards.
  • Bombardier beetles, an early monster that shoots sticky flame.
  • Brain worms, which eat magic and minds alike.
  • Burial acolytes, masters of the Ossuary.
  • Crocodiles, which drag victims backward.
  • Formless jellyfish, which constrict and sting for single-turn paralysis.
  • Glass eyes, which vitrify victims to make them fragile as glass.
  • Kobold blastminers, who blast enemies with alchemical cannons and get sent flying backwards by the recoil.
  • Laughing skulls, whose painful laughter grows stronger in numbers.
  • Protean progenitors, which split into shapeshifting fragments when slain.
  • Weeping skulls, which spray clouds of misery.
• Other changes to individual monsters:
  • Alligators and reapers are a bit weaker, but drag victims backward.
  • Ufetubi, tengu warriors, and draconian monks now slip behind their foes before meleeing.
  • Tengu reavers now have rMsl.
  • 'Wizard' has been renamed to 'occultist' and has a new spell set.
  • Worms have turned into ribbon worms, doing less damage but ensnaring.
  • Great orbs of eyes have a new spell set, and are slightly stronger.
  • Cacodemons now Vitrify instead of casting Slow/Confuse.
  • Killer Klowns now Vitrify instead of Polymorphing.
  • Monsters which cast Energy Bolt now instead cast Bolt of Devastation, which applies Will/2 temporarily.
  • Concentrate Venom (from naga mages and Amaemon) is more effective.
  • Naga ritualists are much more powerful.
  • Nagas' spit is now more powerful.
  • Deep Elf Elementalists now cast LRD instead of Awaken Earth.
  • Deep Elf Death Mages are tougher and summon many more lost souls.
  • Red very ugly things now do direct fire damage instead of sticky flame.
  • Sun moths have a different spellset and melee attack effects.
  • Wargs are now notably stronger and faster.
  • Abominations' speed is no longer randomized.
• Attacks of opportunity have been reworked.
  • Monsters now have a chance to attack when moving into melee with a player who just moved away. Previously, this triggered immediately when the player moved away, didn't use any of the monster's time, and couldn't trigger for monsters slower than the player.
  • Monsters have a slight chance to fall behind or catch up while following the player.
• Other behavioral changes:
  • Giant monsters can now be ensnared by webs and nets.
  • Jellies can no longer be netted or constricted.
  • Allied undead no longer become angry when damaged.
  • Allies match your speed when no foes are nearby.
  • Polymorphing monsters no longer heals them.
  • Monsters no longer use up charges when zapping wands.
  • Monsters can no longer use scrolls or potions.
• Some monsters now have special dialogue after killing the player.
• Flying skulls have been removed.

Species

• Ogres have been renamed to Oni.
  • They heal twice as much from potions, and launch a 'drunken brawling' melee attack against all adjacent foes when drinking healing potions.
  • Some apts have been improved or tweaked.
  • They now have Horns 1.
• Armataurs:
  • At XL7 and higher, armataurs now regenerate HP and MP when rampaging.
  • Their 'double potion' effect has been removed.
  • Their max HP is reduced.
• Felids now get an extra life at XL 1, and don't lose XLs on dying. They also have higher base health, but no longer have fast movement.
• Tengu now have inherent Acrobat (+15 EV after moving/waiting) at XL 1. They now gain +4 EV at XL7 instead of a 20% EV bonus and fast movement.
• Humans now heal while exploring, but their XP apt is now average.
• Mummies now get their first necromancy enhancer at XL 1, not 3.
• Vine Stalkers now get regeneration at XL 1, not 4.
• Djinn now use all magic skills, instead of only Spellcasting. Djinn can only choose to train all magic skills or none.
• Ghouls start with an additional +4 Int and +1 MP.
• Formicids can no longer be involuntarily shafted.
• Meteorans have been removed.

Spells

• Poison Magic and Transmutations have merged into a new Alchemy school.
  • Poisonous Vapours has been replaced by Mercury Vapours, which can now inflict Weak on the target and other creatures nearby, but has short range.
  • Sticky Flame is now L4 Fire/Alch (was L4 Fire/Cj), does much more damage, but can be shaken off by non-forced movement.
  • Ignite Poison is now L4 Fire/Alch (was L3 Fire/Poison/Tmut).
  • Leda's Liquefaction is now L4 Earth / Alch (was L4 Earth / Hexes)
  • Sting is now Cj/Alch (was Pois/Tmut), and has more range and damage.
  • Fulminant Prism is now Cj/Alch (was Cj/Hex).
• New spells:
  • Jinxbite (L2 Hex): deals additional Will-checking damage to foes attacked while its duration lasts, but also halves the caster's will.
  • Sigil of Binding (L3 Hex): creates two magical traps nearby, which temporarily bind hapless victims in place.
  • Brom's Barrelling Boulder (L4 Earth/Conj): creates a boulder, which crushes and knocks back foes and explodes when hitting walls.
• Replaced spells:
  • Fugue of the Fallen (replacing Wereblood): Now L3 Necro (was L2 Tmut), triggers on ally kills as well as the player's, inflicts pain on nearby foes at max power, caps at +7 (was +9), and no longer gives minor healing.
  • Blazeheart Golem (replacing Guardian Golem): Now L4 Summ/Fire (was L3 Summ/Hex). Now has slow, powerful, self-damaging melee, and blows up one turn after dying. Only functions when the player is adjacent.
  • Martyr's Knell (replacing Guardian Golem): L4 Summ/Necro. Summons a shade that absorbs damage taken by other allies. Becomes a flayed ghost on death.
  • Dimensional Bullseye (replacing Portal Projectile): targets a foe and teleports all shots fired at other foes to also hit the chosen unfortunate.
  • Curse of Agony (replacing Agony). Hexed foes have their health halved after each of the next two melee attacks the caster lands against them.
  • Bombard (replacing Iron Shot). Sometimes knocks back the caster.
  • Sculpt Simulacrum (replacing Simulacrum). L6 Ice/Alch (was L6 Ice/Necro). Creates simulacra of an adjacent foe after a few turns.
• Call Canine Familiar now summons inugami, dog spirits which scale with power. Recasting the spell heals the dogs and gives them a free cleaving attack, but if the inugami is defeated, it can't be resummoned for some time.
• Passwall is now L3 Earth (was L2 Earth/Tmut). It now has fixed range and gives temporary AC.
• Petrify can now chain two up to two nearby foes.
• Summon Ice Beast is now L3 (was L4).
• Plasma Beam no longer has limited range, but does 10% less damage.
• Arcjolt now initially arcs to foes within two tiles of the caster.
• Static Discharge now does more damage, but checks half AC instead of none.
• Hailstorm does more damage at low power and less at high power.
• Swiftness now works in water.
• Cigotuvi's Dreadful Rot now drains the user much less.
• Borgnjor's Vile Clutch (and Fastroot) now work on invisible enemies.
• Borgnjor's Vile Clutch does less damage.
• Blastmotes now explode when waited in.
• Spellforged Servitor requires conjurations to be <=20% fail (was 50%).
• Many summons now have a shorter duration.
• Removed: Beastly Appendage, Spider Form, Ice Form, Blade Hands, Statue Form, Dragon Form, Storm Form, Necromutation.

Tiles and Other Art

• New art for existing game elements:
  • Monsters:
    • Ancient liches.
    • Blink frogs.
    • Deep elf death mages.
    • Dragons.
    • Rakshasas.
    • Shrike simulacrula.
    • Barachi and Oni (decorative).
  • Unrands: Eos, Sniper, Starlight, Dragonskin, Ratskin and the Thief.
  • Short sword and eveningstar artefacts.
  • All bardings.
  • Volatile Blastmotes (spell icon and clouds).
  • Dragon form.
  • Many mutation icons.
  • Stone walls and floors in the Depths.
  • Dithmenos's altar.
  • The Orb of Zot.
• New Eustachio splash screen.
• Player body variants are randomized at the start of each game.