Bolt spells

Version 0.28: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

The Bolt spells are a series of mid-level Conjurations spells which all function similarly, hitting multiple targets along a freely selectable line of effect. Although there is some variance in their damage output, range, and spell level, they all behave in nearly the same fashion. Many of these spells have been removed from player libraries, but may still be accessible in other ways.

Player-Castable

Lightning Bolt

• Level 5, Air Magic/Conjurations
• Deals electricity damage
• Can bounce off walls; multizaps
• Range 5-12 (depending on spell power), undiminished by hitting targets
• Weaker version available through Shock, a level 1 Air/Conjurations spell with 8 range.

Evocable

Thunderbolt

• Available through a lightning rod
• Power determined by Evocations
• Consecutive zaps increases strength and changes behavior of the bolt
  • Aiming for a different target creates a wide spray that covers the area between the previous bolt and the current bolt
• Deals electricity damage; deals less damage when spread over a wide area
• Range 5, undiminished by hitting targets

Corrosive Bolt

• Available to players through a wand of acid, Nemelex's Vitriol card, or Makhleb
• Power determined by Evocations (wand) or Invocations (god)
• Deals acid damage.
• Inflicts corrosion.
• Range 5

Sword Beam

• Available through the unrand artefact, the sword of Power
• Deals irresistible damage, unaffected by skill
• Chance to activate increases with HP, (10 * HP/27)%.
• Range 4

Greater Destruction

Makhleb's Greater Destruction will fire a bolt spell, some of which are now exclusive to this ability:

Bolt of Fire

• Deals fire damage
• Range 7

Bolt of Magma

• Deals partially irresistible fire damage
• Range 5

Bolt of Draining

• Deals negative energy damage
• Inflicts draining
• Range 6
• Also available through Nemelex's pain card

Greater Destruction can also fire Lightning Bolt and Corrosive Bolt.

Monster-only

Bolt of Cold

• Deals cold damage
• Range 6

Crystal Bolt

• Deals either fire or cold damage
• Bounces off walls
• Range 6

Energy Bolt

• Deals irresistible damage
• Range 7

Quicksilver Bolt

• Deals irresistible damage
• Strips cancellable enchantments from targets
• Range 7

Venom Bolt

• Deals partially irresistible poison damage
• Inflicts poison.
• Range 6

History/Trivia

• Bolt of Magma was made monster and Makhleb only in 0.28.
• Makhleb's Greater Destruction was made explicitly bolt-only in 0.27.
• Most bolt spells were removed from player's libraries in the positional magic update of 0.25; Bolt of Fire, Bolt of Cold, Bolt of Draining, and Venom Bolt were removed, while Borgnjor's Vile Clutch was made one.
• Prior to 0.21, there was a wand version of Lightning Bolt that used Evocations to determine spell power.
• Prior to 0.20, there were special evocable items called rods, one of which, the Rod of inaccuracy, could fire a powerful but highly inaccurate bolt spell called Bolt of Inaccuracy. There was also a Rod of ignition could fire a special version of Bolt of Fire named Explosive Bolt.
• 0.18 added a player-usable version of Corrosive Bolt in the form of wands of acid.
• Prior to 0.18, there were wands of fire, cold, and draining that were like their corresponding elemental bolt spells, but used Evocations to determine spell power. There was also another evocable item called a Rod of destruction, which had a special bolt spell called Random Bolt.
• 0.17 added Corrosive Bolt.
• Prior to 0.16, there was an evocable item called a Tome of destruction, which could fire a number of these bolt spells.
• Random Bolt was added in 0.14.
• The term 'bolt' did not always refer only to spells which can hit multiple targets in a line. Notably, the spell Iron Shot went through the names Bolt of Iron and Iron Bolt before being renamed Iron Shot to avoid confusion. Also, Throw Icicle was renamed from Ice Bolt for the same reason.
• Note that although the spell from a pre-0.13 rod of striking is described as a 'force bolt', it is not a bolt spell and does not penetrate.