Cinder Acolyte

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

Cinder Acolytes serve Ignis, the Dying Flame, who grants them incredible power over fire... but there is only so much fire left to draw on, and once it burns out, acolytes may need to abandon Ignis. They start with a robe, a choice of flaming weapons, and the spell Scorch.

Cinder Acolytes are warrior-mages who worship Ignis, a god who will eventually burn out.

Preferred Species

Hill Orc, Gnoll, Draconian, Djinni, and Oni are the recommended species if you pick a Cinder Acolyte Background.

Racial Restrictions

Demigods cannot be Cinder Acolytes, as they cannot worship Ignis (or any other god).

Starting Equipment

Some species may receive different items based on their unique restrictions.

• -1 Flaming weapon of choice (unarmed, hand axe, spear, short sword, falchion, or mace)
• +0 Robe

Available Spells:

• Scorch

Starting Skills and Stats

These are adjusted by your species' aptitudes.

• Fighting: 3
• Chosen Weapon's Skill: 3
• Spellcasting: 1
• Fire Magic: 3

Choosing Cinder Acolyte adds 6 to your starting Strength and Intelligence.

Cinder Acolytes start with 150 piety with Ignis.

Strategy

Cinder Acolytes revolve around Ignis, who grants immediate, but limited, divine favor. Ignis provides abilities that are very strong in the early game; those should be enough to bail you out of most any situation before and even during Lair. But using them will eventually burn your god out. Even if you don't, Ignis' abilities won't scale as you progress. Deciding when to switch gods, if at all, is very important for a prospective Cinder Acolyte.

Wise and liberal use of Ignis' powers will prove to be fruitful. No longer do out-of-depth ogres scare you; they'll be blasted by a Foxfire Swarm. Slightly less tough enemies can be dealt with the cheaper Fiery Armour. And Rising Flame is one of the best panic tools in the game, able to escape most any situation in 2-4 turns -- but only once.

Cinder Acolytes begin the game with both a flaming weapon and Scorch. The former, while somewhat inaccurate, will deal serviceable damage in melee. The latter will always hit and deals respectable damage even without training any more Fire Magic. Scorch also makes the target vulnerable to fire, so even melee-oriented characters will find some use. However, don't train too much magic just for Scorch, wait until you get other spells.

History

• Cinder Acolytes were unchanged in 0.29, where most other backgrounds got buffed.
• Cinder Acolytes were introduced in 0.28.