Cloud

Clouds are temporary dungeon features which occupy tiles. They block LOS and usually cause damage or status effects to anything which occupies the tiles they are in. They come in a variety of elemental flavors, can be created in many different ways, and can be potent weapons if handled properly. Clouds will dissipate on their own in time, but some areas will perpetually generate new clouds.

Cloud Varieties

Flame

Clouds of flame are tiles which have caught on fire. They deal fire damage to anything standing in them, and can ignite plants, bushes, or trees in neighboring tiles. Weak intelligent monsters will avoid walking through them, but strong or mindless monsters will charge through, taking damage each turn. Firing an Ice Magic spell through them will put them out. They can be created with the Conjure Flame spell, using a red draconians breath attack, by shooting a plant with a Fire Magic spell, or with the Evaporate spell.

• Damage per turn: 10 + (3d23)/3 to the player; 6 + (3d16)/3 to the monsters (affected by fire resistance)

Freezing

Freezing clouds are tiles filled with brutally cold mist. They function almost identically to flame clouds, except that the damage they deal is cold and they don't have any special effects against plants. They can be created with the Freezing Cloud spell, by using Ice Magic over a body of water, by destroying a simulacrum, or with the Evaporate spell.

• Damage per turn: 10 + (3d23)/3 to the player; 6 + (3d16)/3 to the monsters (affected by cold resistance)

Mephitic

Mephitic clouds are tiles filled with noxious fumes, and are often used by casters to defeat poison-vulnerable enemies; anything caught in one is confused for several turns. The most common source is the Mephitic Cloud spell, though the Evaporate spell can also manage it easily, and swamp drakes will breathe these at you.

• Damage per turn: 1d3 (poison resistance gives immunity)

Poison

Poison clouds are tiles filled with poison gas. Anything caught in one will take damage and be poisoned. For even more damage, use the Ignite Poison spell to immediately convert these into flame clouds. Both the Poisonous Cloud and Evaporate spells can create them.

• Damage per turn: 1d10 (poison resistance gives immunity)

Steam

Steam clouds are tiles full of scaldingly hot mist. These do minor damage, but very few things are resistant to it. Any area that has lava exposed to water will emit an endless amount of steam. You can create them yourself with the Evaporate spell, using Fire Magic over water, or with a pale draconian's breath attack.

Miasma

Miasma clouds are extremely dangerous banks of corrupt fog. Anything caught in one will be slowed, poisoned, and rotted. They are extremely useful in combat, so long as you don't get caught in the blast yourself. They can be found in the undead version of Swamp:5, created with the Evaporate and Corpse Rot spells, and death drakes will breathe them at you.

• Damage per turn: (3d12)/3 (rotting resistance gives immunity, and poison resistance stops you from being poisoned)

Mutagenic

Mutagenic clouds are fogs of chaotic energies which distort anything they touch. They mutate players and polymorph monsters each turn spent within one. You can create mutagenic fog with the Evaporate spell, and it is found in some vaults. The mutations it gives are heavily biased towards being negative. Mutation resistance will block them with a 90% chance.

Chaos

Mostly seen from killing chaos spawn, these clouds will act like a chaos brand if you step in them.

Cosmetic

This goes by a variety of names, such as smoke, fog, mist, or colored fog. All do nothing but look pretty and block LOS. It is naturally found in some areas (e.g. mist in Swamp, smoke near lava, etc), can be created by a scroll of fog, can appear via miscasts, Xom, and a few other sources. Xom may also cause you to trail colored fog from time to time.

While stepping in these clouds has no effect, blocking LOS can sometimes be a lifesaver, as it will stop most monsters from casting spells at you.