Dragon Form (spell)

From CrawlWiki
Revision as of 06:26, 26 July 2018 by Spudwalt (talk | contribs) (Updated some stuff; not sure if all the mechanics are up to date; not sure when (if ever) dragon form increased regeneration)
Jump to: navigation, search
Version 0.17: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

Dragon Form (spell)

Dragon Form is a level 7 Transmutations spell which transforms your character into a form similar to that of a fire dragon for a fairly long duration. You gain the following:

Pros

Cons

  • rC-
  • All equipment except for rings and amulets melds into your body
  • Claws 3 severs hydra heads, causing two to grow back
  • Giant size greatly hinders evasion; base EV set to about 5 (affected by Dodging)

Draconians

Draconian characters casting Dragon Form function slightly differently:

  • You keep the AC bonus from your draconian scales.
  • You retain your natural breath weapon, if you have one (grey draconians do not gain one).
  • You retain any species-specific bonus mutations (such as a green draconian's Stinger or yellow draconian's Acidic Bite)
  • Instead of gaining rF++ and rC-, you retain your natural elemental resistances (or lack thereof). Red and white draconians gain rF++/rC- and rF-/rC++, respectively.
    • All Dragon Form draconians get rPois regardless of color.

Strategy

Dragon Form leaves the caster fairly vulnerable, as they normally have only two rings, certain mutations, spells, and godly protection to defend them from attacks. Fire and poison won't be much of an issue, but anything else (especially cold) can be deadly. Even with the extra HP and GDR, your AC is low enough to make enemy attacks hurt, and your size makes it very hard to get any decent amount of evasion. Draconians have it a little easier, as they retain their innate elemental properties and actually get more physical defense than normal, but they still experience a significant decrease to evasion and lose most of their equipment.

That being said, you are given a phenomenal amount of offensive firepower. Skilled Unarmed Combat specialists will be able to kill golden dragons in a single bite, and your breath weapon can devastate opponents when you reach higher experience levels. Unlike some Transmutations spells, Dragon Form in no way impairs your spellcasting or use of wands (though you can't wield enhancer staves or wear a robe of the Archmagi, unfortunately), so you can attack magically while waiting for your breath to recharge.

Tips & Tricks

History

  • Prior to 0.14, players in dragon form could trample opponents.
  • Prior to 0.13, Dragon form was a Transmutation/Fire spell.
  • Prior to 0.10, draconians also received a +30% bonus to Dragon Form's spell success rate.
  • Prior to 0.8, draconians did not function differently.
Dragon Form
Dragon form standard.png
Red White Grey Black Pale Mottled Purple Green Yellow
Dragon form red.png Dragon form white.png Dragon form grey.png Dragon form black.png Dragon form pale.png Dragon form mottled.png Dragon form purple.png Dragon form green.png Dragon form yellow.png