Elven Halls

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

Whereas most elven folk would never move into a dark subterranean complex like this, the deep elves did. Their halls are filled with riches, but any passers-by should be aware of the legendary magical prowess of this species. The Elven Halls are three levels deep.

A wide stair down to the murky depths of the halls of the deep elves, skilled warriors with blades and bows, and fearsome sorcerers and magicians.

The Elven Halls is a mid- to late-game branch home to the deep elves, frail, but adept at magic (and sometimes weaponry). You'll also find dancing weapons, elementals, and the occasional orc pack. While Elf has no rune, it does contain all sorts of loot; Elf:2 has a host of weapons, and Elf:3 has a large treasure vault. The entrance to Elven Halls is located on Orcish Mines:2.

Layout

Elf is one of the least variable branches. It's full of small rooms connected by narrow corridors, though wide open spaces may make up large portions of certain floors. Diagonal hallways are more common than in other areas. Most of this branch is made out of diggable rock, though you'll find stone and crystal walls around vaults.

Elf:2 - The Hall of Blades

Elf:2 always contains the Hall of Blades - a huge area (around half the floor) locked off by runed doors. This area contains several dancing weapons and a smattering of elves, including a deep elf blademaster.

This room always contains 2 "rare" dancing weapons, with a 50% chance for a 3rd. "Rare" weapons includes the following: quick blade, double sword or triple sword, executioner's axe, eveningstar, bardiche, lajatang. These will always be branded and often have good enchantment. Most of the other weapons will be branded too. In addition, two scrolls of enchant weapon, with equal chance for either a third scroll of enchant weapon or a scroll of brand weapon, will generate inside, and there is also a 50% chance for a blade talisman.

Unlike most runed door areas, you can be teleported or shafted into the Hall of Blades. Because of its massive size, this is likely, so be wary when using a scroll of teleport on Elf:2.

Elf:3

Elf:3 always contains an end vault, filled with loot and high-tier elves. The vault is usually made out of stone walls (instead of rock).

Strategy

The Elven Halls are noticeably more difficult than the Orcish Mines, so you may not want to enter right away. But the first 1-2 floors can be done in relative safety, as long as you are careful, and flee if you're clearly outmatched.

Elf is filled with strong, ranged enemies, so it's easy to take a lot of damage. Try to avoid being in open areas, where you can be pelted by multiple spells at once. Instead, lure them into the long hallways, where you'll only take 1 shot per turn.

If you plan on tackling the Hall of Blades, tread carefully. Dancing weapons are fast, so it's hard to escape. Like with the elves, try to lure the weapons back into explored areas, one at a time. Watch out for weapon brands - distortion weapons can send you to the Abyss.

Tackling Elf:3

As soon as you enter Elf:3, you can be hit by sourceless malevolence, be teleported into the end vault, and be at risk of taking multiple 102-damage crystal spears to the face. This isn't likely - but if you want to be extra sure, don't descend into Elf:3 until you can survive a teleport trap.

In addition to deep elf annihilator's crystal spears, watch out for damnation, banishment, and Summon Greater Demon. Also, don't underestimate the prowess of deep elf master archers and deep elf blademasters - they can really hurt in range/melee (respectively).

• Charging into the vault is always dangerous. Always attempt to lure enemies out of the treasure vault one by one, and be ready to run if too many elves notice you at once.
• Making a killhole with a wand of digging can be an effective technique. However, killholes won't last long if there's a deep elf elementalist around.
• Most 'common elves' and dancing weapons can't see invisible, though all the high-tier elves in Elf:3 can. Don't expect invisibility to be very helpful in the end vault.
• You may want to use a scroll of magic mapping to detect the end vault, exclude its entrance, and explore the rest of the level first.
• Don't 100% depend on scrolls of teleportation on this level - the vault is big enough that it's likely for you to teleport inside.

Useful Traits

• More than 102 HP, ideally much more. This avoids annihilators from one-shot killing you. Low HP species should consider using an amulet of guardian spirit here.
• A way to deal with dancing weapons. Dancing weapons are immune to electricity, very resistant to fire and cold, and have infinite will, so certain mages can have a tough time against them. No enemy can resist Earth Magic or pure Conjurations magic, though Sandblast won't deal enough damage to be effective.
• Willpower (at least Will+++). This prevents banishment and other hexes from affecting you.
• Repulsion. Most elves have bows or projectile/bolt spells, which repulsion is great against.
• Resistances. Masters of magic, most elves carry some form of elemental spell.
  • Electricity resistance is particularly helpful. It protects against zephrmancers and has a chance to block air elemental's Stunning Burst.

Having good defenses (AC/EV/SH) goes without saying. Also, a way of killing elves fast is helpful. Spells that never miss, like Lee's Rapid Deconstruction, Freezing Cloud, and Fireball are great to have. Melee and ranged characters can do Elf just fine, however.

Monsters

e Deep elf knight	e Deep elf archer	e Deep elf pyromancer	e Deep elf zephyrmancer
o Orc knight	o Orc high priest	o Orc sorcerer	( Dancing weapon
E Earth elemental	E Fire elemental	E Water elemental	E Air elemental

High-tier elves

These monsters are most commonly found in the vault of Elf:3, but can rarely generate elsewhere.

e Deep elf blademaster	e Deep elf master archer	e Deep elf annihilator
e Deep elf sorcerer	e Deep elf death mage	e Deep elf demonologist
e Deep elf high priest	e Deep elf elementalist

Uniques

i Agnes	S Aizul	H Asterion	R Azrael	d Bai Suzhen
@ Donald	@ Frances	g Jorgrun	@ Kirke	@ Louise
R Mara	@ Nikola	8 Roxanne	o Saint Roka	a Zenata

History

• Prior to 0.31, the Hall of Blades spawned 2 rare weapons (without the chance for a 3rd) and didn't have a blade talisman, but Elf:3 had slightly more loot.
• In 0.27, deep elf mages (which had 5 sets of spells) were split into deep elf pyromancers and deep elf zephyrmancers.
• Prior to 0.19, you could also find deep elf fighters, conjurers, summoners, and priests.
• Prior to 0.18, Elf didn't contain elementals or dancing weapons (other than the dancing weapons normally found in the Hall of Blades).
• Prior to 0.17, the final level of Elf prevented teleport control.
• Prior to 0.15, the Hall of Blades was a separate branch entirely, located in the Vaults. It was reintroduced in 0.16 as a section of Elf:2 as a compromise; the branch was popular with the player base, but served little purpose from a game design standpoint.
• Prior to 0.13, lower-tier orcs would generate here, and high-tier elves were almost never seen outside of the Elf:3 vault.
• Prior to 0.11, Elf was 5 floors deep.
• Prior to 0.10, you could restore teleport control to Elf:5 by drinking all of the sparkling fountains dry.
• Prior to 0.8, Elf weas 7 levels deep.