Hepliaklqana

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

"Through your memory, the past survives and persists."

Hepliaklqana the Forgotten accepts the worship of those who would remember their forebears, and fight alongside the greatest of them all. Hepliaklqana demands only that followers explore and form new experiences; as they advance in this service, they will find themselves able to shape and control their ancestor's memory, eventually bringing them into the ranks of the mythical heroes. Hepliaklqana's worshippers are served by a guardian formed from their memories of their greatest ancestor. This ancestor is at first remembered as they were at the start of their fabled adventures, but will advance in skill as their descendant does. Hepliaklqana always allows followers to recall their ancestor to their side, and, even if the ancestor is destroyed, Hepliaklqana will call it forth again not long after. Further advancement in Hepliaklqana's service allows worshippers to restore and strengthen their ancestor, to swap them with other creatures, and to choose how to remember their life's talents.

Racial restrictions

Demigods cannot worship Hepliaklqana (or any other god). Also, characters who sacrificed love under Ru cannot join Hepliaklqana.

Appreciates

Hepliaklqana likes it when you explore the world.

Deprecates

• Inactivity: You lose 1 piety per 700 turns, on average (1/35 chance every 20 turns).
• Abandonment.

Given Abilities

Piety Level -: "Hazy"

• No abilities given.

Piety Level *: "[Species] Child"

• Ancestor - You gain the presence of an ancestor, a permanent ally that fights alongside you. Your maximum HP is reduced by 10% in order to manifest it.
• Recall - Recalls your ancestor from anywhere in the dungeon to your immediate surroundings. (2 MP)
• Ancestor Identity - Allows you to choose your ancestor's name and gender. This does not take any time.

Piety Level **: "Storyteller"

• Ancestor Life - You may choose one of three backgrounds for your ancestor. This choice is permanent, and cannot be undone; even abandoning Hepliaklqana and rejoining won't alter your choice.
  • Knights gain increased AC, a shield, and eventually get the ability to cleave through foes.
  • Battlemages gain an increase to melee damage and an assortment of damaging Conjurations.
  • Hexers gain a branded short blade and an assortment of Hexes.

See the Ancestor section below for more details.

Piety Level ***: "Brooding"

• Transference - Swaps one creature with your ancestor; you may target yourself. The ancestor must be in your LOS for this ability to be usable. (2 MP, small amount of piety)

Piety Level ****: "Anamnesiscian"

• Idealise - Heals your ancestor for 25 + (2.77 * Invocations)% HP. Then, gives Idealize status: ancestor gains 4 + (HD/3) AC, double damage, and double spellpower for 4 + 1d3 + 2d(2 * Invocations)/2 turns. (4 MP, small amount of piety)

Piety Level *****: "Grand Scion"

• When using Transference, creatures next to your target (i.e. next to the creature you swap your ancestor with) will be drained for a duration depending on Invocations skill.

Piety Level ******: "Unforgettable"

• No abilities given.

Ancestor

The player can choose from 3 types: battlemage, knight, and hexer. The ancestor's abilities scale off your XL and affect their HP, AC/EV, attack damage, magic resistance and spell list. Concrete formulas are as follows:

• HD: (2 / 3) * (XL - 1) + 1
• HP: HD * 5, plus (HD - 12) * 5 if HD > 12.
• Will: HD * HD / 2
• Base damage: HD + 3, double for battlemage
• Base AC: HD
  • Knight gets 5 + HD / 2 additional AC, described as chain mail to the player.
• Resistances: rF+, rC+, Negative energy immunity, Poison immunity
• Flies, sees invisible, insubstantial, and regenerates quickly

Ancestors do not time out, can follow you up & down stairs, and cannot be dispelled. If destroyed, your ancestor will reform after a few dozen turns. Ancestor kills do not penalize XP.

You and your ancestor can fire projectiles and spells through one each other, without blocking the attack. Spells like Fireball won't cause harm, no matter what. Spell-created entities (foxfire, orb of destruction...) are unable to pass through the ancestor, but won't damage them.

Ancestor powers

XL	Knight	Battlemage	Hexer
1	Flail, kite shield, bonus AC Melee takes ×150% as long	Quarterstaff, Throw Frost, Stone Arrow Bonus melee damage	Dagger of draining, Slow, Confuse Melee takes ×50% as long
15	Broad axe of flaming	Bolt of Magma	Paralyse
19	Tower shield of reflection, haste self	Lajatang of freezing, haste self	Mass Confusion, haste self
24	Broad axe of speed	Lehudib's Crystal Spear	Antimagic quick blade

All ancestor spells have a cast frequency of 25/200; each spell has a 12.5% chance to be cast if it would do anything.

Punishments

Hepliaklqana believes that the only reasonable punishment for turning one's back on the path of memory is to be denied its use. All new experience is denied to the unfortunate apostate, until Hepliaklqana decides they have been punished enough. This will not be quick: unlike some, Hepliaklqana has a long memory...

Your ancestor immediately leaves (though the decrease to your maximum HP remains until your punishment is over) and you are unable to earn any experience until Hepliaklqana decides it's taken enough; this takes approximately 2 experience levels worth of XP. The XP is permanently gone.

Strategy

Having a separate "body" is incredibly useful; your ancestor can tank attacks, act as a distraction, and can often deal with enemies by itself -- especially with Idealize. Even if it fails to kill a monster, the ancestor will just respawn in a couple dozen turns. At the very least, retreating behind the ancestor can let you escape. Hepliaklqana complements melee, ranged, and magical characters alike, as your projectiles will pass through the ancestor and vice versa.

Your ancestor's class can be chosen to complement your background:

• Characters with ranged weapons or Conjurations can use their ancestor as a shield, blocking enemy attacks while you fire through them.
• Melee characters can attack with their ancestor; like how monsters are more effective when they surround you, you and your ancestor are more effective surrounding monsters. Of course, this doesn't stop you from using your ancestor as a distraction to run away.
• Alternatively, melee characters can be the shield, giving your ancestor free turns to damage or hex your opponents.

In relative terms, Hepliaklqana is more noticeable on weaker species. However, no matter how strong your character is, Hep is still a powerful god. While the 10% HP penalty is imposing for the weakest species (Spriggans and Felids), the ancestor is still useful enough to warrant worship.

Tips & Tricks

• Your ancestor moves at normal, 100% speed, even when you character is a Spriggan. But when you explore outside combat, your allies, including your ancestor, speed up to match your char's speed.
• Scrolls of immolation work well for followers of Hepliaklqana; target your ancestor, send them at your enemies, and watch them explode! They won't get angry, coming back no worse for the wear after the battle. Of course, the noise might attract monsters while your ancestor is away... (Note that the spell Inner Flame does not work.)
• Transference can be used in a couple of ways:
  • You can swap your ancestor with a monster, in order to pull the monster closer.
  • If your ancestor is a few tiles away, you can swap the ancestor with a monster to send it further, much like a "blink away".
  • You can swap yourself with your ancestor, in order to get away from monsters. Create a few tiles of distance (Telling your ancestor to retreat helps), then use the ability. This functions like a superior Passage of Golubria -- it even works on Formicids!
    • You can also 1. swap the ancestor with a distant monster, then 2. swap yourself with the ancestor. This can create distance in less turns then simply telling the ancestor to retreat.

History

• Prior to 0.30, knight ancestors attacked faster (regular speed; 1.0 decaAut/attack at base)
• Prior to 0.29, hexer ancestors attacked slower (regular speed).
• Prior to 0.27, your ancestor (and the -10% HP mutation) came on worship, rather than 1* of piety. Players and their ancestor couldn't fire through one another. In addition, all monsters attacked at (weapon base delay + 1.0) / 2 decaAut, so quick blade hexers attacked faster, and knights/battlemages attacked slower.
• Prior to 0.23, the confusion status was better against enemies, so the hexer ancestor was stronger.
• Hepliaklqana was added in 0.19. Initially Felids were banned from worshipping Hepliaklqana, but this restriction was removed before the release.