Iskenderun's Mystic Tower

Version 0.12: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

Iskenderun is a master of Conjurations, and his mystical tower Wizlab certainly reflects this. Among the clouds of purple fog reside deep elven and draconian students of the destructive arts, along with magically imbued statues capable of casting powerful magic.

The metal-walled main tower lies in the center of the chamber. The walls along the edges of the room and the outside layer of the tower are spaced in a checkerboard pattern that breaks up line of sight, which is handy when literally everything in sight wants to hurl bolts of energy at you. Spaced outside the tower are six conjurer statues (2) that will hurl both Iskenderun's Mystic Blasts and Orbs of Destruction at you. The tower itself has deep elven mages and purple draconians (1) that also come with Mystic Blast.

Once you've entered the tower through the door on one side, you'll have to deal with one final statue that guards the three inner doors. Each door contains a purple draconian that's sitting on top of some loot. The treasure is mostly spellbooks, both artefact and mundane, but there's often a nice magical staff or piece of jewellery, too.

Fortunately, the exit is placed so you don't have to enter the main chamber if you decide you need to leave immediately. If you decide to stay, prepare to have ridiculous amounts of conjurations thrown at you; especially fragile characters should seriously consider leaving this tower alone.

There's no surefire way to ensure your survival in this area; Repel or Deflect Missiles will help protect you from Mystic Blast and the draconians' breath attacks, but won't do anything about the statues' Orbs of Destruction. Silence will likewise work on the mages but not the statues. Blink or Swiftness will help you dodge the Orbs, but you might end up dodging your way into more trouble.

The best thing you can do is to have as beefy a character as possible. High AC will help reduce the damage you take from everything, while high HP will help you survive long enough to retreat if things suddenly go pear-shaped. Another good thing to have is a good SH rating; shields can block everything that comes at you (even the orbs), and if you happen to have a shield of reflection, you can send the majority of the incoming spells back at their casters. Just be aware that some spells will still get through.

Don't be afraid to take this area slowly; retreat back to the edges of the room to hide and heal if necessary. Don't let too many things converge on you at once and do your best to dodge the Orbs of Destruction.

Monsters

Deep elf mages - These differ from the mages you see in the Elven Halls in that they only know Iskenderun's Mystic Blast, but they're just as fragile as their brethren. Easily the least threatening creatures in here.

Purple draconians - Like the deep elves, these casters know only Mystic Blast, but they also have their dispelling breath attack, which can quickly remove any buffs you have active. They can cause problems both in melee and at range, but they're still not the biggest threat.

Statues

At first glance, this piece of sculpted granite seems inert. The red glow from its eyes, however, suggest it is no mere stone. Although it is rooted to its base, you are certain that it can still move parts of itself.

The statues spread throughout the laboratory can cast both Iskenderun's Mystic Blast and Orb of Destruction, and what's worse, they can't be silenced like the other enemies. The best solution is to hit them with everything you have as quickly as possible; melee characters should get in range and break them apart, while casters should use non-elemental Conjurations or Earth Magic (Lee's Rapid Deconstruction and Shatter work particularly well).

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ENDMAP