Nikola
Version 0.30: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.
Nikola @ 
| |
|---|---|
| HP | 124-252 |
| HD | 18 |
| XP | 4074 |
| Speed | 10 |
| AC | 2 |
| EV | 9 |
| Will | 120 |
| Attack1 | 20 (hit: plain)
|
| Resistances | None |
| Vulnerabilities | None |
| Habitat | Land |
| Intelligence | Human |
| Uses | Weapons & armour Starting equipment Open doors |
| Holiness | Natural |
| Size | Medium |
| Type | human, human |
| Flags | See invisible Speaks Warm-blooded Unique Male |
| A brilliant scientist obsessed with electricity. In his attempts to perfect his electric golem, he was involved in a terrible accident, and now phases in and out of reality.
“One can prophesy with a Daniel's confidence that skilled electricians will settle the battles of the near future.” |
Useful Info
Nikola the Mad Inventor is a unique Air Magic specialist who can be a serious threat to the unprepared. Controlling electricity is second nature to him, and he always generates with a rapier of electrocution (1% chance for the Arc Blade) as well as a cloak and pair of gloves.
Location
Spells
| Spell set I | ||
|---|---|---|
| Slot1 | Lightning Bolt (3d22) | Wizard flag |
| Slot2 | Chain Lightning (3d45) | Wizard flag |
| Slot3 | Blink | Wizard flag |
Tips & Tricks
- Chain Lightning deals massive damage, enough to one-shot frailer characters. Needless to say, electricity resistance will save your skin now more than ever. Remember that a potion of resistance can give rElec in a pinch; just make sure you can kill Nikola before it wears off.
- Even with rElec, he can deal lots of damage per turn. Electric damage ignores 1/2 of your AC, and against Chain Lightning, rElec is only half as effective (net x66% damage).
- Note that Chain Lightning can only deal max damage if you are in point-blank range. If you are 2-4 tiles away, it deals (at most) x66% damage, and if you are 5-7 tiles away, it's reduced to x44%. You can use ranged attacks and curare darts to avoid getting into melee range.
- Silence or waterlogging will disable his spells, reducing the threat level significantly. Of course, silencing also shuts down your spellcasting ability, so this tactic is best used by melee-focused characters. Any character with moderate Evocations can use a phial of floods, however.
- Surprisingly, he lacks electricity resistance himself. If you have powerful electric attacks, don't be afraid to use them.
- Nikola has no qualms about frying other monsters. Taking cover behind them isn't safe. Taking him as a servant of Yredelemnul is also ill-advised.
Trivia
Nikola was named in honor of Nikola Tesla, an inventor famous for his eccentricity and his work with electricity.
History
- Prior to 0.27, Nikola used an older version of Chain Lightning; bouncing between targets rather than being strong up close and travelling outwards. This version of Chain Lightning could deal up to 264 damage, if it bounced between you and him multiple times.
- Nikola got access to the Arc Blade in 0.14.
