Difference between revisions of "The Tomb"

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''This page is about the [[Dungeon branches|dungeon branch]]. For the card, see [[Tomb card]].''
 
''This page is about the [[Dungeon branches|dungeon branch]]. For the card, see [[Tomb card]].''
{{flavour|The Tomb of the Ancients is a place of damnation, of horrors animated by the vilest necromancy. Honest creatures of the surface turn pale at the mere mention of its name. The list of those who have returned from this place of pure death is exceedingly short.
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{{flavour|The Tomb of the Ancients is a place of damnation, of horrors animated by the vilest necromancy. The list of those who have returned from this place of pure death is exceedingly short.
  
The Tomb is three levels deep and contains the golden rune. Its entry is either on Crypt:2 or Crypt:3.}}
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This branch is unnaturally silent: sounds travel farther here.
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The entrance to this branch can be found on level 3 of the Crypt.
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This branch is 3 levels deep.
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This branch contains the golden rune of Zot.}}
  
 
{{flavour|A way to the Tomb of Ancients, a place of damnation, of horrors animated by the vilest necromancy.}}
 
{{flavour|A way to the Tomb of Ancients, a place of damnation, of horrors animated by the vilest necromancy.}}
  
[[File:Tomb entry.png]] '''The Tomb of the Ancients''' (usually referred to only as '''the Tomb''') is a [[branch]] located under [[the Crypt]], inhabited by dessicated [[list of mummies|mummies]] of all kinds. Although mostly bare of valuables, it holds the golden [[rune of Zot]] and two massive treasure heaps for those who manage to survive all the way to the end.
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[[File:Tomb entry.png]] '''The Tomb of the Ancients''' (usually referred to only as '''the Tomb''') is a [[branch]] located under [[the Crypt]], inhabited by desiccated [[list of mummies|mummies]] of all kinds. Although mostly bare of valuables, it holds the golden [[rune of Zot]] and two massive treasure heaps for those who manage to survive all the way to the end.
  
 
==Useful Info==
 
==Useful Info==
Stairs to the Tomb are found on floor 2 or 3 of [[the Crypt]]. It's only 3 levels deep, but don't let that lull you into a false sense of security: it's one of the most dangerous branches in the game, even for powerful characters. You'll meet a wide variety of mummies, which if not carefully dealt with can decimate you with their crippling [[death curse]]s. There is also a greater density of [[traps]] here than you'll find anywhere else.
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Stairs to the Tomb are found on the last floor of [[the Crypt]]. It's only 3 levels deep, but don't let that lull you into a false sense of security: it's one of the most dangerous branches in the game, even for powerful characters. You'll meet a wide variety of mummies, which if not carefully dealt with can destroy you with [[torment]] and crippling [[death curse]]s. There is also a greater density of [[traps]] here than you'll find anywhere else.
  
 
While it's not as deathly quiet as [[the Crypt]], the Tomb has very little in the way of [[Noise#Ambient noise|ambient noise]]. As a result, every sound (be it from casting a spell, hitting something with a weapon, or attracting the attention of a [[flying skull]]) will carry farther than you're used to. Be extra careful if you wish to avoid attracting attention.
 
While it's not as deathly quiet as [[the Crypt]], the Tomb has very little in the way of [[Noise#Ambient noise|ambient noise]]. As a result, every sound (be it from casting a spell, hitting something with a weapon, or attracting the attention of a [[flying skull]]) will carry farther than you're used to. Be extra careful if you wish to avoid attracting attention.
  
Unlike other areas of the game, the layout of the Tomb is mostly fixed, with only a few variations possible. Monster composition and placement is also extremely predictable, with a few very rare exceptions. You'll encounter the following, in order of difficulty:
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Unlike other areas of the game, the layout of the Tomb is mostly fixed, with only a few variations possible.  
  
*[[Flying skull]]s: Although not dangerous themselves, these will alert nearby sleeping mummies of your presence.
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You cannot be [[shaft]]ed inside the Tomb. The [[Formicid]] shaft ability still works, though.
*Random inhabitants of [[the Crypt]] may show up on Tomb:1, but they aren't very threatening.
 
*[[Mummy (monster)|Mummies]]: Although only a nuisance, their [[death curse]]s will [[curse]] equipment in your inventory, making gear swapping difficult.
 
*[[Guardian mummies]]: They hit harder and faster than normal mummies, and their death curses can be quite nasty.
 
*[[Revenant]]: Blinking foes which flood you with [[spectral thing]]s and heal any undead units that get caught in their crossfire.
 
*[[Mummy priest]]s: Slightly slower than guardian mummies, but tougher. They can cast [[Torment]], [[Smite]], [[Summon Undead]], and [[Summon Demon]], and their death curses are more likely to be unpleasant than those of the guardians.
 
*[[Sphinx]]es: Likely the only living things one will find in Tomb, these can paralyze, confuse, smite, or simply beat you to death if you are not careful. They have moderate durability, but no resistances to speak of and no death curses.
 
*[[Lich]]es / [[Ancient lich]]es: Capable of massive direct damage output and some of the nastiest summons of the game, liches and ancient liches always merit caution.
 
*[[Greater mummies]]: The biggest threat in Tomb, they have the same spells as a mummy priest, but over three times the health, 50% more HD, faster movement, and the highest chance of delivering devastating death curses. These will kill you if you are not prepared. Try not to take on more than one at a time!
 
*Random [[unique]]s: Although not guaranteed to show up, there are many dangerous uniques one can encounter in the Tomb at any time. If encountered alone, handle them as you normally would. If encountered along with several high level mummies, be extremely careful; even weak uniques become significantly deadlier when you've been repeatedly smited.
 
  
 
==Monsters==
 
==Monsters==
 
{| class="prettytable" style="border:none; margin:0; padding:0;"
 
{| class="prettytable" style="border:none; margin:0; padding:0;"
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| {{monsterlink|Mummy (monster)}} || {{monsterlink|Guardian mummy}} || {{monsterlink|Mummy priest}} || {{monsterlink|Royal mummy}}
 
|-
 
|-
| {{monsterlink|Mummy (monster)}} || {{monsterlink|Guardian mummy}} || {{monsterlink|Mummy priest}} || {{monsterlink|Greater mummy}}
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|{{monsterlink|Flying skull}} || {{Brown|z}} [[File:Small zombie.png]] '''[[Zombie]]''' || {{LightGrey|z}} [[File:Skeleton small humanoid.png]] '''[[Skeleton (monster)|Skeleton]]''' || {{LightBlue|z}} [[File:Simulacrum small humanoid.png]] '''[[Simulacrum (monster)|Simulacrum]]'''
|-
 
| {{monsterlink|Flying skull}} || || ||
 
|-
 
| {{Brown|z}} [[File:Small zombie.png]] '''[[Zombie]]''' || {{LightGrey|z}} [[File:Skeleton small humanoid.png]] '''[[Skeleton (monster)|Skeleton]]''' || {{LightBlue|z}} [[File:Simulacrum small humanoid.png]] '''[[Simulacrum (monster)|Simulacrum]]''' ||
 
 
|-
 
|-
| {{monsterlink|Death scarab}} || {{monsterlink|Ushabti}} || {{monsterlink|Bennu}}
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| {{monsterlink|Death scarab}} || {{monsterlink|Ushabti}} || {{monsterlink|Bennu}} || {{monsterlink|Sphinx}}
 
|}
 
|}
 
  
 
'''Rare Monsters'''
 
'''Rare Monsters'''
 
{| class="prettytable" style="border:none; margin:0; padding:0;"
 
{| class="prettytable" style="border:none; margin:0; padding:0;"
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|{{monsterlink|Skeletal warrior}} || {{monsterlink|Revenant}} ||
 
|-
 
|-
| {{monsterlink|Trapdoor spider}} || {{monsterlink|Skeletal warrior}} ||
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|{{monsterlink|Lich}} || {{monsterlink|Ancient lich}} || {{monsterlink|Dread lich}}
|-
 
| {{monsterlink|Revenant}} || {{monsterlink|Lich}} || {{monsterlink|Ancient lich}}
 
 
|}
 
|}
  
 
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'''Uniques'''
'''Placed by Vault Syntax on Tomb:1 (Never Generated Randomly)'''
 
 
{| class="prettytable" style="border:none; margin:0; padding:0;"
 
{| class="prettytable" style="border:none; margin:0; padding:0;"
|-
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| {{monsterlink|Boris}}
| {{monsterlink|Sphinx}}
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| {{monsterlink|Mennas}}
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| {{monsterlink|Khufu}}
 
|}
 
|}
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The following monsters deserve a special mention:
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* {{monsterlink|Guardian mummy}} - A slightly tougher [[mummy (monster)|mummy]]. The monster itself shouldn't be much trouble, though their [[death curse]]s can [[slow]] or [[torment]] you.
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* {{monsterlink|Mummy priest}} - Tougher than guardian mummies, they can also cast [[Torment]], [[Smite]], [[Summon Undead]], and [[Summon Demon]]. Their death curses are more likely to be unpleasant than those of the guardians.
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* {{monsterlink|Royal mummy}} -  The biggest threat in Tomb, they are an upgraded version of mummy priests. They have a similar set of spells, but over three times the health, faster movement, and the highest chance of delivering devastating death curses. These will kill you if you are not prepared. Try not to take on more than one at a time!
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* {{monsterlink|Death scarab}} - Extremely fast, hit hard, and their attacks slow you. They move like [[bat]]s or [[unseen horror]]s, backing away after hitting you.
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* {{monsterlink|Revenant}} - Blinking foes which flood you with [[spectral thing]]s. They possess [[Dispel Undead]], which really hurts undead players.
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* {{monsterlink|Ushabti}} - Creates [[miasma]] clouds, which slow and severely poison characters that are vulnerable (living characters, and those in [[Tree Form]]). Has a weaker version of Dispel Undead, too.
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* {{monsterlink|Bennu}} - Have a holy melee attack, which is dangerous to undead characters. They can revive once after death.
  
 
==Walkthrough==
 
==Walkthrough==
1. Upon entering Tomb:1, you'll find yourself in an open hallway that boxes in the Tomb proper. This will contain a handful of mummies, guardian mummies, and assorted [[skeleton (monster)|skeletons]], but nothing particularly dangerous until you've gone halfway around the level. There you'll find a massive [[statue]]-lined hallway leading inwards, guarded by a large pack of sphinxes. Use stasis or very high [[magic resistance]] to keep from getting paralyzed, and try to lure them away a few at a time until you've cleared them out. Do not underestimate the strength of their smites - although individually weak, several turns of multiple smites ''will'' kill any character. If at all possible, avoid using a teleport to escape them if things start going badly; outrunning them with [[Haste]] is a ''much'' safer option here. Read [[scrolls of fog]] as needed to break line of sight and get yourself back to the Crypt ASAP.
 
  
2. Past the hallway you'll find one of two possible interiors.
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'''1.''' Upon entering Tomb:1, you'll find yourself in an open hallway, boxing in the actual "Tomb". The hallway contains a handful of mummies, guardian mummies, and skeletons. There are rock [[wall]]s on the edges of the map, which can be used to create a [[killhole]].
  
2A. The first is a massive courtyard filled with several mummies, guardian mummies, mummy priests, and a greater mummy or two. Be careful upon entering, as the entrance will be heavily trapped. You may wish to lure these mummies to the outer hallway a few at a time to clear it. You'll find two side passages and a small room beyond here; all will be heavily trapped, but one of them will contain a staircase to Tomb:2.
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'''2.''' On the other side of the level, you'll find a massive [[statue]]-lined hallway, leading to the center of the map. It is guarded by a large pack of [[sphinx]]es.  
  
2B. Alternatively, you may find the statue-lined hallway extending inwards, filled with various mummies, [[lich]]es and [[revenant]]s. Each side will have further vertically aligned hallways, and there will be large chambers sealed off with [[door]]s at the ends. One of these two chambers will contain a staircase to Tomb:2. This is a significantly easier layout.
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You should bring enough [[willpower]] to prevent paralysis. Even though sphinxes are relatively weak, do not underestimate their smites. Multiple sphinxes smiting you every turn will hurt even the strongest of characters.
  
3. As soon as you enter Tomb:2, you'll find yourself in a large open chamber with several mummies of all sorts in sight. This room's inhabitants are nearly identical in composition to those in the Tomb:1 courtyard. If necessary, stairdance to pull them up in manageable numbers until the room is clear.
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'''3.''' Past the hallway, you'll find one of several possible interiors, each containing several [[royal mummies]] and other nasties. Somewhere, you'll find a one-way staircase leading down.
  
4. You'll find several doors off to the side of this open chamber, leading to a series of small rooms that envelops half of the map. These will contain mummies, guardians, and priests, as well as many traps. Eventually you'll find a staircase back up to Tomb:1. Go up it to continue exploring normally. Alternatively, at this point it is fairly safe to attempt to skip ahead through random teleportation; doing so lets you avoid one of the more dangerous areas of the Tomb. Keep teleporting (with [[teleport trap]]s if available or a [[ring of teleportation]]) until you find yourself in a new area (see #6).
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'''4.''' As soon as you enter Tomb:2, you'll find yourself in a large open chamber. There won't be scary enemies initially, but it won't take long for mummies to close in from all directions.  There is an up-one-way-stair about 10 tiles diagonally to one corner of the square chamber (chosen randomly). As such, it is advisable to get out of the central chamber rapidly, doing one of several things:
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* Reading a scroll of magic mapping, to identify the stair. Use a combination of blink scrolls, haste potions, and Passage of Golubria to get there. Once you get there, you can comfortably fight, and go upstairs if it gets too dangerous.
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* Reading a [[scroll of teleportation]] until you end up in the outside rim of small rooms. From here, you can fight a small number of enemies at once. If you're really lucky, you'll notice that you ended up in the section of Tomb:2 with the one-way stairs down to Tomb:3. In this case you can skip to point 7.
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* Using haste potions, Swiftness, blink, or teleport to get to the outer rim of small rooms, where you can fight a small number of enemies at once.  
  
5. Heading back up, you'll find yourself in the only unexplored portion of Tomb:1 left, the large horseshoe surrounding the inner courtyard. You will encounter a few guardian mummies and mummy priests here, as well as an unpredictable scattering of traps, but the majority of its inhabitants are greater mummies encountered in the long open hallways. Handled carefully, you should only encounter one or two greater mummies at a time; make too much [[noise]] and you may wind up with a lot more on your hands. Consider luring them back to the nearest corner before engaging them, and remember that a teleport to safety is almost guaranteed to send you back to the now-clear first area of Tomb:1. At the end of the horseshoe, you'll find another staircase to Tomb:2.
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'''5.''' You'll find several doors on the edges of the central chamber. These lead to a series of small rooms, enveloping half the map. These contain [[mummy priest]]s and many traps. Eventually, you'll find a staircase back up to Tomb:1.
  
6. Remember the small chambers you found on Tomb:2 earlier? Now you get to clear a mirror image of those on the other side. Expect more of the same, and eventually you'll find three staircases leading to Tomb:3.
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If you can break [[stone wall]]s, you can try to break open the wall, where it's obvious there should be a continuation of the small rooms. This lets you skip the Tomb:1 re-entry, skipping to point 7.
  
7. All three staircases leading to Tomb:3 place you in the same area, the start of a short, wide hallway leading to the treasure vaults and rune chamber. You will almost immediately encounter an absurd number of guardian mummies, followed by plenty of reinforcements in the form of flying skulls, mummy priests, and greater mummies (over a dozen of each is not unusual). Eventually the flow of mummies will stop, freeing you to explore and loot the place, but expect to find several mummy stragglers as you go. [[Teleport control]] is restored once you have the rune.
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'''6.''' Heading back up to Tomb:1, you'll find yourself in the only unexplored area of Tomb:1, a large horseshoe surrounding the inner courtyard. You'll encounter many royal mummies, with a few guardian mummies and priests. Traps will be scattered throughout. At the end of the horseshoe, you'll find another one-way staircase to Tomb:2.
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Handled carefully, you should only encounter one or two royal mummies at a time. Make too much [[noise]], and you may wind up with a lot more on your hands. Consider luring them back to the nearest corner before engaging them, and remember that a teleport to safety is almost guaranteed to send you back to the now-clear first area of Tomb:1.
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'''7.''' Remember the small chambers you found on Tomb:2 earlier? Now you get to clear a mirror image of those on the other side. Expect more of the same, with an even greater concentration of traps, and eventually you'll find two one-way staircases leading to Tomb:3.
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'''8.''' Both staircases leading to Tomb:3 will place you in the same area. You'll drop to the start of a short, wide hallway. There is one door on each side, with each door containing treasure and up-stairs back to safety. The rune chamber is straight ahead. You will almost immediately encounter a large number of guardian mummies and death scarabs, followed by plenty of reinforcements in the form of flying skulls, mummy priests, and royal mummies (over a dozen of each is not unusual).  
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It is usually good to focus on making a path to the up-stair before fighting, because more and more mummies will turn up if you fight. If you can, grab the [[figurine of a ziggurat]], found in one of the large loot piles, on your way, to act as a 2-turn escape tool in the case of disaster. It is likely you will have to go upstairs, reset and make your way back to the upstairs several times before the entire floor is clear. Once the flood of mummies stops, you are free to check out the loot and grab the rune, but be careful of dangerous stragglers.
  
 
==Recommendations==
 
==Recommendations==
If not done correctly, Tomb is one of the deadliest places in the game. A character facing Tomb must tackle these three problems:
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If not done correctly, Tomb is one of the deadliest places in the game. A character facing Tomb must tackle these problems:
*Greater mummies and mummy priests can torment you, instantly cutting your HP by up to half. They can then smite you to finish the job.
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*Royal mummies and mummy priests can torment you, instantly cutting your HP by up to half. They can then [[smite]] you to finish the job.
*Greater mummies and mummy priests can summon a ton of undead and demons, which in addition to mobbing you also means they will frequently abjure your own summons.
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*Royal mummies and mummy priests can summon a ton of tough monsters, which makes it difficult to attack the summoners with melee or single-target attacks. And they will frequently abjure your own summons.
*All mummies cast death curses when killed. The normal mummies only curse your items, but the others can slow you, rot you, torment you, drain you, drain your stats, and even occasionally kill you outright if you are low enough on HP. Since there are so many mummies in the Tomb, these effects can quickly reach debilitating levels.
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*All non-regular mummies cast death curses when killed, potentially slowing, tormenting or draining you or your stats, and dealing pain damage which is not resisted by rN. Since there are so many mummies in the Tomb, these effects can quickly reach debilitating levels.
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*Inability to stairdance. You cannot simply bring one stairload of enemies upstairs at a time and polish them off.
  
Some strategies, with their specific strengths and weaknesses, are outlined below. One should mix and match them to fit your character: it is unlikely that one can do Tomb simply by being a Zin or a Kiku worshiper, or simply by having Dispel Undead, but a lichform necromancer of Kiku, or Zinnite with a holy weapon and silence, stands a very good chance of making it. The best general advice is to know your limits. If one encounter with a greater mummy nearly killed you, then the next one may very well finish you off. If you find your HP rotting beyond what you can repair, or that you are burning through all your potions of restore abilities because of stat drain, don't continue - get out. It is by no means necessary to do Tomb to finish the game.
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Some strategies, with their specific strengths and weaknesses, are outlined below. One should mix and match them to fit your character: it is unlikely that one can do Tomb simply by being a Zin or a Kiku worshipper, or simply by having Dispel Undead, but a lichform necromancer of Kiku, or Zinnite with a holy weapon and silence, stands a very good chance of making it. The best general advice is to know your limits. If one encounter with a royal mummy nearly killed you, then the next one may very well finish you off. Just remember that completing the Tomb is by no means required to win the game.
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===Staircase Tactics===
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Generally, the safest approaches to Tomb:2 and Tomb:3 involve getting to the up-stair back to where you started as the first priority, and killing off all the mummies in Tomb:2 and 3 as the second priority. Read scrolls of fog to limit line of sight to avoid the number of torments and smites you face, and be ready to use up your buff potions, evocables, and scrolls of blinking at any point.
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The main issue with staircases (or any place, really), are the bounty of [[trap]]s. Dispersal traps will move teleport-vulnerable players off the stairs, net traps will disable your movement, and Zot traps inflict a variety of nasty effects. If the staircase happens to not have them, great, you are in luck. Otherwise, use said line of sight manipulation, try checking the other stair, or use a [[potion of lignification]] to make you immune to both teleport and torment (but resistant to movement, too).
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Another approach is to teleport until you find a defensible spot. It may be worth reading [[magic mapping]] to find if the layout has any suitable spots and to know if you are near them. This represents more of a commitment, but it avoids the scenario where the entrance points, the upstairs, and everywhere between are packed full of nasties and on returning to the level you are immediately in serious danger.
  
 
===Equipment===
 
===Equipment===
*[[Ring of sustain abilities]] - Protects you from stat loss death curses.
 
*[[Amulet of regeneration]] - Cuts down on recovery time between waves of mummies.
 
 
*Gear with [[negative energy]] resistance - Reduces damage from [[torment]] and [[draining]] death curses.
 
*Gear with [[negative energy]] resistance - Reduces damage from [[torment]] and [[draining]] death curses.
*Gear with [[stat]] boosts - Makes any stat damage you take less of an issue, improves your general performance.
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*Gear with [[stat]] boosts - Improves your general performance and decreases the likelihood of unexpectedly reaching [[stat zero]] from death curses.
*Gear with [[magic resistance]] - Characters with low magic resistance will have a much worse time dealing with the sphinxes than characters with insurmountable magic resistance. You don't need it for the entire branch, but it's very useful for that one stretch (and handy when dealing with ancient liches out of the blue).
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*Gear with [[willpower]] - Weak-willed characters will have a much worse time dealing with the sphinxes than characters with insurmountable will. You don't need it for the entire branch, but it's very useful for that one stretch (and handy when dealing with ancient liches out of the blue).
*Apart from the occasional summoned demon or surprising [[unique]], there are no sources of [[fire]], [[cold]], [[poison]], [[acid]], or [[electricity]] damage in this branch, and the only likely source of [[mutation]] is if you accidentally step into a [[Zot trap]].
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*Apart from the occasional summoned demon or surprising [[unique]], there are no sources of [[fire]], [[cold]], [[acid]], or [[electricity]] damage in this branch, and the only likely source of [[mutation]] is if you accidentally step into a [[Zot trap]].
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*If you are confident in your offensive capabilities, consider bringing [[potion of lignification|potions of lignification]] with you. Fighting in [[Tree form]] will render you immune to torment, allowing you to focus on the task of reducing the hordes of mummies to dust uninterrupted.
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*A [[scroll of immolation]] can help greatly in taking out the gigantic horde of enemies on Tomb:3, but the sheer quantity of death curses this will trigger is enough to oneshot any character. Undead characters, or characters with [[Death's Door]], [[Necromutation]] or with a stock of [[potion of lignification|potions of lignification]] can attempt this strategy.
  
 
===Spells===
 
===Spells===
*[[Necromutation]] - Provides undead immunity to draining, torment, and [[rot]] (but prevents you from quaffing [[potions of restore abilities]] to recover stat damage!) for living characters.
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*[[Necromutation]] - Provides immunity to draining and torment. However, you become vulnerable to [[Dispel Undead Range]] (from [[ushabti|ushabtiu]]) and lose access to potions.
*[[Statue Form]] - Provides significant draining, torment, and rot resistance without preventing you from worshiping a [[good god]] or blocking access to food and potions. Slows your actions, however.
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*[[Death's Door]] - Gives a long enough period of invulnerability to escape upstairs from almost anything in Tomb.
*[[Silence]] - Disables the spells of all mummies within its aura.
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*[[Borgnjor's Revivification]] - For when you unexpectedly end up on 10 HP in the middle of a bunch of mummies (Does a very similar job to Death's Door).
*[[Aura of Abjuration]] - Quickly disposes of dangerous summoned monsters.
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*[[Statue Form]] - Provides significant torment resistance without the downsides of Necromutation, including its use with [[good god]]s. Slows your actions and cannot be used if you worship [[Zin]], however.
*[[Dragon's Call]] - Produces allies strong enough to handle even greater mummies, costs you no time, and can affect enemies at the edge of your line of sight.
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*[[Silence]] - Disables the spells of all mummies within its aura. Be careful with this spell, because mummy death curses still take effect, including those that can torment you, and you lose access to scrolls and spells.
*[[Dispel Undead]] - Deals heavy damage to almost everything in the Tomb. Only affects one target at a time though.
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*[[Ignition]] - Works great in the cramped and fire-vulnerable corridors of the Tomb.
*[[Bolt of Inaccuracy]] - Deals extreme damage to anything it strikes, and mummies are generally clumsy enough to make easy targets.
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*[[Dispel Undead]] - Deals heavy damage to almost everything in the Tomb. Only affects one melee target at a time though.
*[[Shatter]] - Deals heavy, unavoidable damage to nearly the entire screen. Noisy, but also tears down walls.
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*[[Shatter]] - Deals heavy, unavoidable damage to the entire screen. Noisy, but also tears down walls.
*[[Fire Storm]] - Heavy, smite-targeted damage to a large area of effect.
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*Most other level 9 spells - [[Dragon's Call]] creates a mass of allies, [[Polar Vortex]] mops the floor with a widespread tornado, [[Fire Storm]] roasts mummies even harder...
*[[Tornado]] - Heavy damage to everything within range of it (though ineffective in hallways).
 
*[[Flight]] - Allows you to ignore mechanical [[trap]]s.
 
*[[Regeneration]] - Recovers between fights faster.
 
  
 
===Gods===
 
===Gods===
*[[Kikubaaqudgha]] - Provides significant torment resistance, negates most death curses, provides access to useful Necromancy spells. Mind your piety, as nothing in Tomb other than the sphinxes grants it.
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*[[Kikubaaqudgha]] - Provides significant torment resistance, negates most death curses and provides access to useful Necromancy spells.  
*[[The Shining One]] - Provides rN+++, a weapon of holy wrath, powerful [[holy]] burst attacks, HP and MP recovery on each kill, summonable angelic warriors, and general support and Abjuration protection for your summoned allies.
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*[[The Shining One]] - Provides rN+++, a weapon of holy wrath, powerful [[holy]] burst attacks, HP and MP recovery on each kill, with summonable angelic warriors.
*[[Zin]] - Provides immunity to stat loss and rot, temporary invulnerability (though at a high piety cost).
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*[[Zin]] - Provides immunity to stat loss, temporary invulnerability, though Zin prevents use of [[Tree Form]], [[Statue Form]], or [[Necromutation]].
 +
*[[Ru]] - Provides tremendous area-of-effect damage through Apocalypse, but watch out for the draining.
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*[[Makhleb]] - Provides very significant HP recovery on kill.
 +
*[[Gozag]] - Bribe the tomb, easy life. Also provides potions in Lichform.
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*[[Jiyva]] - Slimifying mummies will completely cancel their death curses. Being tormented will spawn high-end jellies very often, and regeneration helps recover the lost HP.
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
In [[0.19]], the [[Anubis guard]]s were no more, but the [[ushabti]] inherited their place.
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*Prior to [[0.30]], [[Formicid]]s could not shaft in the Tomb.
 
+
*In [[0.29]], most [[unique]]s were removed from the Tomb.
In [[0.17]], the [[Unborn]] were no more, but [[Ancient champion]]s were filling the gap.
+
*In [[0.27]], all mechanical (physical) [[trap]]s were removed.
 
+
*In [[0.25]], [[death curse]]s were reworked and simplified, now having only 4 total effects.
In [[0.16]], even more non-mummy opponents were added: [[Anubis guard]]s, [[bennu]], [[death scarab]]s, and [[ushabti]].
+
*In [[0.23]], the [[trap]] rework dramatically effected the Tomb. Most notably, [[Zot trap]]s became visible, but the new [[dispersal trap]]s made standing on stairs a lot more difficult.
 +
*In [[0.20]], the staircases in Tomb were made one-way, similar to hatches but with set destination locations. The up one-way staircases were placed in locations not too far from the down-stairs, but far enough that walking is difficult, and in Tomb:3 some doors were added to make access to the up-stairs easier.
 +
*In [[0.19]], [[Anubis guard]]s were replaced with [[ushabti]]u.
 +
*In [[0.17]], the [[Unborn]] were removed.
 +
*In [[0.16]], even more non-mummy opponents were added: [[Anubis guard]]s, [[bennu]], [[death scarab]]s, and [[ushabti]]u.
 +
*In [[0.15]], the Tomb received a new layout of the courtyard in Tomb:1, as well as more non-mummy monsters. Also, the entrance to Tomb always appears on the last floor of the Crypt instead of appearing on Crypt:2 or Crypt:3.
  
In [[0.15]], the Tomb received a new layout of the courtyard in Tomb:1, as well as more non-mummy monsters.
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{{branches}}
  
[[Category:Dungeon_Branches]] [[Category:Mummy]] [[Category:Crystal Ball Articles]]
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[[Category:Mummy]]

Latest revision as of 03:03, 7 September 2023

Version 0.30: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

This page is about the dungeon branch. For the card, see Tomb card.

The Tomb of the Ancients is a place of damnation, of horrors animated by the vilest necromancy. The list of those who have returned from this place of pure death is exceedingly short.

This branch is unnaturally silent: sounds travel farther here.

The entrance to this branch can be found on level 3 of the Crypt.

This branch is 3 levels deep.

This branch contains the golden rune of Zot.

A way to the Tomb of Ancients, a place of damnation, of horrors animated by the vilest necromancy.

Tomb entry.png The Tomb of the Ancients (usually referred to only as the Tomb) is a branch located under the Crypt, inhabited by desiccated mummies of all kinds. Although mostly bare of valuables, it holds the golden rune of Zot and two massive treasure heaps for those who manage to survive all the way to the end.

Useful Info

Stairs to the Tomb are found on the last floor of the Crypt. It's only 3 levels deep, but don't let that lull you into a false sense of security: it's one of the most dangerous branches in the game, even for powerful characters. You'll meet a wide variety of mummies, which if not carefully dealt with can destroy you with torment and crippling death curses. There is also a greater density of traps here than you'll find anywhere else.

While it's not as deathly quiet as the Crypt, the Tomb has very little in the way of ambient noise. As a result, every sound (be it from casting a spell, hitting something with a weapon, or attracting the attention of a flying skull) will carry farther than you're used to. Be extra careful if you wish to avoid attracting attention.

Unlike other areas of the game, the layout of the Tomb is mostly fixed, with only a few variations possible.

You cannot be shafted inside the Tomb. The Formicid shaft ability still works, though.

Monsters

M Mummy (monster).png Mummy (monster) M Guardian mummy.png Guardian mummy M Mummy priest.png Mummy priest M Royal mummy.png Royal mummy
z Flying skull.png Flying skull z Small zombie.png Zombie z Skeleton small humanoid.png Skeleton z Simulacrum small humanoid.png Simulacrum
B Death scarab.png Death scarab 9 Ushabti.png Ushabti b Bennu.png Bennu H Sphinx.png Sphinx

Rare Monsters

z Skeletal warrior.png Skeletal warrior z Revenant.png Revenant
L Lich.png Lich L Ancient lich.png Ancient lich L Dread lich.png Dread lich

Uniques

L Boris.png Boris A Mennas.png Mennas M Khufu.png Khufu

The following monsters deserve a special mention:

  • M Guardian mummy.png Guardian mummy - A slightly tougher mummy. The monster itself shouldn't be much trouble, though their death curses can slow or torment you.
  • M Mummy priest.png Mummy priest - Tougher than guardian mummies, they can also cast Torment, Smite, Summon Undead, and Summon Demon. Their death curses are more likely to be unpleasant than those of the guardians.
  • M Royal mummy.png Royal mummy - The biggest threat in Tomb, they are an upgraded version of mummy priests. They have a similar set of spells, but over three times the health, faster movement, and the highest chance of delivering devastating death curses. These will kill you if you are not prepared. Try not to take on more than one at a time!
  • B Death scarab.png Death scarab - Extremely fast, hit hard, and their attacks slow you. They move like bats or unseen horrors, backing away after hitting you.
  • z Revenant.png Revenant - Blinking foes which flood you with spectral things. They possess Dispel Undead, which really hurts undead players.
  • 9 Ushabti.png Ushabti - Creates miasma clouds, which slow and severely poison characters that are vulnerable (living characters, and those in Tree Form). Has a weaker version of Dispel Undead, too.
  • b Bennu.png Bennu - Have a holy melee attack, which is dangerous to undead characters. They can revive once after death.

Walkthrough

1. Upon entering Tomb:1, you'll find yourself in an open hallway, boxing in the actual "Tomb". The hallway contains a handful of mummies, guardian mummies, and skeletons. There are rock walls on the edges of the map, which can be used to create a killhole.

2. On the other side of the level, you'll find a massive statue-lined hallway, leading to the center of the map. It is guarded by a large pack of sphinxes.

You should bring enough willpower to prevent paralysis. Even though sphinxes are relatively weak, do not underestimate their smites. Multiple sphinxes smiting you every turn will hurt even the strongest of characters.

3. Past the hallway, you'll find one of several possible interiors, each containing several royal mummies and other nasties. Somewhere, you'll find a one-way staircase leading down.

4. As soon as you enter Tomb:2, you'll find yourself in a large open chamber. There won't be scary enemies initially, but it won't take long for mummies to close in from all directions. There is an up-one-way-stair about 10 tiles diagonally to one corner of the square chamber (chosen randomly). As such, it is advisable to get out of the central chamber rapidly, doing one of several things:

  • Reading a scroll of magic mapping, to identify the stair. Use a combination of blink scrolls, haste potions, and Passage of Golubria to get there. Once you get there, you can comfortably fight, and go upstairs if it gets too dangerous.
  • Reading a scroll of teleportation until you end up in the outside rim of small rooms. From here, you can fight a small number of enemies at once. If you're really lucky, you'll notice that you ended up in the section of Tomb:2 with the one-way stairs down to Tomb:3. In this case you can skip to point 7.
  • Using haste potions, Swiftness, blink, or teleport to get to the outer rim of small rooms, where you can fight a small number of enemies at once.

5. You'll find several doors on the edges of the central chamber. These lead to a series of small rooms, enveloping half the map. These contain mummy priests and many traps. Eventually, you'll find a staircase back up to Tomb:1.

If you can break stone walls, you can try to break open the wall, where it's obvious there should be a continuation of the small rooms. This lets you skip the Tomb:1 re-entry, skipping to point 7.

6. Heading back up to Tomb:1, you'll find yourself in the only unexplored area of Tomb:1, a large horseshoe surrounding the inner courtyard. You'll encounter many royal mummies, with a few guardian mummies and priests. Traps will be scattered throughout. At the end of the horseshoe, you'll find another one-way staircase to Tomb:2.

Handled carefully, you should only encounter one or two royal mummies at a time. Make too much noise, and you may wind up with a lot more on your hands. Consider luring them back to the nearest corner before engaging them, and remember that a teleport to safety is almost guaranteed to send you back to the now-clear first area of Tomb:1.

7. Remember the small chambers you found on Tomb:2 earlier? Now you get to clear a mirror image of those on the other side. Expect more of the same, with an even greater concentration of traps, and eventually you'll find two one-way staircases leading to Tomb:3.

8. Both staircases leading to Tomb:3 will place you in the same area. You'll drop to the start of a short, wide hallway. There is one door on each side, with each door containing treasure and up-stairs back to safety. The rune chamber is straight ahead. You will almost immediately encounter a large number of guardian mummies and death scarabs, followed by plenty of reinforcements in the form of flying skulls, mummy priests, and royal mummies (over a dozen of each is not unusual).

It is usually good to focus on making a path to the up-stair before fighting, because more and more mummies will turn up if you fight. If you can, grab the figurine of a ziggurat, found in one of the large loot piles, on your way, to act as a 2-turn escape tool in the case of disaster. It is likely you will have to go upstairs, reset and make your way back to the upstairs several times before the entire floor is clear. Once the flood of mummies stops, you are free to check out the loot and grab the rune, but be careful of dangerous stragglers.

Recommendations

If not done correctly, Tomb is one of the deadliest places in the game. A character facing Tomb must tackle these problems:

  • Royal mummies and mummy priests can torment you, instantly cutting your HP by up to half. They can then smite you to finish the job.
  • Royal mummies and mummy priests can summon a ton of tough monsters, which makes it difficult to attack the summoners with melee or single-target attacks. And they will frequently abjure your own summons.
  • All non-regular mummies cast death curses when killed, potentially slowing, tormenting or draining you or your stats, and dealing pain damage which is not resisted by rN. Since there are so many mummies in the Tomb, these effects can quickly reach debilitating levels.
  • Inability to stairdance. You cannot simply bring one stairload of enemies upstairs at a time and polish them off.

Some strategies, with their specific strengths and weaknesses, are outlined below. One should mix and match them to fit your character: it is unlikely that one can do Tomb simply by being a Zin or a Kiku worshipper, or simply by having Dispel Undead, but a lichform necromancer of Kiku, or Zinnite with a holy weapon and silence, stands a very good chance of making it. The best general advice is to know your limits. If one encounter with a royal mummy nearly killed you, then the next one may very well finish you off. Just remember that completing the Tomb is by no means required to win the game.

Staircase Tactics

Generally, the safest approaches to Tomb:2 and Tomb:3 involve getting to the up-stair back to where you started as the first priority, and killing off all the mummies in Tomb:2 and 3 as the second priority. Read scrolls of fog to limit line of sight to avoid the number of torments and smites you face, and be ready to use up your buff potions, evocables, and scrolls of blinking at any point.

The main issue with staircases (or any place, really), are the bounty of traps. Dispersal traps will move teleport-vulnerable players off the stairs, net traps will disable your movement, and Zot traps inflict a variety of nasty effects. If the staircase happens to not have them, great, you are in luck. Otherwise, use said line of sight manipulation, try checking the other stair, or use a potion of lignification to make you immune to both teleport and torment (but resistant to movement, too).

Another approach is to teleport until you find a defensible spot. It may be worth reading magic mapping to find if the layout has any suitable spots and to know if you are near them. This represents more of a commitment, but it avoids the scenario where the entrance points, the upstairs, and everywhere between are packed full of nasties and on returning to the level you are immediately in serious danger.

Equipment

  • Gear with negative energy resistance - Reduces damage from torment and draining death curses.
  • Gear with stat boosts - Improves your general performance and decreases the likelihood of unexpectedly reaching stat zero from death curses.
  • Gear with willpower - Weak-willed characters will have a much worse time dealing with the sphinxes than characters with insurmountable will. You don't need it for the entire branch, but it's very useful for that one stretch (and handy when dealing with ancient liches out of the blue).
  • Apart from the occasional summoned demon or surprising unique, there are no sources of fire, cold, acid, or electricity damage in this branch, and the only likely source of mutation is if you accidentally step into a Zot trap.
  • If you are confident in your offensive capabilities, consider bringing potions of lignification with you. Fighting in Tree form will render you immune to torment, allowing you to focus on the task of reducing the hordes of mummies to dust uninterrupted.
  • A scroll of immolation can help greatly in taking out the gigantic horde of enemies on Tomb:3, but the sheer quantity of death curses this will trigger is enough to oneshot any character. Undead characters, or characters with Death's Door, Necromutation or with a stock of potions of lignification can attempt this strategy.

Spells

  • Necromutation - Provides immunity to draining and torment. However, you become vulnerable to Dispel Undead Range (from ushabtiu) and lose access to potions.
  • Death's Door - Gives a long enough period of invulnerability to escape upstairs from almost anything in Tomb.
  • Borgnjor's Revivification - For when you unexpectedly end up on 10 HP in the middle of a bunch of mummies (Does a very similar job to Death's Door).
  • Statue Form - Provides significant torment resistance without the downsides of Necromutation, including its use with good gods. Slows your actions and cannot be used if you worship Zin, however.
  • Silence - Disables the spells of all mummies within its aura. Be careful with this spell, because mummy death curses still take effect, including those that can torment you, and you lose access to scrolls and spells.
  • Ignition - Works great in the cramped and fire-vulnerable corridors of the Tomb.
  • Dispel Undead - Deals heavy damage to almost everything in the Tomb. Only affects one melee target at a time though.
  • Shatter - Deals heavy, unavoidable damage to the entire screen. Noisy, but also tears down walls.
  • Most other level 9 spells - Dragon's Call creates a mass of allies, Polar Vortex mops the floor with a widespread tornado, Fire Storm roasts mummies even harder...

Gods

  • Kikubaaqudgha - Provides significant torment resistance, negates most death curses and provides access to useful Necromancy spells.
  • The Shining One - Provides rN+++, a weapon of holy wrath, powerful holy burst attacks, HP and MP recovery on each kill, with summonable angelic warriors.
  • Zin - Provides immunity to stat loss, temporary invulnerability, though Zin prevents use of Tree Form, Statue Form, or Necromutation.
  • Ru - Provides tremendous area-of-effect damage through Apocalypse, but watch out for the draining.
  • Makhleb - Provides very significant HP recovery on kill.
  • Gozag - Bribe the tomb, easy life. Also provides potions in Lichform.
  • Jiyva - Slimifying mummies will completely cancel their death curses. Being tormented will spawn high-end jellies very often, and regeneration helps recover the lost HP.

History

  • Prior to 0.30, Formicids could not shaft in the Tomb.
  • In 0.29, most uniques were removed from the Tomb.
  • In 0.27, all mechanical (physical) traps were removed.
  • In 0.25, death curses were reworked and simplified, now having only 4 total effects.
  • In 0.23, the trap rework dramatically effected the Tomb. Most notably, Zot traps became visible, but the new dispersal traps made standing on stairs a lot more difficult.
  • In 0.20, the staircases in Tomb were made one-way, similar to hatches but with set destination locations. The up one-way staircases were placed in locations not too far from the down-stairs, but far enough that walking is difficult, and in Tomb:3 some doors were added to make access to the up-stairs easier.
  • In 0.19, Anubis guards were replaced with ushabtiu.
  • In 0.17, the Unborn were removed.
  • In 0.16, even more non-mummy opponents were added: Anubis guards, bennu, death scarabs, and ushabtiu.
  • In 0.15, the Tomb received a new layout of the courtyard in Tomb:1, as well as more non-mummy monsters. Also, the entrance to Tomb always appears on the last floor of the Crypt instead of appearing on Crypt:2 or Crypt:3.
Dungeon branches
Dungeon exit.png The DungeonTemple entry.png The TempleDepths entry.png The DepthsZot entry.png Realm of Zot
Lair entry.png The Lair ( Spider entry.png Spider's NestSnake entry.png Snake PitSwamp entry.png The SwampShoals entry.png The ShoalsSlime entry.png Slime Pits)
Orc entry.png Orcish Mines ( Elf entry.png Elven Halls) • Vaults entry.png The Vaults ( Crypt entry.png The CryptTomb entry.png The Tomb)
Abyss entry.png The AbyssPandemonium entry.png PandemoniumHell entry.png Hell ( Cocytus entry.png CocytusDis entry.pngDisGehenna entry.png GehennaTartarus entry.png Tartarus)
See also: Portal