Unseen horror

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Revision as of 13:50, 14 June 2022 by Hordes (talk | contribs) (Tips & Tricks)
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Version 0.28: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.
unseen horror xUnseen horror.png
HP 25-52
HD 7
XP 736
Speed 30
AC 5
EV 10
Will 20
Attack1 12 (hit: plain)


Resistances None
Vulnerabilities None
Habitat Land
Intelligence Animal
Uses Uses nothing
Holiness Natural
Size Medium
Type unseen horror, unseen horror
Flags See invisible
Invisible
Batty
A creature rarely seen by anyone; those few who have seen one would rather they hadn't. Among the few bemused reports, the single common element is the creatures' bat-like movement.

“The awful shadow of some unseen Power
Floats, tho’ unseen, amongst us.”
-Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Hymn to Intellectual Beauty”, I, 1-2. 1816.

Useful Info

Unseen horrors are fast monsters that are naturally and permanently invisible. They usually appear in the middle-dungeon, but can occasionally be a menace on earlier floors. Even with see invisible, you will remain unable to see this monster's corpse (as it does not generate one).

Tips & Tricks

Unseen horrors move randomly like bats. Their lightning-fast speed means they get multiple moves, and they can gradually deal significant damage to all but the most heavily-armoured characters. Characters able to see invisible (via ring, helmet, mutation, or being a naga, spriggan, felid, vampire, or palentonga) should have little trouble dealing with them. If you lack the ability to see invisible, use the following:

  • Swinging or casting wildly at a target you cannot see (and that will not stay still) is generally a waste of time. You can greatly increase your odds of hitting an unseen horror by luring it into a hallway, so you at least know which direction it'll be in. Better yet, try to lure it in with a rat or some other weak monster coming in behind it. If you can pin it in place, that gets rid of a lot of its advantage. Attack it with Ctrl+direction (or *+direction).
  • Any source of clouds will reveal an unseen horror as a disturbance. Scrolls of fog are simple to use, while using Fire Magic against water will create steam clouds. Any spell that produces clouds directly can also accomplish this, and usually deals heavy damage as well.
    • Unseen horrors are susceptible to poison, so Mephitic Cloud will work just fine against them. A confused horror will be nearly harmless and incapable of chasing you. The other cloud spells also work nicely if you have even a vague idea of where the stupid thing is.
  • Casting Sticky Flame might be hard with its short range, but it deals heavy damage while illuminating it.
  • Fleeing is sometimes the wisest choice, and actually not too hard to do. Blinking or teleporting away is an excellent temporary method, and since unseen horrors cannot open doors and tend to move away after hitting you, it's easy to run and then leave them locked in a small chamber or on the other side of the level. Failing that, you can usually lure them up a floor and then escape back down without them pursuing (though it may take a few tries). Their low willpower means a scroll of fear can get them to temporarily flee you.
  • Worshipers of Cheibriados who can reliably invoke Slouch should do so if they are attacked by an invisible opponent; an unseen horror will generally die in one application.

History

Prior to 0.2, unseen horrors were resistant to electricity.