Yara's Violent Unravelling

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

Yara's Violent Unravelling
Level	5
School1	Alchemy
School2	Hexes
Source(s)	Great Wizards, Vol. VII Book of Misfortune
Casting noise	5
Spell noise	15
Power Cap	200
Range	LOS
Flags	Chaotic, No ghost, Target

If cast upon a creature already blessed (or cursed) with magical enchantments, those enchantments will be torn apart, transforming into a spray of destructive mutagenic radiation. The victim and anyone adjacent will be blasted and heavily deformed, weakening them and reducing their armour. Summoned creatures are particularly vulnerable, as the enchantments binding them to this plane will unravel and cause them to be dismissed immediately.

Yara's Violent Unravelling is a level 5 Hexes/Alchemy spell which dispels status effects from an enemy. It also dismisses summons.

Useful Info

Yara's is a smite-targeted spell, able to target any creature in line of sight. All cancellable effects on a target are dispelled. If the target is a summon and not durable, then it is instantly dismissed, regardless of its current duration.

If a status was dispelled (or summon dismissed), it creates a 3x3 explosion centered on the target. This explosion deals 3d(3 + power / 6) damage and causes the malmutate status to any enemy caught in it. Damage does not scale with number of statuses dispelled.

For a full list of cancellable effects, see the list of dispellable effects page. Note that some permanent effects can be dispelled by Yara's, but some are truly permanent and can't be dispelled. For example, the haste and might enchantments of monsters that spawn from aspiring flesh can be dispelled. On the other hand, buffs given to monsters by Gozag's wrath can't be dispelled by any means.

Strategy

Yara's Violent Unravelling has two main purposes:

1. To get rid of buffs. Monsters become a lot less threatening when they're no longer hasted. Yara's can get rid of a large number of statuses, including monster-only spells like Bind Souls, Repel Missiles, and Word of Recall. Enemies will often waste turns recasting their buffs, giving yourself another combat advantage.
2. To get rid of summons. Not only do you get rid of the summon, but you can also damage and malmutate the summoner.

Also, this spell inflicts malmutate, a potent status. In addition to lowering AC, it lowers HD and willpower, making foes easier to disable with other Hexes.

Even if you don't use Yara's all the time, it can be great to have against enemies that buff themselves or summon enemies. Generally worth the spell levels.

Tips & Tricks

• There are many ways to hit monsters with a unravelling, even if they don't have buffs/summons of their own:
  • Hexers can use enchantments, like Slow, Inner Flame, or Dazzling Flash. Evocations experts can use a wand of paralysis or light. Other dispellable spells include the likes of Mephitic Cloud, Petrify, and Teleport Other.
  • Curare darts can be used on any enemy not resistant to poison, regardless of HD or willpower.
  • Your own summons can be unravelled. If at low HP, they might as well go in a blaze of glory (and mutagenic radiation). Note that the good gods forbid this kind of betrayal. Also, don't stand next to an unravelled summon!

Note that Yara's isn't an especially damaging spell. If you want pure damage, virtually any Conjurations spell will be better. However, the malmutate status can be very useful, lowering AC and making enemies easier to hex.

• In a pinch, casting Yara's Violent Unravelling on yourself can work as a poor man's potion of cancellation. However, this makes a lot of noise, inflicts heavy irresistible damage, and malmutates you, so this is best reserved for true emergencies.

History

• Prior to 0.28, Yara's Violent Unravelling was not smite-targeted and could not affect summons.
• In 0.27, more monster enchantments were made dispellable.
• Prior to 0.19, this spell was not considered destructive by Vehumet.
• This spell was introduced in 0.18.