History VideoGame / DungeonCrawl

* SwordBeam: The Sword of Power unique artifact was reworked in version 0.26; when striking an enemy, it has a chance (based on your current HP -- the more, the better) of firing a powerful but inaccurate rays in your target's direction.

* SymmetricEffect: Torment, Vulnerability, and Silence all affect everyone within sight, including the player or monster creating the effect. Immunity is very rare.

* ToughBeetles: The assorted beetle monsters that have been present throughout ''Crawl'''s history tended to be physically strong and durable, though most have since been removed due to also being [[MightyGlacier very slow]] opponents with no ranged capabilities. The one beetle still in the game, the boulder beetle, continues to play this trope straight, but moves at normal speed (and can even [[RollingAttack roll at foes]]).

** The undead are vulnerable to weapons of holy wrath (blessed by The Shining One, god of not-liking-unholy-stuff), and the Dispel Undead spell is essentially Crawl's version of Turn Undead - it is, however, a necromancy spell, meaning that any characters who want to be holy are forbidden from using it.

** Ijyb is also only dangerous if she's got a wand.

** Robin comes with a horde of goblins and hobgoblins, and can be a nuisance; however, as long as you [[FishingForMooks carefully pick off her support]], she's easy to kill.

** CoolSword: Long Blades, which range from the relatively small falchions to [[{{BFS}} great swords]] to the improbably effective [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon triple swords]]. In older versions, long blades could riposte to CounterAttack missed attacks; as of 0.29, their damage scales with dexterity instead of strength, making them well-suited to nimble fighters who prefer dodging attacks over wearing heavy armor.

** MartialArtsStaff: Comes in three flavors: plain quarterstaves, lajatangs (staves with blades on the ends), and [[MagicStaff magical staves]], which generally are [[MagicWand used to enhance your spellcasting]], but can have additional effects in combat (for example, a staff of fire will burn things you hit it with, a staff of poison will poison things, etc.). A quarterstaff is an easy and effective weapon for low-level characters, but the scarcity of staves means that your weapon upgrade opportunities will be limited if you choose to specialize in them (compared to, say, swords, which are abundantly available). Additionally, quarterstaves and lajatangs are two-handed weapons, so you won't be able to use a shield with them.

*** TheArcher: Bows have a good balance between speed and power and are fairly easy to find off of the [[HorseArcher centaurs]] you'll be fighting.

* AllYourPowersCombined: The eight Rings of the Octopus King and the Trident of the Octopus King. Each ring is a slightly improved version of mundane rings found in the dungeon that adds minor boosts to your stats. However, each ring also adds +2 to the enchantment of the trident. As an octopode (the only species capable of wearing all the rings at once), it's theoretically possible to have a ''+24'' venomous trident while having +8 to HP, AC, EV, and SH, as well as flight, increased spellcasting success, extra MP, the ability to see invisible creatures, and resistance to fire, ice, acid, [[LifeDrain negative energy]], poison, and electricity. In practice, however, it's highly unlikely you'll find more than one or two of these items in a single game.

** Hill Orc Priests of Beogh play this trope very straight. Beogh is an evil god who rewards killing, is stated to advocate the extermination or enslavement of non-orcs, and is generally kind of a {{Jerkass God|s}}. Worship them yourself and you'll be subjected to gushing praise by most of the orcs you come across who consider you their savior.
** Also worth mentioning is the enemy counterpart to the Hill Orc Priest, Saint Roka - a unique enemy cave orc. They have the same powers as a player priest of Beogh, including the ability to walk on water and a herd of adoring orcish followers who will lay down their lives for them. If the player character is a Hill Orc Priest of Beogh and has high enough piety, there's a chance that they can even convert Saint Roka themselves to their cause.

** Also worth mentioning is the enemy counterpart to the Hill Orc Priest, Saint Roka - a unique enemy cave orc. He has the same powers as a player priest of Beogh, including the ability to walk on water and a herd of adoring orcish followers who will lay down their lives for him. If the player character is a Hill Orc Priest of Beogh and has high enough piety, there's a chance that they can even convert Saint Roka himself to their cause.

** Usually, your standing with your god is indicated by a bar of 1 to 6 asterisks. However, for players who worship the chaos god Xom, there is absolutely nothing they can do to influence Xom's mood, so the asterisks simply dance around randomly and convey no meaning.

** Kobolds and Halflings don't run faster than standard characters, but they do have reduced hit points, very good dodging aptitudes, and are encouraged to use the weapon school with the smallest attack delay.
* FriendToAllLivingThings:
** Followers of Elyvilon get the ability to pacify monsters, turning them neutral (which, for some reason, doesn't ''actually'' turn them friendly, just neutral; they'll still attack if you're in their way). They'll also attack hostile monsters, which you can sometimes exploit.

** A little bar of 1 to 6 asterisks indicates your standing with your god.

* NonHumanUndead: It's actually quite unus to see a human zombie, since the game allows undead of pretty much any species, and humans aren't very common enemies. There are also profane servitors, [[FallenAngel zombie angels]] raised for service by the unholy god Yredelemnul.

** ZigZagged: For player characters the delay between attacks depends on the weapon's base attack delay and the user's skill with the weapon. NPCs attack once per global turn, meaning they attack faster than normal with heavy weapons such as scythes or giant clubs, but slower with daggers and shortswords.

** Inversion: Deep Dwarves have a damage shaving feature that reduces all damage they take, but they [[BlessedWithSuck don't naturally regenerate HP.]] In prior versions, they needed they needed to use magical devices, potions, divine help, or magic to heal. However, instead of starting with a wand of healing and the ability to recharge wands, they can now use their MP to heal, with a 25% of losing 1 permanent MP per heal. Deep Dwarves can be a difficult race to play, but are very popular for real-time and turn-count speedrunning.

* SelfImposedChallenge:
** You only need 3 runes to unlock the [[VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Realm of Zot]], but many players go for more in bonus levels (a total of 15 can generate in any single game). When this wasn't enough, the developers started adding clearly uncompetitive joke builds. Enjoy your [[IntelligentGerbil Felid]] [[MasterOfNone Wanderer]] of [[MadGod Xom]].
*** In keeping with the challenge of collecting excess runes, prior to version 0.9 it was possible to obtain an infinite number of "Demonic Runes" from the endless demonic realms of Pandemonium. The record was ''over 250 runes''. This was eventually changed so demonic runes would stop generating after you got one.
** Some players may also go for {{Speedrun}}s (lowest number of turns, fastest real time), or ascend with the lowest level humanly possible.
** Another popular challenge is the "only move forward" game. You are not allowed to move back over any space you've already covered (unless you hit a dead end), and you must take the first down stair you see even if you don't think you're ready.
** The yearly tournaments award players points for successfully completing these. You get lots of points if you do [[BonusLevelOfHell The Tomb]] ''after'' you grab the Orb of Zot (which means you're facing both the native hordes of mummies as well as the [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils archdemons]] that keep popping in trying to get the orb back).
** There's also the "Makhbat" challenge, which revolves around playing a vampire of Makhleb who remains in bat form (where virtually your only means of attack is using the combat invocations Makhleb gives you).
** The Necro challenge, where only pure Necromancy spells that do not create allies can be used. No Regeneration or Bolt of Draining, no Animate Dead or Simulacrum, no melee or ranged weapons, no throwing weapons, no evocables, no spells from other schools... The only spells left to you are [[AgonyBeam Pain]], [[PercentDamageAttack Agony]], VampiricDraining, [[TurnUndead Dispel Undead]], [[CastFromHitPoints Sublimation of Blood]], [[MaximumHPReduction Borgnjor's Revivification]], and [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique Death's Door]].

** Spriggans and felids are faster than ordinary enemies, but at a price. Spriggans cannot wear many types of armor (including gloves, boots, and any form of body armor that isn't a OneSizeFitsAll like robes or dragon scales) and are [[FragileSpeedster painfully fragile]]. Felids, meanwhile, can't use ''any'' weapons or armor and are ''even more'' fragile, though at least they get [[VideoGameLives extra lives]] to compensate.

* ScaryStingingSwarm: Swarms of killer bees can be found in the game; they are extremely fast and their stings can quickly inject lethal amounts of poison. Sometimes, you can find a beehive, which contains a great many bees as well as a queen bee, which can send the other bees berserk. Farther down the dungeon, you can start running into meliai, which are bee-person priestesses that add smiting and an axe into the mix. When fighting [[WhenTreesAttack shambling mangroves]] in the [[BubblegloopSwamp Swamp]], sometimes you'll wind up agitating a hive of hornets with paralytic stings that was in their branches.

** If you get Polymorphed, you'll be Mode Locked into that form until it wears off, even if you know the spell that lets you [[VoluntaryShapeshifting assume that form at will]].

* SuckingInLines: Unlike most spells which hit the enemy instantly, the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Orb of Destruction]] spends its first turn hovering stationary in front of the caster. On turn two it takes off, rapidly gaining speed and power before enveloping the target in a tender [[LudicrousGibs 9d21 embrace]]. (For the lay person, 9d21 can potentially translate to 150+ damage. ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill, indeed.)

*** Crazy Yiuf, a named gnoll. So dangerous that he's not even allowed to wander the dungeon - he lives in a special pre-designed area behind a runed door that you have to choose to open. Why is he so dangerous? He always spawns with a quarterstaff of chaos, an unpredictable weapon that could heal you, turn you invisible, or (far more likely) electrocute you for enough damage to one-shot most low-level characters.

* MasterOfNone: Player gnolls are this; it's intrinsically ''impossible'' for them specialize in anything, by design.

** The unique enemies have names; when you see one, you know you're in for a more difficult battle than normal. As of 0.15, they even have [[RedBaron their own titles]], such as "Eustachio the Magnificent" or "Snorg the Insatiable".

* NonHumanUndead: It's actually quite rare to see a human zombie, since the game allows undead of pretty much any species, and humans aren't very common enemies. There are also profane servitors, [[FallenAngel zombie angels]] raised for service by the unholy god Yredelemnul.

* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: Not quite, but still [[MassiveRaceSelection playable]]. Deep Dwarves are tough and capable necromancers and priests, but they lack natural regeneration. The Mountain Dwarves that were present in earlier versions resembled the traditional Tolkeinian dwarves more.

* OurGhostsAreDifferent: [[UndeathAlwaysEnds And slayable!]] ([[RunningGag Get]] [[IncrediblyLamePun it?]]) A player character who dies may leave a ghost that carries on most of the deceased player's abilities and weaknesses as well as a [[GhostlyGoals fair share of hatred]] towards anyone attempting to complete the Orb quest - that is, [[MacroGame new player characters]].
* OurGhoulsAreCreepier: [[MassiveRaceSelection And playable!]] They have claws, high strength, a nice set of immunities, and heal when they kill things, but also have [[DumbMuscle the lowest base intelligence in the game]] and do not regenerate naturally when monsters are nearby.
* OurGoblinsAreDifferent: [[DefiedTrope But not playable]], unless you count kobolds, who make acceptable mages and are quite good at stealth and [[BackStab backstabbing]], especially since they naturally see less of the dungeon than normal.

** And playable - not as a race, but as a form. The player can learn the Necromutation spell, which will result in a temporary transformation into a lich. As a result, the player gains improved stats, a fairly potent draining touch and the various resistances and vulnerabilities associated with being undead. There are downsides, though: you can't drink potions anymore, and if you worship one of the good gods and cast the spell, you're instantly excommunicated.

* OurMermaidsAreDifferent: [[MassiveRaceSelection And playable!]] They're of the "tails transform into legs" type, and are as capable on land as any other race. They get major bonuses to speed and evasion in water, and they have ''the'' best [[BladeOnAStick polearms]] aptitude of any race.

* OurVampiresAreDifferent: [[OverlyLongGag And playable!]] Crawl's vampires can voluntarily switch between being alive and undead, by either shedding or replenishing all their blood. A "living" vampire has enhanced healing, but otherwise has the same vulnerabilities as any living creature in addition to weaknesses to [[HolyBurnsEvil holy weapons and magic]]. An undead vampire is frail and doesn't heal very well, but is incredibly stealthy, resists many things that would harm a living creature, and can transform into a bat if it needs a quick escape.

** A little bar of 1 to 6 asterisks indicates your standing with your god. However, for players who worship the chaos god Xom, there is absolutely nothing they can do to influence Xom's mood, so the asterisks simply dance around randomly and convey no meaning.

* PoisonIsEvil: In previous versions, The Shining One, god of goodness and paladins, included using poison against enemies in its long list of "thou shalt nots". That said, the Shining One didn't consider it to be nearly as bad as, say, necromancy and would allow the use of poison against unintelligent creatures like animals and bugs, as well as against evil creatures. (Though, to be fair, the list of evil creatures is mostly undead and demons, almost all of which are immune to poison anyway.)

*** The potion of mutation inflicts random mutations on you, which can be good; however, you can just as easily get negative mutations this way.
*** The potion of attraction will temporarily pull monsters close to you. While this can be helpful for fighting opponents with potent ranged attacks or for stabbing sleeping monsters without waking them up, you can't choose ''not'' to attract monsters, even if they're ones you would really rather not stand next to.
** There used to be more potions that inflicted deleterious status effects such as confusion, poison, decay, etc., but these were phased out. Even these used to be useful thanks to the spell Evaporate, which flash-boiled a potion to create an improvised hand-grenade and would apply any effects of a negative potion to the resulting steam cloud. (For ecample, potions of decay would create clouds of miasma instead of normal steam.) When Evaporate was removed in 0.12, there was no longer any worthwhile reason to use these potions, so they've been gradually phased out.

** Tengu, a race of bird people; they don't have wings, but they get the ability to magically fly anyway upon reaching level 5.

* PowersViaWeapon: The main reason artifact weapons are desirable, aside from their typically high stats, is that they grant additional abilities and resistances when wielded.

* PrecisionGuidedBoomerang: Boomerangs are a ranged weapon which, as expected, return to the thrower after being thrown, allowing them to be reused. Previous versions had weapons of returning, which were specifically enchanted to return when thrown.

** InUniverse, Xom is a god of Chaos that grants you rewards and punishments that are largely random. Xom is also possibly the only deity in anything that literally [[LampshadeHanging calls itself the Random Number God]]. (Some of the time, at least -- Xom can be referred to by several different titles, one of which is periodically chosen randomly.)

** Djinn don't use spell books; instead, they are gifted a random new spell every few levels. While they can use all schools of magic equally well, you're not guaranteed to wind up with spells you want (or that are particularly useful).

*** Vehumet is the god of destructive magic, and will assist you in learning spells as long as they involve blowing stuff up.
* ReligionOfEvil: Some gods are tagged as evil by the game. In general, their followers don't act much differently from most other gods (most gods don't care from whom the blood flows, so long as it does), but the triumvirate of Good hate these gods above all others.

** Kikubaaqudgha is the god of pain, torment and necromancers.
** Beogh is the god of orcish war, bloodshed and a [[DarkMessiah messianic crusade]] to bring the world under orcish domination. Notably, it acts very much like a Good deity...''toward orcs''. Everyone else is fair game to be killed.

** Makhleb is a ChaoticEvil god of destruction, bloodshed and demons, one of the many seeking the world's destruction. [[invoked]]

* DevilsPitchfork: Hell Knights and other demon-aligned monsters can carry demon tridents.

** [[CarryABigStick Maces & Flails]] don't do anything special like other kinds of weapons ([[CoolSword Long Blades]] use dexterity instead of strength, [[AnAxeToGrind Axes]] can cleave to hit multiple creatures at once, [[BladeOnAStick Polearms]] give your attacks a longer reach), but they feature solid, dependable damage at decent speed for moderate skill investment.

*** A downplayed example: Ignacio the demon executioner. Sure he has the same super speed all executioner demons have, but his [[AnAxeToGrind heavily enchanted executioner's axe]] takes his power to a whole new level.

** AnAxeToGrind: Axes are fairly strong weapons that can cleave through to hit multiple targets. To compensate, they tend to be fairly slow.

* WeaponOfChoice: ''Crawl'' features plenty of different kinds of weaponry with which to bludgeon, bisect, behead, dismember, and otherwise murderize your foes.

* GardenOfEvil: Oklob plants form these. They are large plants that spit acid at the player with stunning accuracy; staying in one's range for too long is going to hurt both the player character and their precious equipment. Worshipers of Fehdas Madash can even grow said Oklob plants.

** Played straight with Formicids, who can wield two-handed weapons as if they were one-handed thanks to having four arms and being StrongAnts. They're still not quite strong enough for ogre-sized giant clubs, though.

* StrongAnts: The Formicids, a race of ant people. Their four arms combined with insect-style strength allow them to wield [[OneHandedZweihander two-handed weapons]] and a shield simultaneously, though they can't quite lift ogre-sized weapons.

** CarryABigStick[=/=]EpicFlail: The Maces & Flails category, which also includes [[WhipItGood whips]] and [[DropTheHammer hammers]]. [[BoringButPractical While they may not do anything fancy]], they have several good options for both one- and two-handed use, and ogres and trolls can use the phenomenally powerful giant clubs and giant spiked clubs. Also, none of the Maces & Flails will [[HydraProblem chop off hydra heads]].
** CoolSword: Long Blades, which range from the relatively small falchions to [[{{BFS}} great swords]] to the improbably effective [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon triple swords]]. As of version 0.19, all Long Blades can perform a counter attack called a riposte against any attack that misses you.
** DeviousDaggers: Short Blades; many of them are rather longer than a knife, but they're still considered shorter than the [[CoolSword Long Blades]]. They're very fast and are great for {{Back Stab}}bing things, but have trouble with heavily armored opponents.

** Then, in terms of ranged weaponry, you have:

*** Crossbows are more powerful and accurate than bows, but slower. There aren't any {{Automatic Crossbow}}s, but a high enough skill level lets you reload one pretty darned fast.
*** SufferTheSlings: Slings are faster than bows or crossbows, but don't do as much damage. On the plus side, they can still be used effectively with a shield.
*** Throwing weapons, including darts, [[BattleBoomerang boomerangs]], and [[JavelinThrower javelins]], are also available. They aren't quite as effective as weapons that require a launcher, but you don't need a free hand to throw them, they can still do considerable amounts of damage in the hands of a skilled user, and they also have innate properties to make up for the lack of weapon enchantment (darts are tipped with various kinds of [[PoisonedWeapons poison]] that can inflict StatusEffects, [[PrecisionGuidedBoomerang boomerangs return to the user]], and javelins pierce through everything in their path). Ogre-sized players gain access to large rocks, which are some of the most damaging projectiles out there despite having no other special properties.

** Shambling mangroves are big threats in the Swamp. Their heavy blows are tempered by slower-than-average movement, though they have quite a few abilities to compensate: unimpeded movement through the bog water that can slow down players, entangling roots that slow movement down even further, and the occasional nest of paralytic hornets that is aggravated by outside assaults...

** Players may drink potions of lignification to turn into animate trees. You can't move and can barely dodge, but squishier characters can get a much-needed defense boost along with resistance to poison and complete immunity to [[LifeDrain negative energy attacks]].

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Louise the Corrupted apparently started out as an adventurer just like you, but became trapped in the chaotic Abyss for almost a decade. Years of surviving the abyssal horrors made her incredibly powerful, but she is also completely insane.

* MagicWand: ''Crawl'' does feature a number of magic wands, but those more closely fit the BoomStick trope. It's actually the magical staves that are {{Magic Wand}}s; for example, the staff of channeling allows the player to regenerate their magic points, the staff of wizardry makes it easier to cast spells, and there are staves for most of the schools of magic that boost the power of spells in those schools.

** Transmuters eventually get access to forms which let them deal massive damage in melee and often grant resistances or extra health. It takes a long time to get those spells, however, and in the meantime they suffer a lot of drawbacks compared to other classes - they can't easily wear heavy armor (it interferes with spellcasting) yet they still have to engage in melee; they are often fighting unarmed; they have to split their skill points between combat and spellcasting in order to access the higher level spells; and even if they do manage to pick up some decent lightweight armor, they cannot benefit from it when transformed as it will merge with their body until they change back.

** Before their removal, Flaming Corpses were literal men on fire; more precisely, they were the reanimated remains of people who burned to death. They existed only to set other things ablaze -- namely you. And they ran faster than you unless you were playing a fast race like a centaur or a spriggan.
* MassiveRaceSelection: The latest version has 27 playable species, most with odd natural abilities/disadvantages (the large races, for example, cannot wear most of the armour in the game).

** ''Crawl'' also has Maximum MP Damage, though only deep dwarves have to worry about it; deep dwarves have an emergency ability that can instantly heal you much like drinking a potion of heal wounds, but it has a chance of permanently removing one of your maximum MP. In older versions, player mummies had an ability that could restore their stats and some rotted HP at the cost of one point of maximum MP.

** Cheibrados is the god of this. Following it reduces your movement speed to the point where moving in combat is extremely dangerous (as everything attacking you will get in several free hits), but your stats are greatly enhanced and you gain some extremely powerful abilities. Since your stats govern your dodging and shield abilities, this also makes you quite tanky.

* MookMedic: Groups of orcs will often have an orc priest with them who can provide healing support. Gnoll shamans fulfil a similar role in gnoll packs.

* MothMenace: Ghost moths are permanently invisible, drain the player's magic, and have a poisonous, stat-draining bite. Slightly less threatening are moths of wrath, which can cause nearby enemies to go berserk.

* MultiRangedMaster: Similarly, players can master different kinds of ranged weapons, though only throwing weapons and [[SufferTheSlings slings]] crosstrain with each other.

** Transforming oneself into a giant ice beast is very effective when fighting monsters not resistant to cold. However, transmuters can also use the spell to cross ponds of water with ease. Said ice beast also happens to be resistant to poison, making it useful for eating poisonous corpses.

* BalefulPolymorph:
** Circe ([[SpellMyNameWithAnS called Kirke in this game]]) is a unique sorceress, and like in the classic story, she has a spell that turns you into a pig. She is also surrounded by pigs that change back into humans when you beat her.
** Prince Ribbit has this trope as his backstory, inspired by the [[Creator/TheBrothersGrimm Brothers Grimm]] fairy tale "Literature/TheFrogPrince". He's a human [[BewitchedAmphibians trapped in the body of a frog]], although you only discover this after killing him, which [[NoOntologicalInertia reverts his body back to its original form]].
** The wand of polymorph allows you to inflict this on enemies (or them on you, if you're unlucky). If you target an enemy, the game will generate three possible target forms for them, one of which will be chosen randomly if the polymorph succeeds. This is particularly good for depriving humanoids of the weapons and magic that make them dangerous, although it is possible to create a much worse threat than the original if you're not careful.

* FlyingWeapon: The spell Tukima's Dance will temporarily animate an enemy's weapon into a Dancing Weapon, which will float around and attack on its own (previous versions had it animate the user's weapon instead). There's also the Hall of Blades and the (now removed) Tukima's Studio sublevels, which are both full of {{Flying Weapon}}s.

* HealingPotion: ''Crawl'' uses two kinds of healing potion. Potions of curing heal only a small amount of HP, but will cure you of any negative status effects. The other type, potions of heal wounds, offer a much larger chunk of pure hit-point healing. The latter used to also be available in the form of a wand of heal wounds, which has since been removed; wands used to be favored a bit more than the potion version before item destruction was removed.

** The Abyss is this crossed with HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace. The realm of Lugonu the Unformed is a series of five endless, constantly-shifting planes that serve as a garbage dump for banished creatures and a native home for {{Eldritch Abomination}}s. There's one rune to be found there, though its location is ever-changing until you find it.

** Prior to version 0.15, holy monsters ''might'' spare you from attack even if you were a pious worshipper of a good god, but this protection was not guaranteed. In later versions, they don't even make that distinction and will attempt to destroy any player character on sight regardless of which god they worship. At least The Shining One no longer smites you when you kill holy creatures.

* HumansAreAverage: Mostly played straight; humans get no special abilities and have average apitudes, but they're tied with [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent kobolds]] and {{halfling}}s for fastest level gain in the game. Thanks to the game's AntiGrinding philosophy, this means they're able to avoid CantCatchUp.

* HumanShield: If under ranged attack, you can try to use another enemy as cover. Of course, this only works if your attacker actually cares about collateral damage. Dragons will happily incinerate allies to get to you.

* InvisibleMonsters: Unseen horrors are naturally invisible (and horrible). Several spellcasters can ''turn'' invisible temporarily, but you could walk right into an unseen horror while it is asleep without seeing it. Fortunately, there are ways to see invisible creatures -- certain races can see invisible on their own (Felids, Nagas, Spriggans, Vampires, and Palentongas), and others can use a ring, enchanted hat, or random artifact (though such equipment is often quite rare). Alternatively, you can use a divine halo, force them to move into something that would be displaced (like fog or water), or just set them on fire. Even if you lack all of these powers, invisible monsters can sometimes be discerned by the disturbances in the air the make, indicated by a humanoid outline. If you have a rough idea where they are, you can drop an area-effect spell or ability on them, and if you're fighting one in a one-tile wide corridor, that means you can just keep swinging in a single direction, shoot down the corridor or use beam spells, items, and abilities - you're bound to hit it at least some of the time.

* LetsFightLikeGentlemen: The Shining One demands this of its followers. In practice, this means that the character worshiping The Shining One is punished for using {{Back Stab}}s or [[BlackMagic necromancy]]. Older versions also included poison in the list of disapproved tactics.

** Lehudib'sCrystalSpear: The absolute strongest single-target attack spell in the game (that isn't a OneHitKill, at least), but has a short range and is somewhat inaccurate.

* DungeonShop: Played straight in that shops do appear seemingly randomly throughout the dungeon - however, this may be a JustifiedTrope, as the game canonically contains "interdimensional caravans" which appear to use portals to travel from place to place. There is also a god of gold, Gozag, who can summon merchants into the dungeon.

* EldritchLocation: The Abyss is a plane of chaos with no recognizable structure, so alien and twisted that even the unfathomable Zot cannot pursue the player here - which is not much of a consolation, because the Abyss is one of the more dangerous places to find yourself. The realm is full of demons and {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, and its layout twists and warps constantly, pulling you deeper and deeper into its depths the longer you stay there. It's also the place where the evil god Lugonu the Unformed lives. Followers of Lugonu can get the ability to jump in and out of the Abyss at will, as well as banish other creatures to the Abyss.

* ElementalArmor: Ozocubu's Armor is a spell that generates armor made of ice.

** The Sandblast spell requires rocks to be used as a base component. Older versions gave you the option of casting it without rocks at the cost of decreased power and range.

* EmotionBomb: The Anguish spell can cause enemies to become stricken with guilt, causing them to experience the pain of any injury that they inflict upon you.

* EvilIsEasy: Played straight with the gods. Good gods hold their followers to much higher standards compared to evil gods. All of the good gods have long laundry lists of things that they dislike. Compare this to the evil gods: Beogh only has one real BerserkButton (desecrating orc corpses and altars). Kikubaquudgha and Mahkleb don't even have that — the only way to upset them is abandonment.

* FallenAngel: Profane Servitors, ex-Angels/Daevas corrupted by Yredelemnul, are much stronger than regular Angels and come with an aura that shields everything that tries to kill you. [[CrossMeltingAura They're also immune to holy damage]]. Worshiping Yredelemnul only protects you from the aura.

** Zealot - Includes every class that starts out with a religion: berserkers, chaos knights, and abyssal knights.

** All the good gods will occasionally protect you from damage that would have killed you. It's not a reliable way to escape death, though -- at most it buys you one more turn.