Necromancer spells

[will_asher]

There are several necromancer spells that I don't see the point of. What benefit are these spells?
create darkness?
miasma?
shadow shift?
bat form? (I expected bat form to give a speed boost, but it doesn't)

EDIT: Okay I get shadow shift now. I think these spells could use better descriptions.

[Selkie]

Bat form increases movement speed which is even better than a speed boost! It also increases stealth which is very useful.

Create darkness is obvious. Necromancers fight in the shadows and lots of rooms are lit. Your casting chance increases the darker it is.

I hated miasma and found the drawbacks nearly always outweighed the power of the spell. But it is a strong offensive spell in the early game.

Shadowshift is a simple teleport spell.

If you're wondering why you have to take a penalty on some of these spells it's because necromancy is an evil and unnatural thing to do that corrupts the spirit and slowly destroys the individual. Power comes at a price

[wobbly]

bat form? (I expected bat form to give a speed boost, but it doesn't)

batform is +3 speed

https://github.com/angband/angband/blob/master/lib/gamedata/shape.txt

[Sphara]

I thought bat form gave +3 speed and +3 stealth? I don't have the new version at hand to check out if it's been changed, but it definitely didn't give +1 movement speed before. That would make it much stronger. #EDIT: ninja'ed by wobbly.

Bat form also gives SInvis, which is, ofc, nice.

Miasma does good damage but drawbacks are really annoying.
Create Darkness isn't a bread and butter spell. It does have its uses but I could live without it.
Shadow Shift is an excellent escape spell.

[Selkie]

I thought bat form gave +3 speed and +3 stealth? I don't have the new version at hand to check out if it's been changed, but it definitely didn't give +1 movement speed before. That would make it much stronger. #EDIT: ninja'ed by wobbly.

My bad, I'm currently playing a druid and (incorrectly) assumed it was similar to fox form. It's been a few months since I've played a necromancer

[will_asher]

Bat form increases movement speed which is even better than a speed boost! It also increases stealth which is very useful.

Create darkness is obvious. Necromancers fight in the shadows and lots of rooms are lit. Your casting chance increases the darker it is.

I hated miasma and found the drawbacks nearly always outweighed the power of the spell. But it is a strong offensive spell in the early game.

Shadowshift is a simple teleport spell.

If you're wondering why you have to take a penalty on some of these spells it's because necromancy is an evil and unnatural thing to do that corrupts the spirit and slowly destroys the individual. Power comes at a price

For some reason I didn't notice the +3 Speed status the first time I cast bad form. From the description, you can't tell the miasma does any damage.
Now I just think the spells need a better description so new players (or players new to the class like me) aren't completely confused by them.

[Nick]

For some reason I didn't notice the +3 Speed status the first time I cast bad form. From the description, you can't tell the miasma does any damage.
Now I just think the spells need a better description so new players (or players new to the class like me) aren't completely confused by them.

Have you done '?' to get the spell descriptions?

[will_asher]

Have you done '?' to get the spell descriptions?

Yes.
Create darkness says "Darkens all squares in a level-dependent area. If you are in a room, the entire room will be darkened as well."
It does not tell you that it does damage or that necromancers cast better in darkness.

Miasma says "Produces a cloud of hallucinogenic gas affecting the player and monsters within radius 4."
Again, it doesn't say it damages monsters.

Shadow Shift says "Displaces your spirit a short distance, hurting your body as it is dragged along."
This description makes it sounds like an ongoing effect, so I had to try it out to be able to tell that it's like phase door with a minor penalty.

Bat Form: "Changes you into the shape of a bat, weak but with excellent senses. While shapechanged you cannot use items."
It doesn't say it makes you faster.

Read Minds: "Detects all monsters which have a spirit in the immediate area,
and then maps in a region around them, increasing in size with character level."
This says that it maps near the monsters, but when I used it, all it did was detect monsters.

[Nick]

Create darkness says "Darkens all squares in a level-dependent area. If you are in a room, the entire room will be darkened as well."
It does not tell you that it does damage or that necromancers cast better in darkness.

Miasma says "Produces a cloud of hallucinogenic gas affecting the player and monsters within radius 4."
Again, it doesn't say it damages monsters.

Shadow Shift says "Displaces your spirit a short distance, hurting your body as it is dragged along."
This description makes it sounds like an ongoing effect, so I had to try it out to be able to tell that it's like phase door with a minor penalty.

Once you have cast these, there will be a note in the "Info" column of the spellbook saying how much damage they do and other details. Typically you do need to cast the spell successfully once to get a full understanding.

Bat Form: "Changes you into the shape of a bat, weak but with excellent senses. While shapechanged you cannot use items."
It doesn't say it makes you faster.

In the development version there is a knowledge menu of shapechange effects accessible from '~'. If you wait a short time, that will be available in 4.2.2

Read Minds: "Detects all monsters which have a spirit in the immediate area,
and then maps in a region around them, increasing in size with character level."
This says that it maps near the monsters, but when I used it, all it did was detect monsters.

The mapping effect starts from CL10.

[Selkie]

Just reading the data text file:

# combat:to-h:to-d:to-a

This is presumablt to hit, to damage - but what's the final figure (to-a)?

[fph]

Armor class?

[DavidMedley]

Armor class

[DavidMedley]

There are several necromancer spells that I don't see the point of. What benefit are these spells?
create darkness?
miasma?
shadow shift?
bat form? (I expected bat form to give a speed boost, but it doesn't)

EDIT: Okay I get shadow shift now. I think these spells could use better descriptions.

This may or may not be helpful:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nAVk2AodMHloqhLBzZm7p_s4mne3My4Kyo9wODJWAFQ/edit#gid=1880595985

[Nick]

Just reading the data text file:

# combat:to-h:to-d:to-a

This is presumablt to hit, to damage - but what's the final figure (to-a)?

Technically bonus to armor class, not base armor class.

[Selkie]

Technically bonus to armor class, not base armor class.

It's a bonus to the base armour class, right? So you have an AC of 10 and turn into a fox and have a new overall AC of 13.

Also, what's the skill save buff of 20 for the pukel-man? Is that just a saving throw boost?