Draft:Murk fungus

Omega 0.90.4

f Murk fungus
Form	Ordinary creature
Attacks	None; no defensive actions
Special abilities	Blinds nearby players and darkens a lit room
Base level	2
HP	7
Hit	0
Defense	0
Action interval	12 ticks; lower is faster
Kill experience	40, when death is in sight
Generation	Random pools and encounter details
Carried items	None at ordinary generation
Immunities	None innate
Remains	Murk cloud particles; 50% on normal death
Remains use	Poisonous food; scroll of light via alchemy
Traits Initially awake and hostile Stationary; poisonous remains
Reference	minit.h in Omega 0.90.4, line 85

A murk fungus is a stationary hostile monster that blinds nearby players and darkens its surroundings. It has no melee attack, but can make fighting other creatures much harder.

Generation

Murk fungi appear in ordinary random pools and the sewer population table. They start awake and hostile, with no ordinary starting possessions.

Spores and darkness

For the separate roles of true sight, gaze immunity and recovery, see Blindness.

When its special action runs within three squares of a player who is not already blinded, the fungus adds four blindness counts. True sight makes this blindness pass immediately. The effect does not make a gaze-immunity check.

One blindness count expires at a ten-minute recovery update indoors, or an hourly countryside update. Four counts can therefore disrupt exploration well beyond the immediate fight.

If the fungus stands on a lit square, the same action also performs six torch-use checks and darkens its room. Each check reduces remaining fuel for a lit torch in either hand; this can burn out a torch and advance through a stack. It is not an unconditional destruction of all light sources.

The usual special-action check happens on half of its pulses while within four squares. It can therefore darken a room from slightly farther away than it can blind you. Sanctuary suppresses the special action. The fungus has only 7 HP, no movement, no melee sequence and no innate immunity.

Remains

Normal death has a 50% chance of leaving murk cloud particles. These are poisonous food. At Ambrosias, they transform into a blessed scroll of light for 20 Au, or sell for 3 Au. Transformation replaces the selected stack with one scroll.

Strategy

Kill or bypass the fungus before closing with nearby enemies. Its low HP makes a prompt ranged kill useful, while its immobility lets you withdraw outside its effect radius. True sight addresses the blindness, but does not preserve torch fuel or room lighting. Carry another way to light an area if its special action has already extinguished your torch, and do not eat the particles for a light effect.