Draft:Scroll of the warp

Omega 0.90.4

Scroll of the warp?TypeScrollBase value (Au)100Item level3Weight5Unidentified appearanceRandom inscriptionCursed nameScroll of the warp

A scroll of the warp moves the reader to a chosen depth within the current dungeon. It is a travel tool for skipping intervening floors, not a general return-to-town effect.

Generation

The warp belongs to the item-level-3 scroll pool. It can appear at the pawn shop and can be selected through blessed acquirement.

Description

The scroll functions only while the current environment is the current dungeon. Elsewhere it produces no travel, but reading still consumes it. An uncursed or blessed copy asks for a depth and accepts values from 1 to one less than that dungeon's maximum depth. A valid choice does not need to have been visited before.

An invalid depth is replaced with a random depth from that same range. A cursed copy also asks for a depth, but always replaces the answer with a random one. The maximum-depth final floor is outside both ranges. Positive blessing beyond uncursed and enchantment do not improve the result.

Changing depth removes the player's sanctuary location and places the player using the level-transition rules. Noncursed use identifies the scroll. This does not mark all skipped floors as explored or collect their contents.

Strategy

Use the warp to shorten a known journey or retreat toward the top of a dungeon. To reach the final floor, warp to the preceding floor and use the stairs. For example, Rampart Sewers ends at depth 18, so depth 17 is the deepest selectable warp destination.

Prepare for the destination's difficulty before skipping ahead. A shortcut can bypass useful treasure and encounters as well as danger. The warp spell supplies the controlled version of the same travel; teleportation is the alternative when the problem is position on the current floor. Reading a warp scroll while blinded or afraid is impossible, so keep those failure conditions in mind when relying on it for escape.