Cthangband Mindcrafting

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Mindcrafting is a form of magic. It does not depend on any other entity, charm, or spirit, and can be done without books. The power comes from or through the caster, and is in the form of "chi". The one thing that will impede the power is to wear a helmet that does not either confer ESP or raise the wearer's wisdom. That will reduce the amount of chi the caster can use.

Mindcrafting is useful because it requires nothing to carry, and has some potent abilities. It has relatively few abilities compared to most of the other sorts of Cthangband magic, but these abilities gain power and utility as the caster becomes more skillful, giving it versatility, although not so much as other forms.

Simply knowing mindcrafting at a high level is useful, since anybody with a mindcrafting skill of 80% or more automatically possesses ESP.

To use a mindcrafting ability, type "P" in the original keyset or "^m" in the roguelike, select the power, select the target (if necessary), and things will happen. The caster must not be confused, and it is advisable to have enough chi for the casting. Although the caster can use mindcrafting abilities when low on chi, there are consequences.

These are the various mindcrafting abilities:

Precognition (0% skill, 1 Chi)
- 0% skill: detect nearby monsters.
- 10% skill: detect nearby monsters and traps.
- 30% skill: detect nearby monsters, traps, and secret doors.
- 40% skill: detect nearby monsters, traps, secret doors, and give a mental image of the surroundings.
- 50% skill: detect nearby monsters, traps, secret doors, give a mental image of the surroundings, and confer ESP for a while.
- 60% skill: detect everything nearby, give a mental image of the surroundings, and confer ESP for a while (characters of skill of 80% or more have ESP anyway, of course).
Neural Blast (2% skill, 1 Chi)
This skill fires a blast of mental energy at a target, doing damage based on the caster's skill modified by the nature of the target's mind. With increasing skill, the blast may affect some sort of area rather than just one creature.
Minor Displacement (6% skill, 2 Chi)
Teleports the caster a short distance. If the caster's skill is 50% or more, it will allow the caster to choose his or her destination.
Major Displacement (14% skill, 6 chi)
Teleports the caster a long distance. If the caster has a skill of 60% or more, it also teleports nearby creatures randomly.
Domination (18% skill, 7 chi)
Charms one or (at 60% skill) a group of creature, making it or them your temporary ally.
Pulverise (22% skill, 7 chi)
Creates a telekinetic wave that bursts into a damaging ball of sound energy at the desired target. (Despite the name, it doesn't do anything to walls.)
Character Armor (26% skill, 12 Chi)
Provides additional protection for the character in the form of increased armor class, and can provide additional temporary resistance to damage.
- 30% skill: resist acid.
- 40% skill: resist acid and fire.
- 50% skill: resist acid, fire, and cold.
- 60% skill: resist acid, fire, cold, and electricity.
- 70% skill: resist acid, fire, cold, electricity, and poison.
Psychometry (30% skill, 12 Chi)
Psychometry gives a feel for the nature of a potentially magical item. At 80% skill, it identifies its name and nature.
Mind Wave (36% skill, 10 Chi)
Tries to kill a nearby monster (or, at 50% skill, all visible monsters) by directly attacking its or their brains.
Adrenaline Channeling (46% skill, 15 Chi)
Clears pain and fear from the mind, negates stunning, recovers hit points, allows the caster to move faster for a time, and makes the caster feel heroic. At 70% skill, the caster feels exceptionally heroic.
Psychic Drain (50% skill, 10 Chi)
Sends a ball of psychic disruption that channels the chi of other creatures back to the caster.
Telekinetic Wave (58% skill, 20 Chi)
Sends out a wave of telekinetic force that hurts all nearby creatures.