Drum of earthquake
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| |
|---|---|
| Name | drum of earthquake |
| Appearance | drum |
| Base price | 25 zm |
| Weight | 25 |
| Material | [[{{{material}}}]] |
| Monster use | Will not be used by monsters. |
A drum of earthquake is a magical drum. Applying a charged drum of earthquake will create several pits around (and possibly under) you, anger nearby peaceful monsters, and wake up (and possibly scare) all monsters on the level.[1] This will "produce a heavy, thunderous rolling!" A drum with no charges behaves like a leather drum.
The pits created by a drum of earthquake can destroy altars, even on undiggable dungeon levels. This is the only way to destroy the unaligned altars in the Valley of the Dead and Orcus-town. The high altars in Moloch's Sanctum and the Astral Plane are unaffected.
Drums of earthquake are atonal musical instruments, so they cannot be used to play the passtune.
Strategy
The drum of earthquake is a quirky item, to say the least. Its results are not unambiguously bad, but it is still hard to come up with good uses for it. It is perhaps the only item in the game capable of opening pits under squares the character is not currently standing on, but the number and distribution of the pits is randomized, so it can not be used to open a pit on a specific square. Perhaps some future genius will work out a brilliant drum of earthquake-based strategy that dominates the game, but until that happens, here are some ideas:
- Trap monsters in a pit(maybe) and pound them with a polearm or fire missiles at them in relative safety.
- If levitating, create an obstacle course to slow monsters pursuing you.
- Save it for polypiling; the drum is a magical tool, and may turn into a magic marker.
- Unload it in Moloch's Sanctum after grabbing the Amulet. Satisfying, but not really helpful in game terms.
References
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