Mechanics
Mechanics are the systems in Caves of Qud which govern how various actions and interactions behave in the game.
For a full list of mechanics, please see Category:Mechanics. A non-exhaustive summary of the more central mechanics is included below.
Combat Mechanics
Mechanic | Description |
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Hitpoints (HP) | The amount of health a creature has. If this drops to zero, the creature dies. |
Armor (AV) | How heavily-armored a creature is. Defends against penetration in an attack roll. |
Dodge Value (DV) | How evasive a creature is. Defends against accuracy in an attack roll. |
Mental Armor (MA) | How shielded or resilient a creature's mind is, somewhat analogous to AV. Used when resisting various psychic attacks. |
Penetration | The ability of an attack to penetrate the target's AV. |
Accuracy | The ability of an attack to hit the target (contested by the target's DV). |
Quickness | How quickly a creature performs actions. More quickness means the creature can perform more actions each turn. |
Resistances | How resistant a creature is to various elemental effects. |
Item Mechanics
Mechanic | Description |
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Item Mods | The various modifications that can be applied to a base item, both by players with the appropriate Tinkering skill and by the game when it generates the item. |
Commerce | The mechanic governing how much various items are worth when trading with a creature. |
Artifact examination | The process by which the player can identify unidentified artifacts. |
Food/Drink Mechanics
Mechanic | Description |
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Hunger | How hungry the player character is. Hunger cannot kill the player, but becoming Famished! will inflict a quickness penalty. |
Thirst | How thirsty the player character is. Excessive thirst can kill the player. |
Cooking | The process by which a player cooks ingredients into useful food. Cooking is done at a campfire or clay oven. |
Cooking Effects | The special effects which the player gets by eating cooked meals. Different ingredients give different effects. |
Creature/Player Mechanics
Mechanic | Description |
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Attributes | A creature's stats. |
Reputation | How a creature is viewed by the various factions present in Caves of Qud. |
Glimmer | A stat increased by having a high number of high-level mental mutations. Represents how noticeable the player's mind is to psychic creatures (including those from other dimensions), with higher glimmer attracting more dangerous psychic assassins. |
Illnesses | Various non-fungal diseases which the player can contract in Qud. |
Fungal Infections | Various fungal diseases which the player can contract in Qud. |
Experience | The stat representing how seasoned and experienced a creature is. Experience is awarded for a variety of things, including killing creatures, completing quests, and giving books to Sheba Hagadias, Librarian of the Stilt. After gaining enough experience, a creature or player can level up. |
Effects | The various status effects that can be applied to an entity in Caves of Qud. |
World Mechanics
Mechanic | Description |
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Fast Travel | The mechanic allowing the player to quickly travel across the world map, at risk of getting lost. |
Zone Tier | A general description of how "high-level" a region of the map is. Higher-tier zones tend to have more dangerous creatures and better loot. |
Misc/General Mechanics
Mechanic | Description |
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Phase | A mechanic determining whether two entities can interact. Creatures/players/items/walls with the same phase can interact, those with different phases cannot. |
Quests | The objectives a player completes to guide them through the main storyline of Caves of Qud. |
Tier | A general description of how strong, good, valuable, or powerful something in Caves of Qud is. |
Water Ritual | A ritual in which two creatures share water and exchange secrets or ask for help. Performing the water ritual is the main way a player affects and uses their reputation in Caves of Qud. |