Dystechnia

From Caves of Qud Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Dystechnia (D)
Dystechnia mutation.png
Category

Mental defect

Cost

-2

ExclusionsOther mutations that cannot be
selected with this mutation

Psychometry

ID?Use this ID to wish for the mutation
(example: mutation:Dystechnia)

Dystechnia

Reality DistortingReality distorting mutations
cannot be used under
the effects of normality.

no

Dystechnia (D)

You are befuddled by technological complexity.

You're much worse at examining artifacts.
You can't have artifacts identified for you because you don't understand their explanations.
When you fail severely during artifact examination, the artifact explodes.

Dystechnia (D) is a mental defect that makes the player much worse at artifact examination, and introduces a chance for artifacts to explode if the examination fails. Furthermore, the player cannot pay tinkers, such as Argyve, to inspect artifacts on their behalf.

Dystechnia (D) adds a -20 modifier to artifact examination attempts.

Failing an Artifact Examination

The weird artifact explodes!

If the player fails at examining an artifact with Dystechnia (D), the artifact will explode with a force equal to the artifact's complexity times a random number between 2400 and 3600[1] (note that explosive force is not the same as damage).

If the artifact is of tier 8 or higher, the explosion will be considered neutronic.[1]

The following is a list of all tier 8+ artifacts:

Disadvantages & Considerations

This section is opinion-based. Your mileage may vary.

Disadvantages

  • Only two points are gained from taking this defect
  • May not be considered a worthwhile tradeoff for being unable to identify artifacts

Considerations

  • Can be potentially offset by wearing multiple telescopic monocles, carrying a powered advanced toolkit, and having moderate to high intelligence
  • Other methods of identification exist that bypass Dystechnia entirely, such as Scanning or the identification effect of cooking with sun-dried bananas
  • Explosions may not be a significant danger at high levels with a lot of ♥HP
  • Can be an effective mechanical constraint for a no tinkering challenge run

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 XRL.World.Parts.Mutation.Dystechnia