Protean progenitor

Version 0.32: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

For a list of all giants, see list of giants.

protean progenitor C
HP	54-110
HD	14
XP	1307
Speed	14
AC	7
EV	8
Will	120
Attack1	55 (random: plain)
Resistances	rPois+
Vulnerabilities	Silver
Habitat	Land
Intelligence	Human
Uses	Open doors
Holiness	Natural
Size	Giant
Type	giant, protean progenitor
Flags	Warm-blooded Speaks No poly Regenerates No zombie No gen derived

A gargantuan humanoid of fractured shape from the aeons when the seas were but primordial soup. The many shapeshifters of the dungeon once sloughed off from these unfathomably ancient beings, and when they themselves finally cease, even their remains will give birth one last time to furious monsters. “I call upon Proteus, key-holding master of the sea, first-born, who showed the beginnings of all nature, changing matter into a great variety of forms. Honored by all, he is wise, and he knows what is now, what was before, and what will be in the future. He has all at his disposal, transformed far beyond all other immortals who dwell on snowy Olympos and fly through the air and over land and sea, for Physis was the first to place everything in Proteus. Father, attended by holy providence, visit the mystic initiates, and bring a good end to a life of industry and prosperity.” -_The Orphic Hymns_, XXV. trans. Apostolos N. Athanassakis and Benjamin M. Wolkow, 2013.

Useful Info

Protean progenitors are primordial, unstable, and giant monsters. On their own, they are fast, hit hard, regenerate very quickly and cast Irradiate. On death, they will split into aspiring flesh. They appear in the Realm of Zot and the domain of Mnoleg, usually in pairs.

Tips & Tricks

• Protean progenitors are essentially more dangerous Orb Guardians that appear in pairs. Try to fight them individually.
• Try not to remain in melee range with them for too long, or you could end up severely contaminated.
• Due to their very fast regeneration, if you disengage from a battle with them for even a short amount of time they will likely have recovered back to full health.
• Protean progenitors are vulnerable to silver.

Spells

Tile	Name	Damage	Range	Flags
	Irradiate	3d25	1	Wizard flag

Aspiring flesh

aspiring flesh *
HP	87-177
HD	12
XP	0
Speed	10 (stationary)
AC	2
EV	0
Will	∞
Resistances	rDrown rPois+
Vulnerabilities	None
Habitat	Amphibious
Intelligence	Brainless
Uses	Uses nothing
Holiness	Natural
Size	Large
Type	aspiring flesh, aspiring flesh
Flags	No poly Regenerates Stationary No skeleton No zombie No gen derived No experience gain

The divided and churning remains of a protean progenitor, striving desperately for form. Whatever they become, the last of their progenitor's power ensure it will be stronger and swifter than any such creature found elsewhere in the dungeon.

When a protean progenitor dies, it splits into 2-4 aspiring flesh. After a few turns, an aspiring flesh will transform into a permanently hasted and mighted copy of a given monster.

• Aspiring flesh transforms one at a time. The first aspiring flesh takes 2-4 turns to transform. Each flesh thereafter takes 1-2 turns longer than the previous.
• All aspiring flesh from the same progenitor will turn into the same type of monster. This monster is determined when the progenitor dies. ("For just a moment, the protean progenitor begins to look like <monster>, then it explodes!") The more HD said monster has, the less flesh is created. The HD of chosen monsters is around 12, but can vary greatly (scorpions have been seen to spawn from them.)
• Aspiring flesh can be killed to prevent the monsters from being created.

Tips & Tricks

• Aspiring flesh can be difficult to destroy in the few turns that it exists for. Try not to focus on it if there are other threats nearby.
• Take note of what monster will spawn from the aspiring flesh. Hasted and mighted bunyips are nothing to scoff at, even for Zot characters.
  • They can turn into just about any natural monster, so watch out for odd interactions. For example, they can turn into an eye of devastation, which can strip your willpower as you're next to a dread lich.
• You can use Yara's Violent Unravelling or a wand of quicksilver to remove the haste and might from aspiring flesh-created monsters.

History

• Prior to 0.32, protean progenitors could see invisible. Also introduced in this version was the ability to see what the aspiring flesh will turn into simply by inspecting one.
• In 0.31, protean progenitors and aspiring flesh were introduced.