Sphinx marauder

Version 0.34: This article is up to date for the latest stable release of Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.

sphinx marauder H
HP	55-112
HD	13
XP	1620
Speed	12
AC	5
EV	12
Will	60
Attack¹	13 (pounce: airstrike)
Resistances	None
Vulnerabilities	None
Habitat	Land
Intelligence	Human
Uses	Starting equipment Open doors
Holiness	Natural
Size	Large
Type	sphinx, sphinx marauder
Flags	See invisible Flying Speaks Warm-blooded Fighter

A wicked youthful hybrid with a woman's head, a lion's body, and the wings of an eagle. It gleefully wreaks havoc with both the violent turbulence of high winds and the frustration of bewildering magics.

“Oedipus speaks: 'Far from me is the crime and shame of cowardice, and my
valour knows not dastard fears[...] The Sphinx, weaving her words in darkling
measures, I fled not; I faced the bloody jaws of the fell prophetess and the
ground white with scattered bones. And when from a lofty cliff, already
hovering over her prey, she prepared her pinions and, lashing her tail like
a savage lion, stirred up her threatening wrath, I asked her riddle.
Thereupon came a sound of dread; her jaws crashed, and her talons, brooking
no delay, eager for my vitals, tore at the rocks. The lot's intricate,
guile-entangled words, the grim riddle of the winged beast, I solved.'”
-Seneca, _Oedipus_, 1st cent. A.D.
trans. Frank Justus Miller, 1917.

Useful Info

Sphinx marauders are dangerous hexing hybrids that disable you at range and cause airstrikes when they hit you. Occasionally, they wear cloaks. They can be found rarely in the Shoals and in the Vaults with their stronger counterpart, the guardian sphinx.

Spells

Tile	Name	Damage	Range	Flags
	Confuse	—	LOS	Wizard flag
	Vex	—	LOS	Wizard flag

Tips & Tricks

Avoid open spaces when you see one of these. Being vexed in the open can lead to an effective one-round death, even for well-armored characters.

History

In 0.35, sphinx marauders can spawn with barding.
Prior to 0.34, sphinx marauders' airstrikes did slightly more damage on average, and they gave less XP.
Sphinx marauders were added in 0.33, split off from generic sphinxes.