Creature Special Attacks¶
Some creatures don't just trade blows. The dangerous ones wind up special attacks you can see coming - if you watch for the tell.
Impale¶
A telegraphed cone strike used by the heavier undead knights.
- When it's in melee, the creature sometimes shouts "winds up to impale" above its head, with a flash of energy and a sound. That's the tell.
- It stops moving for the entire 2.5-second windup - locked in place, facing wherever you stood when it told. About 2.5 seconds later it drives its blade forward, hitting only the single tile directly in front of it for its normal swing damage and opening a bleed (damage over time) on whatever it struck.
- The strike zone is that one tile in front of the creature. Take two steps in any direction during the windup and you dodge it. Just don't stand still in front of it.
- Melee fighters: side-step on the tell, then re-engage. Healers and ranged: stay off the line directly in front of it.
The bleed ticks for a few seconds after the hit. Bandage or heal through it.
Tuning (2026-05-27)¶
Impale used to hit a 4-tile cone for double damage on a 1.5-second tell, and the creature could shuffle mid-windup - in a tight pull, that was close to undodgeable. The retune turns it into a clean read-and-react: longer tell, one-tile strike zone, normal damage, and the creature holds still the whole windup. The bleed-on-hit shape is unchanged, but its total size scales with the (now smaller) hit damage.
Which creatures use it¶
| Creature | Notes |
|---|---|
| Barrow Knight | First tier of the knight line |
| Grave Knight | Tougher; same Impale |
| Dread Revenant | The deadliest of the three - its Impale hits hard |
More creatures will learn telegraphed specials over time. The rule never changes: if a creature tells, you have a moment to move.