Skills & Abilities
A reference of all known crawler skills observed through Book 1. Skills are leveled through use and are separate from class abilities or spells. Each crawler's skill list grows with combat and exploration.
Carl's Skills​
| Skill | Known Level | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Electrical Repair | 6 | Pre-dungeon skill from Coast Guard career |
| Swimming | 4 | Pre-dungeon |
| Pugilism | 4 → 6+ | Each level increases bare-knuckle damage by 25% |
| Unarmed Combat | 3 → 6 | General hand-to-hand proficiency |
| Foot Soldier | 3+ | Gained on level-up; increases kick damage |
| Smush | 3 → 5 | Killing with feet or bodyweight; +10% pressure per level |
| Powerful Strike | 3+ (boosted by Toe Ring) | Multiplies unarmed damage; +3 from Toe Ring of the Splatter Skunk |
| Iron Punch | 3 → 5 (+2 from War Gauntlet) | Increases enhanced fist damage by 10% per level |
| Jump Attack | 1+ | Jumping-based attacks |
| Explosives Handling | 5 → 7 | Higher levels reveal extra info when examining explosives |
| Dangerous Explosives Handling | 5 → 7 | Advanced explosive handling specialty |
| Goblin Explosives | 5 | Specialty in goblin-made explosives |
| IED | 3 → 7 | Improvised Explosive Device creation; +10% yield and halved premature detonation chance per level |
| Locomotion (Chopper Piloting) | 5+ | Operating the Goblin Chopper; throttle unlocks at level 5 |
| Determine Value | 1 → 2 | Adds sorting and history tabs to inventory; higher levels add pricing data |
| Slingshot | 5 | Low damage; can knock flying enemies (e.g., Brindled Vespas) out of the air |
| Dumpster Diving | 1+ | Looting proficiency |
| Frogger (1981 Video Game Cabinet Version) | 8 | Childhood high score; hidden by dungeon content filters |
Princess Donut's Skills​
| Skill | Known Level | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Magic Missile | 8 | Primary offensive spell; fires from her eyes |
| Light on Your Feet | 3 → 7 (with Talisman) | Increases pounce height and distance; talisman grants +4 |
| Slice Attack | 4 | Claw-based slashing attack |
| Back Claw | 4 | Rear-leg claw attack |
| Dodge | 4 | Evasion |
| Powerful Strike | 3+ | Multiplies claw/unarmed damage |
| Good First Impression | 5 (from Crown) | +5 granted by Crown of the Sepsis Whore |
Notable Skill System Descriptions​
The dungeon AI provides flavor text when certain skills level up. A selection:
Pugilism
The art of beating the shit out of your opponents with closed fists. Each level of this skill increases your bare-knuckle damage by 25%.
Smush (the AI's voice grows noticeably deeper and more throaty when describing this one)
Killing with your feet. Your bare, beautiful feet.
Taking your bare foot, placing it on top of a living, conscious life, and then pressing lovingly down until that life ceases to be. Is there a more noble way to kill?
The amount of pressure you can bring to bear upon an enemy with your unshod foot is increased by 10% with each level of this skill.
Iron Punch
When simple brutality isn't enough. Newsboy cap not included.
With a skill like this, you can always find work as a 1920s street tough or a collection agent for a bookie.
War gauntlets and lumpers will protect your hands and enhance your punching damage without losing your bare-knuckle bonus. Each level of this skill increases the enhanced fist damage bonus by an additional 10%.
IED
It's one thing to take a grenade and toss it. But it takes a set of brass balls the size of basilisk eggs to actually build a bomb. Especially with the unreliable crap you find down here. Every level of this skill increases the damage yield of improvised explosive devices by 10% and decreases the chances of a catastrophic, premature uh-oh by half.
Notes on Skill Progression​
- Skills level automatically through use, not through point allocation.
- Stat point distribution is locked until Floor 3, when race and class are chosen.
- Some skills can be boosted by equipment (see Equipment) or consumed via Skill Tonics.
- Carl invented a stackable weapon device (Carl's Jug O' Boom) during Book 1, earning a Dungeon Codex entry and leveling several explosives skills to 7.