| abstract
| - Mindcrafters are the psion Class that specializes in confusing and killing their enemies with their brain. The catch is that the target has to possess a mind for it to work - thus, Mind Blast, Confusion Blast and their upgrades do not work on mindless beings. Worse, linking to undead damages the caster. Until they reach lvl 15 and unlock Telekinetic Blast, the player will have to find alternative means of dealing with both. Other drawbacks exist. They are very bad at learning spells from books, although they can bookcast if they get lucky with a Potion of wonder or Wand of wonder. Wands are thus very important - though Mindcrafters all receive a wand at the start, a Wand of fire or similar can mean the difference between living through their first battle and getting killed by an outlaw. Linking with corrupted minds corrupts the mindcrafter. Their powers cannot be used without sufficient PP - running out is at best annoying and at worst deadly. The starting equipment is reminiscent of the Wizard. They always start with a random ring, a Ring of stun resistance, 1 or 2 random wands, 2-3 potions and 1-2 scrolls. If the PC is very weak, the starting equipment may be slightly better. Mindcrafters have poor melee prospects compared to other classes, but yet they may find themselves having to engage in physical combat to win most battles until they learn Mind Blast (or Telekinetic Blast when dealing with mindless or corrupted creatures); this is perhaps the main reason they are considered to be a challenging (but still interesting) class to play as. They do gain weapon skill levels more quickly than pure casters and semi-casters (the latter being Priests and druids). Their prospects of surviving the early game are also somewhat challenged by the fact that they do not start with the Healing skill. There are a few upsides. Their mindcraft goes through walls (helpful for tension rooms) and cannot be shrugged off, though strong-willed characters can resist it. It cannot miss, which increases the usefulness of Telekinetic Blast massively, and Mind Blast ignores both PV and DV. Confusion is a very powerful status effect, as confused enemies cannot fire missiles, cast spells or even attack consistently. There is also some evidence that confusion prevents humanoid enemies from summoning. They deal better than any other non-Wizard with unwanted wilderness hordes or enemies—one Confusion Wave or Blast can let the PC (and it) escape unscathed. As such, they are a choice for the expert player who wants to think through every fight. Focus on confusing enemies first, then peppering them with missiles, fleeing or engaging in melee before confusion wears off. Their stats and skillset are tilted towards avoiding strong enemies, raising their willpower and regenerating their PP, and the skills Concentration, Herbalism, Music and Stealth reflect this. They also learn Gemology, which may produce an occasional Crystal of knowledge or Crystal of fire. Haggling is nigh-on useless. Depending on playing style, when considering a race-class combination for a mindcrafter it might be a good idea to pick the stronger races to play as fighters who leave mindcrafting until later. Gnomes don't lose too much strength, level up fast, have great PP regeneration and have the toughness to survive as purer mindcrafters—Ventriloquism can be handy when you're in need of confusion; Gemology is trained too. Dark elves add Alertness and Find Weakness to the skillset at the cost of strength and toughness. Drakelings level up more slowly but have Alertness, added strength and endurance, and the life-saving acid spit.
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