So here’s a thought: Instead of removing them, replace the curse with light draining! That’s always felt, whether there’s other enemies around or not, but is never felt too harshly and is not a permanent cost. Unless you’re undead, and letting them resist is fine, or you have multiple levels of resistance which implies you are so far in the game that normal mummies really shouldn’t matter.

I know I, for one, wouldn’t go out of my way to avoid a light drain like I would a cursed item, unless it was very early in the game (early enough that they’re not just popcorn so their curse should matter).

@Fungus: Thanks for the reference, I’m on board with it now.

Re: daevas, you mean that another part of the trial of strength is wiping out that entire holy plane of Pan with the daevas that TSO likes more than me? He certainly doesn’t say anything about me killing them, after all…

Also, an air-themed beetle-type with innate reflection (like the shield brand, probably with a nearly perfect block chance against ranged attacks only) would be pretty cool, especially if you also give it immunity to polearms reaching attacks. Maybe it even gives reflection to allies like the torpor snail and casts Control Winds to disperse clouds.

Or an ice or negative-energy themed slow-monster that is so unnaturally cold/unliving that it causes damage every turn it’s in LOS, proportional to how close it is.

A beetle with blink close would also be a fun one (as long as it doesn’t appear on its own–make it come in packs, and not in lair since it’s too open). And I like the berserk-others beetle someone mentioned above (or possibly just a might-others beetle, so they don’t step on the moth of wrath’s wingtips).

Re: daevas, who knows? Maybe TSO just likes them more than you. (*They’ll* never betray him to follow another god, after all.) Maybe it’s a trial of your strength! Tough luck, but them’s the breaks.

I like the Abjuration change, the basic spell was, well, basically pointless.

Goodbye beetles. You gave the more newbish me a number of overconfident deaths with your sudden goliath-sized bites and your tunnels made certain levels anything but boring. RIP.

I can vaguely see them attacking me if they’re a different orthodox and TSO staying out of it (vaguely, as even he and other good gods have no problem with one another), but it seems patently absurd that he’d actively raise his hand directly against what is probably his most devoted follower just because some upstart angel asked.