Clancy (companion)

When on the Avatar of Boris challenge path, your trusty minstrel Clancy follows you in place of any familiars. Clancy will perform functions similar to those of a familiar and will change functionality, depending on what instrument he is holding.

Clancy "weighs" five times his level for familiar effects.

The Minstrel Cycle

Unlike familiars, Clancy gains levels and effectiveness not by combat, but by discovering his old equipment or discovering new sources of musical inspiration.

Collectively, this is called the Minstrel Cycle. Clancy will try to get your attention whenever the latest step in the cycle is possible.

Quests in the Minstrel Cycle must be done in order, for example, the Knob Shaft quest won't open up until you've Jacked the Jukebox which in turn won't happen until after you and Clancy have formally introduced yourself. There are 5 quests in the cycle, 4 of which will permanently raise Clancy's level by 1 for the duration of your run. The other quest will result in Clancy regaining his lute.

For the 4 adventures that raise his level, they are tentatively thought to be a 100% superlikely adventures with a delay() of 5 turns.

The various stages of the Minstrel Cycle:

• After reincarnating -- The Minstrel Cycle Begins
• After unlocking The Typical Tavern -- Your Minstrel Vamps
  • Unlocks Jackin' the Jukebox in A Barroom Brawl.
• After reaching Level 5 -- Your Minstrel Clamps
  • Unlocks A Miner Variation in The Knob Shaft. Note, that all the combat in that area are ghosts who are immune to physical damage.
• After encountering A Miner Variation and reaching Level 7 -- Your Minstrel Stamps
  • Unlocks The Luter's Grave in The Nearby Plains.
• After unlocking The Icy Peak during the Mt. McLargeHuge Quest -- Your Minstrel Camps
  • Mercury Rising in The Icy Peak.
• After encountering Mercury Rising and discovering the Ancient Buried Pyramid -- Your Minstrel Scamp
  • Unlocks Don't You Know Who I Am? in The Middle Chamber.

Quest Log

Clancy would like you to take him to the Typical Tavern, so he can learn some new songs from the various angry, drunk patrons there.

Clancy would like you to take him to the Knob Shaft, so that he can learn how to play miner chords.

Clancy would like you to find the grave of The Luter, so that he can retrieve the lute the Luter looted long ago. Your keen adventuring instincts tell you that the grave is probably near a graveyard.

Clancy would like you to take him to the Icy Peak, so that he may hear the mournful mating call of the Knott Yeti.

Clancy would like you to take him to the Ancient Buried Pyramid, so that he can find an ancient piece of sheet music.

You have taken Clancy on a whirlwind tour of the Kingdom, and he is now equipped with enough songs that his musical style will never be cramped again.

Additional Leveling

Aside from the Minstrel Cycle, Clancy may gain extra levels from the following sources.

• Investing 8 skill points into Feasting and learning the More to Love passive skill. (+3 levels)
• Singing the Song of Accompaniment. (+3 levels)
• Equipping Boris's Helm or its askew form. (+1 level)

All said, Clancy may reach a total of 12 levels.

Instruments

Sackbut

Sackbut

This is Clancy's starting instrument. Functionality: Restores HP and MP post-fight depending on his level (similarly to a Ghuol Whelp, but 100% of the time). Messages: Clancy makes loud raucous farting noises with his sackbut, which is a trick that never fails to make you laugh. Clancy makes a funny farting sound with his sackbut, which makes you laugh -- and then you laugh harder when he accidentally empties the spit valve onto his shoes. Clancy tootles his sackbut; the hearty laugh you get from the phrase "tootles his sackbut" is quite refreshing. Clancy plays a rousing marching song on his sackbut, filling you with vigor and zest. Clancy blows a triumphant fanfare on his sackbut, filling you with the thrill of victory. Clancy plays a little tune on his sackbut, and you chuckle at how ridiculous he looks. Clancy plays a tune on his trombone -- I mean, sackbut. You smile as you remember the time he tried to lecture you on the difference between the two, and the funny look on his face when you bonked him on the head with it. You gain some hit points. You gain some Mana Points.

Crumhorn

Crumhorn

Purchasable from Uncle P's Antiques for 2500 meat. Functionality: Increases stat gains from combat like the old volleyball (sqrt(X*5)). Messages: Clancy plays an uplifting tune on his crumhorn. Did you ever blow on a comb with wax paper over it? Yeah, that's basically what it sounds like. Clancy plays you a tune on his crumhorn. It's a particularly farty-sounding instrument, which always lifts your spirits after a hard battle. You smile as Clancy belts out some hilarious farty sounds on his crumhorn. There's a minstrel that knows his audience. Clancy plays you a tune on his crumhorn, which is an instrument that wins awards for silliness in all three categories: name, appearance, and sound. Clancy plays a tune on his crumhorn to raise your spirits. The tune is pretty awful actually, but the sight of him playing such a silly instrument always makes you smile. Clancy plays you a tune on his crumhorn. He can't really smile while he's doing it, but the curve of the horn looks like a smile, so that's all right.

Lute

Lute

Dropped by The Luter. Functionality: Increases item drops like a fairy. Messages: Clancy strums his fat lute and sings a little tune about bright copper kettles and brown paper packages. Clancy strums his fat lute and sings about wealth and all the great things it can buy, like axe-polish and sandwiches. Clancy strums his fat lute and sings a tune about the glories of battle with a worthy opponent, especially one with nice possessions. Clancy strums his fat lute and sings a song about how great it is to own things, and to get new things for free by looting the corpses of your enemies. Clancy strums his fat lute and sings about how every day is like Crimbo for a mighty warrior, with every foe being a present, and their skin the wrapping-paper. Clancy strums his fat lute and sings about the ancient treasures of long-forgotten kingdoms, and how you're eventually going to get around to going and digging them up. Clancy strums his fat lute and sings a song about how material wealth can't bring you happiness -- this time remembering to add the bit you made him write, about how he was just kidding and actually it totally can.

Effectiveness

This chart shows the bonus Clancy provides with each instrument.

Level	Sackbut HP/MP	Crumhorn +stats	Lute +item
1	1-2	2.24	—
2	2-4	3.16	—
3	3-6	3.87	40.72
4	4-8	4.47	50.17
5	5-10	5.00	59.08
6	6-12	5.48	67.62
7	7-14	5.92	75.87
8	8-16	6.32	83.90
9	9-18	6.71	91.75
10	10-20	7.07	99.44
11	11-22	7.42	107.00
12	12-24	7.75	114.45

• For comparison's sake, please note that:
  • The Song of Fortune is a flat +25% item drop bonus, so it will start beating Song of Accompaniment in item drop % once Clancy is at least Level 5.
  • The Song of Cockiness provides a total of +10 substats/battle at the cost of raising Monster Level by 30.

Familiars

• Clancy serves a familiar-like function, but he is not actually considered a familiar. You cannot equip him with familiar equipment, and you cannot use him to compete in The Cake-Shaped Arena.
• Not being a familiar, he does not need to breathe underwater.

References

• The name of Clancy's Minstrel Cycle sounds an awful lot like a certain other cycle. In addition, all of his quest names are variations of the name of a certain type of cramp.
• The lute message about bright copper kettles and brown paper packages is a reference to the song "My Favorite Things", from the musical The Sound of Music.