Totem

A Totem is an object in Act I of Inscryption that gives an additional Sigil to a specified tribe during combat.

The player is able to create their own totem when encountering the Woodcarver. Totems are composed of two pieces: the totem head and the totem body. Only one piece of the totem may be acquired per encounter with the Woodcarver, so it will take at least 2 encounters to fully form a totem, unless the player already has the Squirrel head piece. The totem created will apply to all battles until the next Woodcarver encounter, where the player will have the option to modify their totem. Totems cannot be assembled or modified outside of a Woodcarver encounter.

The Totem Card Battle event provides the enemy with a totem for the duration of the fight. The body of the Totem has a random sigil, and the head of the totem will be of the tribe that primarily appears during the battle.

Amalgam and Hydra are affected by all totems, as they belong to every tribe.

Totem Heads[]

This piece defines which tribe is influenced by the totem body. Each tribe has its own totem head piece.

To have access to the Squirrel head, the fourth cabinet puzzle in Leshy's Cabin must be completed. This gives the player the Squirrel head automatically in the current and all future runs. If the player's Squirrels are transformed into Bees by completing the third painting puzzle in the cabin, then the player will have a Squirrel and Insect head in all future runs.

If the Boss Totems challenge is enabled in Kaycee's Mod, each of the boss characters will have their own pre-determined totem head. The Prospector uses the Canine head, The Angler uses Avian, The Trapper/Trader uses Reptile and Leshy uses Insect. The Squirrel totem head cannot be found in this mode.

Totem Bodies[]

This piece displays a Sigil which defines the effect applied by the totem on the influenced cards.

Only the Sigils with the meta category Part1Modular are offered to the player, so Sigils such as Repulsive and Moon Strike cannot be obtained. Leshy only has a select number of totem bodies available to him, usually omitting those that do not work when played by the computer.

Strategy[]

Totems can be extremely helpful if the right parts are chosen, and they can drastically change the strategy of your deck. Here is some general advice on building them:

In general, using the totem head that corresponds to your side deck (Squirrel or Insect) is better than using other totem heads. Other head options are normally worse in comparison. Using the head that corresponds to your side deck allows for many extremely powerful builds, since side deck cards may be played for free and you can play ten of them in one battle.
- Some good sigils to apply to your side deck are Mighty Leap, Sharp Quills, Stinky, Rabbit Hole, Ant Spawner, Bees Within (Bees Within is particularly good if your side deck consists of bees, as it then essentially functions as Unkillable), or Fledgling.
- Some great sigils to apply are Leader, Worthy Sacrifice, Unkillable, Hoarder, Fecundity or Trinket Bearer.
In Kaycee's Mod, the Squirrel totem head and Bee side deck is unobtainable, significantly nerfing the potential of the totem mechanic. However, there are still some quite powerful combinations. Following strategies are applicable in the main game as well as Kaycee's Mod.
The Unkillable body is one of the the most powerful bodies in Act I, and possibly the most powerful body in Kaycee's Mod. Keep in mind that all tips based off of this are also applicable for Fecundity in Act I, but not in Kaycee's Mod.
- If there are two cards in your deck that each cost 1 blood and are of the same tribe, you can get a totem with that tribe's head and the Unkillable body. Once you draw both of the cards, you can infinitely sacrifice one for the other, allowing for infinite bones or infinite damage with the Red Hart. This can also be done using Black Goat and another member of the Hooved Tribe, even if that member costs more than 1 blood.
- It is a good idea to use the Unkillable body with the Hooved head if you have the Black Goat, as Unkillable with the Black Goat is a very powerful combination. See Black Goat for further strategy.
- Another good play is using the Unkillable body with the Reptile head if you have Geck and/or Tadpole, giving you a free reusable sacrifice. However, care should be taken to not let the Tadpole evolve if you wish to continue using it as a free sacrifice, because after it evolves it will return to your hand as a Bullfrog with 1 blood cost.
Bifurcated Strike—or in Kaycee's Mod, Double Strike—can multiply the damage output of all cards of a specific tribe. Double Strike may be better for this purpose, however, as Bifurcated Strike can require some tricky positioning to be effective, and can potentially cost you the game in specific scenarios.