Mimic
Mimics are a class of monsters whose main defense is to imitate an item or dungeon feature. Mimics can be small, large, or giant, and all three kinds are often located in shops and Sokoban. They are slow but powerful hitters and often kill low-level characters who encounter them. The large and giant mimics have a sticking attack, which prevents the player from escaping the confrontation. The sticking attack can be protected against with high magic cancellation.
Eating a mimic's corpse makes you "imitate" a pile of gold (you are "polymorphed", but your armor and such is not affected, and you do not break polyself conduct) for a few moments; if hallucinating, you will mimic an orange instead.[1]
A mimic is uncloaked when wearing a ring of protection from shape changers.
Small mimic
m small mimic 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 8 |
| Attacks |
Claw 3d4 |
| Base level | 7 |
| Base experience | 92 |
| Speed | 3 |
| Base AC | 7 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | Rare |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 300 |
| Nutritional value | 200 |
| Size | Medium |
| Resistances | Acid |
| Resistances conveyed |
None |
|
A small mimic:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line610 |
Large mimic
m large mimic 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 9 |
| Attacks |
Claw sticky 3d4 |
| Base level | 8 |
| Base experience | 113 |
| Speed | 3 |
| Base AC | 7 |
| Base MR | 10 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | Very rare |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 600 |
| Nutritional value | 400 |
| Size | Large |
| Resistances | Acid |
| Resistances conveyed |
None |
|
A large mimic:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line618 |
Giant mimic
m giant mimic 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 11 |
| Attacks | |
| Base level | 9 |
| Base experience | 186 |
| Speed | 3 |
| Base AC | 7 |
| Base MR | 20 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | Very rare |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 800 |
| Nutritional value | 500 |
| Size | Large |
| Resistances | Acid |
| Resistances conveyed |
None |
|
A giant mimic:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line626 |
Strategy
If your experience level is low enough, then mimics will display as "mimic or strange object" (],
). You should not attempt to pick up such objects, as they are always mimics. It is dangerous but not unusual to confuse these with the armor symbol, which is [ outside the Rogue level, or with a chest (
) in the tiles interface.
If you find yourself fighting a mimic, then hit and run is generally the best strategy as long as the mimic is not stuck to you. If it is, try Elbereth.
While mimics can be dangerous, they are exceedingly slow and are worth a fairly large amount of experience. Strong characters, like valkyries, samurai and barbarians can use mimics found in early shops to gain levels quickly. If you find one outside a shop, shoot it repeatedly. This works best for rogues and rangers, though wizards can do this well, too.
If you have warning, anything that is an item when you can see it and a warning when you can't may be a mimic. If you are warned of a monster, and then see an item where the warning was, it is probably a mimic (or a snake or insect hiding under the object). Do not walk onto the mimic to discover it, however, as doing so will cause you to stick to it.
Priests and others with a healing spell can cast it at an object; this will produce a message such as "The wand seems a more vivid white than before," if directed at a mimic.
Stethoscopes will also detect mimics.
A method of checking shops for the presence of mimics is to throw 1 gold piece across the shop, as it is not lost but added to your store credit - but be careful that you don't anger the shopkeeper by hitting him/her with the coin.
Another method is the "One of these things is not like the others" method; if you walk into a shop that sells specific items and notice something that doesn't quite fit, chances are it's a mimic. This goes especially for chest- or armor-like "strange objects".
Of course, mimics can be randomly generated like most monsters can. Mimics can be items, boulders, and even closed doors or staircases in the dungeon. For example, the Rogue quest home level has four staircase locations, but three of these (chosen at random) are actually mimics.
Mimics are a surprising candidate for early genocide or extinction. One reason to genocide mimics is to increase the chance of getting useful items in Orcus-town.
Encyclopedia entry
The ancestors of the modern day chameleon, these creatures can assume the form of anything in their surroundings. They may assume the shape of objects or dungeon features. Unlike the chameleon though, which assumes the shape of another creature and goes in hunt of food, the mimic waits patiently for its meals to come in search of it.
References
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