Difference between revisions of "Piercer"

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{{Wikipedia|Piercer}}
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The '''piercer''', {{white|p}}, is a [[monster class]] in ''[[NetHack]]'' that contains the following monsters:
'''Piercers''' are a [[monster class]] represented by {{white|p}}. They [[hiding|hide]] in the ceiling, surprising your character by falling on you just as you pass beneath. The fall itself can deal 4d6 damage (regardless of piercer type), but wearing any metallic [[helm]]et will fully protect you, the blow glancing off it. After falling or otherwise being discovered, piercers may still attack but are extremely slow. The fall is also quite inaccurate, having only a 60% chance to hit against 10 AC and a 0% chance to hit the player at -2 AC, bypassing normal negative AC rules.
 
  
In order of increasing toughness, there are '''rock piercers''', '''iron piercers''', and '''glass piercers'''.
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* {{monsym|rock piercer}} '''rock piercer'''
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* {{monsym|iron piercer}} '''iron piercer'''
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* {{monsym|glass piercer}} '''glass piercer'''
  
==Rock piercer==
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==Common traits==
{{monster
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All piercers are capable of [[hiding]] on the ceiling, surprising your character by falling on you just as you pass beneath. The fall itself deals 4d6 damage regardless of piercer type, but is rather inaccurate and dependent on your AC - it has only a {{frac|3|5}} chance to hit you at 10 [[AC]], and will always miss a player with at least −2 AC. Wearing any metallic [[helm]] will fully protect you from the attack, with the blow glancing off it.
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Outside of this, piercers are the slowest monsters in the dungeon with a measly 1 [[speed]] - their sole bite attack is somewhat damaging for the point at which you first encounter them, but this can easily be mitigated by keeping your distance. Piercers have relatively low AC that can pose a problem to players lacking a decent weapon, but are otherwise trivial to dispatch.
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<simpletabs>
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Rock piercer|{{monster
 
  |name=rock piercer
 
  |name=rock piercer
 
  |difficulty=4
 
  |difficulty=4
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  |reference=[[monst.c#line661]]
 
  |reference=[[monst.c#line661]]
 
}}
 
}}
{{clear}}
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|-|
==Iron piercer==
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Iron piercer|{{monster
{{monster
 
 
  |name=iron piercer
 
  |name=iron piercer
 
  |difficulty=6
 
  |difficulty=6
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  |reference=[[monst.c#line668]]
 
  |reference=[[monst.c#line668]]
 
}}
 
}}
{{clear}}
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|-|
==Glass piercer==
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Glass piercer|{{monster
{{monster
 
 
  |name=glass piercer
 
  |name=glass piercer
 
  |difficulty=9
 
  |difficulty=9
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  |reference=[[monst.c#line675]]
 
  |reference=[[monst.c#line675]]
 
}}
 
}}
{{clear}}
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</simpletabs>
  
 
==Heaven piercer (dNetHack)==
 
==Heaven piercer (dNetHack)==
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{{clear}}
 
{{clear}}
 
==Origin==
 
==Origin==
 
 
Yet another [[Dungeons and Dragons]] monster.
 
Yet another [[Dungeons and Dragons]] monster.
  

Revision as of 02:19, 2 September 2021

The piercer, p, is a monster class in NetHack that contains the following monsters:

  • p rock piercer
  • p iron piercer
  • p glass piercer

Common traits

All piercers are capable of hiding on the ceiling, surprising your character by falling on you just as you pass beneath. The fall itself deals 4d6 damage regardless of piercer type, but is rather inaccurate and dependent on your AC - it has only a 35 chance to hit you at 10 AC, and will always miss a player with at least −2 AC. Wearing any metallic helm will fully protect you from the attack, with the blow glancing off it.

Outside of this, piercers are the slowest monsters in the dungeon with a measly 1 speed - their sole bite attack is somewhat damaging for the point at which you first encounter them, but this can easily be mitigated by keeping your distance. Piercers have relatively low AC that can pose a problem to players lacking a decent weapon, but are otherwise trivial to dispatch.

Heaven piercer (dNetHack)

A somewhat higher-damage piercer found in Gehennom.

Origin

Yet another Dungeons and Dragons monster.

A piercer resembles a stalactite, but with eyes in the sides. It is actually a giant gastropod; the "stalactite" is its shell.

They cling to the ceiling, pretending to be a stalactite. When prey comes beneath them, they fall to impale it.

The adjectives "rock", "iron", and "glass" describe the materials that the respective piercers resemble, not what they (or their shells) are composed of. They leave ordinary meaty corpses when killed, and iron piercers do not rust (although glass piercers are acid-resistant).

Encyclopedia entry

Ye Piercer doth look like unto a stalactyte, and hangeth
 from the roofs of caves and caverns. Unto the height of a
 man, and thicker than a man's thigh do they grow, and in
 groups do they hang. If a creature doth pass beneath them,
 they will by its heat and noise perceive it, and fall upon
 it to kill and devour it, though in any other way they move
 but exceeding slow.

the Bestiary of Xygag

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Editors: After reviewing this page and making necessary edits, please change the {{nethack-343}} tag to the current version's tag or {{noversion}} as appropriate.