Difference between revisions of "Sewer rat"

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===xNetHack===
 
===xNetHack===
 
In [[xNetHack]], sewer rats can hide under objects.
 
In [[xNetHack]], sewer rats can hide under objects.
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===SlashTHEM===
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In [[SlashTHEM]], in addition to SLASH'EM changes, [[Corsair]]s have a {{frac|5}} chance of starting the game with a sewer rat as their default pet.
  
 
==Encyclopedia entry==
 
==Encyclopedia entry==

Revision as of 23:29, 29 January 2024

A sewer rat, r, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. It is a tiny carnivorous animal that can be seen via infravision, and is the most basic form of rodent that a character will encounter.

A sewer rat has a single bite attack.

Generation

Randomly-generated sewer rats are always created hostile, and may appear in small groups. A sewer rat can grow up into a giant rat.

Quaffing from a sink has a 120 chance of generating a sewer rat if they are not genocided or extinct.[1]

Wererats can summon hostile sewer rats by calling for help, with a 23 chance of generating a hostile sewer rat on each adjacent square, and a character that gets lycanthropy from a wererat can similarly summon tame sewer rats using the #monster extended command with at least 10 power.[2]

Sewer rats appear among the random r that are part of the first quest monster class for Healers and make up 24175 of the monsters randomly generated on the Healer quest.

Strategy

Sewer rats are very simple enemies that appear more rarely than jackals and newts, but do slightly more damage. All but the weakest and/or unluckiest starting characters should be able to deal with sewer rats, even in groups.

History

The sewer rat first appears in NetHack 3.0.0.

Origin

The brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), also known as the "sewer rat" among other names, is a widespread species of common rat and one of the largest of the rodent superfamily Muroidea. Sewer rats are brown or grey and have a body length of up to 28 cm (11 in) long, with a tail measuring slightly shorter than the rest of the body. Thought to have originated in northern China and neighbouring areas, this rodent has now spread to all continents except Antarctica, and is the dominant rat in Europe and much of North America. With rare exceptions, the brown rat lives wherever humans live, particularly in urban areas.

Selective breeding of the brown rat has produced both the fancy rats kept as pets and the laboratory rats used as model organisms in biological research - both are of the domesticated subspecies Rattus norvegicus domestica. Studies of wild rats in New York City have shown that populations living in different neighborhoods can evolve distinct genomic profiles over time, by slowly accruing different traits. Though brown rats prefer meat when given the chance, they are true omnivores rather than carnivores and will consume almost anything, with cereals forming a substantial part of their diet; a brown rat's foraging behavior is often population-specific, and varies by environment and food source.

Messages

Eek! There's a sewer rat in the sink!
A sewer rat was generated when you quaffed from a sink.
Eek! There's something squirmy in the sink!
As above, but you cannot see the rat.
The sink seems quite dirty.
As above, but sewer rats are genocided or extinct.

Variants

In variants that incorporate the Convict patch, all Convicts start with a tame sewer rat by default. Convicts can also pacify or tame sewer rats by chatting to them. Variants with the Convict role also give the sewer rat multiple tiers of growth similar to other starting pets: a sewer rat can grow up into a giant rat, then an enormous rat, and in all variants except UnNetHack they can become a rodent of unusual size.

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, sewer rats are not randomly generated in Gehennom. They can be tamed by throwing cheese at them, and consider the food a treat.

Quaffing from a toilet as any type of canine has an effective 145 chance of generating a sewer rat.[3]

Two sewer rats are generated on each map of the Mall at level creation. Black rats are identical monsters that appear solely on the rat level.

Sewer rats appear among the random r that are part of the first quest monster class for Yeomen and make up 24175 of the monsters randomly generated on the Yeoman quest. Several sewer rats are also generated on various floors of the quest branch at level creation: four are generated in specific positions on the home level, and three each are generated on the lower filler level(s) and goal level.

dNetHack

In dNetHack and notdNetHack, sewer rats are omnivores rather than carnivores, and their corpses are poisonous to eat.

xNetHack

In xNetHack, sewer rats can hide under objects.

SlashTHEM

In SlashTHEM, in addition to SLASH'EM changes, Corsairs have a 15 chance of starting the game with a sewer rat as their default pet.

Encyclopedia entry

Rats are long-tailed rodents. They are aggressive,
omnivorous, and adaptable, often carrying diseases.
 
"The rat," said O'Brien, still addressing his invisible
audience, "although a rodent, is carnivorous. You are aware
of that. You will have heard of the things that happen in
the poor quarters of this town. In some streets a woman dare
not leave her baby alone in the house, even for five minutes.
The rats are certain to attack it. Within quite a small time
they will strip it to the bones. They also attack sick or
dying people. They show astonishing intelligence in knowing
when a human being is helpless."

[ 1984, by George Orwell ]

References