Wraith

W wraith
Difficulty	8
Attacks	Touch 1d6 drain life

W wraith
Difficulty	8
Attacks	Touch 1d6 drain life
Base level	6
Base experience	123
Speed	12
Base AC	4
Base MR	15
Alignment	-6 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means)	Rare
Genocidable	Yes
Weight	0
Nutritional value	0
Size	Medium
Resistances	Cold, Sleep, Poison, Stoning
Resistances conveyed	Gain level
A wraith: can fly. does not breathe. has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso. does not have a solid form. does not eat. (*) is undead. is normally generated hostile. can follow you to other levels.
Reference	monst.c#line2038

For the monster class, see wraith (monster class).

Wraiths are often found in graveyards. They are known for the fact that by eating a fresh wraith corpse you gain a level. However, wraiths may also drain levels from you.

Wraith creation

If a player is slain by a wraith, barrow wight or Nazgul, the player rises from the grave as a wraith rather than a traditional Ghost. In future encounters with their bones pile you will have to contend with the tougher spirit of the former player.

Strategy

Eating a wraith corpse can be tempting, but be aware that you can still choke on them even though they provide zero nutrition. Dipping the wraith corpse in holy water makes it more likely to gain the experience boost instead of having the corpse rot away completely.

Some players reverse-genocide wraiths in order to gain more levels.

Wraiths (indeed, all undead) killed on a level with a graveyard are much less likely to leave a corpse than otherwise. To get around this, a player may lure the wraith up or down a stairway before dispatching it, or branch-/level teleport while the wraith is attacking him. Alternatively, graveyard wraiths can be saved for a pet purple worm; their engulfing attack is not subject to corpse-leaving odds.

Either magic cancellation level 3 or drain resistance is highly recommended for a player transporting wraiths. Magic cancellation will not entirely excluded drained levels, but makes it practical to regain the single experience point needed, for example by killing the wraith.

SLASH'EM

SLASH'EM's wraith corpses have a different effect if eaten; they are as follows

Possibility	Effect	Message
10%	You lose experience.	"You feel that was a bad idea."
10%	Your maximum HP and Pw decreases.	"You don't feel so good ..."
20%	Nothing happens.	"You feel something strange for a moment."
10%	Your maximum HP and Pw increases.	"You feel physically and mentally stronger!"
50%	You gain experience.	"You feel that was a smart thing to do."

Encyclopedia entry

Immediately, though everything else remained as before, dim
and dark, the shapes became terribly clear.  He was able to
see beneath their black wrappings.  There were five tall
figures:  two standing on the lip of the dell, three advancing.
In their white faces burned keen and merciless eyes; under
their mantles were long grey robes; upon their grey hairs
were helms of silver; in their haggard hands were swords of
steel.  Their eyes fell on him and pierced him, as they
rushed towards him.  Desperate, he drew his own sword, and
it seemed to him that it flickered red, as if it was a
firebrand.  Two of the figures halted.  The third was taller
than the others:  his hair was long and gleaming and on his
helm was a crown.  In one hand he held a long sword, and in
the other a knife; both the knife and the hand that held it
glowed with a pale light.  He sprang forward and bore down
on Frodo.
        [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ]

References

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