Player monster

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A player monster is a monster representing one of the player roles.

The various player monsters are:

Common characteristics

Player monsters cannot be tamed, but can be made peaceful. All player monsters will be referred to by the role's appropriate rank title for their level. Each player monster will have certain characteristics based on their corresponding role as well; for example, player monster valkyries will have cold resistance similar to a starting valkyrie, while player monster rogues have an affinity for gold. They will also have one or two weapon attacks, partly based on their role's ability to twoweapon (or lack thereof).

Generation

Player monsters are not randomly generated, and are thus rarely seen; some may appear in the home level of various Quest branches as a result of quest guardians growing up via a potion of gain level. In every game, a number of tough and well-equipped hostile player monsters await the player on the Astral Plane, with randomly selected names based on members of the DevTeam.[1]

Almost all player monsters encountered in the main dungeon will turn out to be shapeshifters capable of assuming the form of player monsters; doppelgangers in particular tend to favor player monster forms.

Using undead turning on a player corpse (e.g. from bones levels or the Valley of the Dead) or stone to flesh on a player statue (e.g. from bones or Medusa's Island) revives the corpse/statue as a player monster. Player monsters matching the player's role may also be summoned by reading a cursed scroll of genocide while confused (which "reverse genocides" yourself).

Equipment

Normally-generated player monsters (i.e., those on the Astral Plane) will be given a weapon, 1d3 random offensive items, 1d3 random defensive items and 1d3 random miscellaneous item. By default, the weapon will be a either a long sword or a random melee weapon (chosen according the standard random object generation odds) with equal probability. However, the various types of player monsters may, with varying odds, have the weapon replaced with one appropriate to their role.[2] The overall weapon choice odds of different player monsters are:

  • Archeologist: bullwhip (50%), long sword (25%) or random melee weapon (25%)
  • Barbarian: two-handed sword (25%), battle axe (25%), long sword (25%) or random melee weapon (25%)
  • Caveman / cavewoman: mace (75%), club (12.5%), long sword (6.25%) or random melee weapon (6.25%)
  • Healer: quarterstaff (75%), unicorn horn (6.25%), scalpel (6.25%), long sword (6.25%) or random melee weapon (6.25%)
  • Knight: long sword (87.5%) or random melee weapon (12.5%)
  • Monk: no melee weapon; 33% chance of shuriken
  • Priest / priestess: mace (50%), long sword (25%) or random melee weapon (25%)
  • Ranger: elven dagger (50%), long sword (25%) or random melee weapon (25%)
  • Rogue: short sword (25%), orcish dagger (25%), long sword (25%) or random melee weapon (25%)
  • Samurai: katana (50%), long sword (25%) or random melee weapon (25%)
  • Tourist: long sword (50%) or random melee weapon (50%)
  • Valkyrie: war hammer (50%), long sword (25%) or random melee weapon (25%)
  • Wizard: quarterstaff (37.5%), athame (37.5%), long sword (12.5%) or random melee weapon (12.5%)

The weapon's enchantment will be random between +0 and +3 (or between +4 and +8 if on Astral), and it will be either erodeproof or greased (but not both) with 33.3% probability each.

Player monsters on the Astral Plane will have a 50% chance of having their weapon converted to an artifact if possible (i.e. unless all artifacts of that type have already been created). Wizards who receive Magicbane this way will have its enchantment reduced to between +1 and +4 (since Magicbane is supposed to be less effective if overenchanted).

Player monsters on the Astral Plane will also carry a Cheap plastic imitation of the Amulet of Yendor, 1d10 random objects, 1d1000 gold pieces, 1d3 (66.7%) or 1d16 (33.3%) random valuable gems and a set of armor representing an ascension kit. They may also carry a luckstone with 6.7% or a loadstone with 3.3% probability (but never both).

Player monsters on the Astral Plane receive the following armor:[3] Each piece has a 33% chance of being blessed and a 22% chance of being cursed, and its enchantment has a 60% chance of being +0 to +4, a 30% chance of being +4 to +7 and a 10% chance of being -1 to -3.[4]

Strategy

On the Astral Plane, player monsters are a source of YASD, as they may be generated with Vorpal Blade if it has not appeared in a game, which can cause instadeath by beheading. Be very wary of engaging one in melee until you are certain what they are wielding.

Extinctionists will have a hard time finding a complete set. The best possibilities are as follows:

  • Perseus' statue is a knight.
  • The quest branch has plenty of player monsters in your own role, though obviously this is best saved for after the quest itself.
  • Various player monster corpses are found in the Valley of the Dead.
  • Stoning and unstoning a doppelganger will make its morph stick.
  • Wish for statues and then cast stone to flesh on them.

Variants

FIQHack

In FIQHack, bones which would normally have created ghosts have a 66% of replacing the ghost with a player monster instead. These retain all the stats of the late player (HP, Pw, intrinsics, spells, etc.) and retains the inventory without a 80% of each item being cursed. These have the chance to provide for a much bigger threat than what bones generally do, coupled with FIQHack's AI improvements.

In addition, FIQHack random player monster kits has been significantly improved. They retain all of their vanilla items, have a shot at getting intrinsics like fire resistance, cold resistance or protection (like the kind bought from priests). In addition, they will now generally have an unicorn horn, may get several amulets of life saving if lacking reflection, generally have better armor, more HP, a bag, more random items (1d6 offensive/defensive/misc items instead of 1d3 if lategame), rings, and are likely to get object properties on their equipment. They now get an inventory similar to the ones generated in Astral if they generate in Gehennom, making them a valid source of lategame equipment.

GruntHack

In GruntHack, player monsters can generate anywhere in the dungeon, although with a low probability. Player monsters generated in the dungeon have an inventory set based on where they generate, approximating the progress an equal player would have made at that point. For example, below Sokoban, they may get an amulet of reflection or a bag of holding.

Later on, player monsters can be quite dangerous as they can be kitted out with several ascension kit-class items such as a cloak of magic resistance or silver dragon scale mail. They will, however, not get any object properties on their armor (but will probably get it on their weapon) beyond random chance. Worse, they usually get these kind of items before players themselves has had a reasonable shot at getting them, so if you see a peaceful one early on, you probably don't want to bother it.

Player monsters will not get any special object materials beyond random chance -- you will have to look for your dragonhide cloaks or gauntlets elsewhere.

EvilHack

Much like GruntHack, player monsters in EvilHack can spawn anywhere in the dungeon, and are kitted out with gear befitting their role. The ascension-level kits are more varied than found in other variants, and player monster abilities more closely match their roles (e.g. wizards and priests can cast spells, rogues can steal items). All player monsters in EvilHack want the Amulet of Yendor, and will attempt to steal it. If this happens on the Astral Plane, they will make an attempt to sacrifice the amulet.

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, there are additional types of player monsters corresponding to the new roles in SLASH'EM. Some of them are:

Player monsters can be encountered in The Guild of Disgruntled Adventurers if generated.

Slash'EM Extended

In Slash'EM Extended, player monsters can be randomly generated anywhere in the dungeon. Most of the time they are hostile; on rare occasions the player may encounter a peaceful one. Also, if a player leaves a bones file on death, their "ghost" will often be a player monster that retains quite some of the stats of the deceased player but is hostile to whoever encounters the bones pile.

Starting from version v68, there are also undead player monsters; these follow slightly different generation routines. Namely, their levels aren't randomized, their base level is 20, and on generation they receive a random name (taken from a list of preset names). On graveyards they may be named after deceased player characters taken from the high-score list, in which case they'll always be of the corresponding class; the same is true for ones created by the "summon ghost" monster spell. Also, undead player monsters are mindless, unbreathing, resistant to cold/sleep/poison, never visible to infravision, and usually equipped with lots of items. Bones files left by a character that was at least XL10 has a 16% chance of creating an undead player monster as a "ghost".

See also

References


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