White dragon
D white dragon 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 20 |
| Attacks |
Breath 4d6 cold, bite 3d8, claw 1d4, claw 1d4 |
| Base level | 15 |
| Base experience | 460 |
| Speed | 9 |
| Base AC | -1 |
| Base MR | 20 |
| Alignment | -5 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 4500 |
| Nutritional value | 1500 |
| Size | Gigantic |
| Resistances | Cold |
| Resistances conveyed |
Cold resistance (100%) |
|
A white dragon:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line1161 |
D baby white dragon 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 13 |
| Attacks |
Bite 2d6 |
| Base level | 12 |
| Base experience | 200 |
| Speed | 9 |
| Base AC | 2 |
| Base MR | 10 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 0 (Not randomly generated) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 1500 |
| Nutritional value | 500 |
| Size | Huge |
| Resistances | Cold |
| Resistances conveyed |
None |
|
A baby white dragon:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line1085 |
The white dragon, D, is a monster that appears in NetHack. It has a younger form in the baby white dragon, D. The white dragon has cold resistance both intrinsically and from its scales, and its breath weapon fires rays of cold. Its corpse gives cold resistance.
Contents
Generation
Players will not see baby white dragons through normal random monster creation outside of aligned branches and levels such as the Oracle and Sokoban, and they can also be hatched from dragon eggs. Adult white dragons start appearing around the midway depths of the dungeon. White dragons can be generated in throne rooms as early as dungeon level 15, and may appear when a throne at this depth or lower is looted.[1] White dragons can be generated if a chaotic spellcaster casts the summon nasties monster spell.
White dragons have a 1⁄3 of dropping a set of +0 uncursed white dragon scales along with their corpse (1⁄20 if the dragon was revived).
Strategy
- See also: Dragon#Strategy
White dragons are somewhat easier to handle compared to their brethren, especially if you have cold resistance, though their breath attack can still destroy potions in your inventory - reflection will protect you and your inventory completely. As is standard with most dragons, using superior speed to remain out of the line of fire can turn the fight in your favor.
White dragon breath (as well as silver dragon breath) can create bridges across moats; this can be put to use by placing yourself in its range near the desired crossing area (such as Fort Ludios). This can also be done if you have one as a pet, since it can target monsters across water - however, silver dragons are preferable since they possess the same intrinsics and abilities along with reflection.
History
NetHack 2.3e introduces the white dragon along with all of the other modern dragon types and their breath weapons, except for silver.
NetHack 3.0.0 introduces baby white dragons alongside the other baby dragons. This version also distinguishes all color dragons, their younger stages and their corpses, and introduces dragon scale mail.
NetHack 3.1.0 introduces white dragon scales along with the other colors, as well as the current method of obtaining dragon scale mail.
Variants
Variants of NetHack often subject dragons to extensive changes, including the white dragon.
Biodiversity patch
In the biodiversity patch, the white dragon is renamed to the lindworm.
SLASH'EM
As with all other dragons in SLASH'EM, baby white dragons have a base level of 4 instead of 12, and can be encountered via random generation in ordinary levels with a frequency of 2; they are also eligible for creation on many levels that generate random D on level creation. Adult white dragons have a base level of 18 instead of 15.
Baby white dragons hit as a +1 weapon, and adult white dragons hit as a +3 weapon. Tame adult white dragons have a chance of turning traitor.
UnNetHack
In UnNetHack, all dragons have their breaths, resistances, and colors randomized, allowing any non-chromatic dragon to appear as white dragons.
Encyclopedia entry
In the West the dragon was the natural enemy of man. Although preferring to live in bleak and desolate regions, whenever it was seen among men it left in its wake a trail of destruction and disease. Yet any attempt to slay this beast was a perilous undertaking. For the dragon's assailant had to contend not only with clouds of sulphurous fumes pouring from its fire breathing nostrils, but also with the thrashings of its tail, the most deadly part of its serpent-like body.
"One whom the dragons will speak with," he said, "that is a dragonlord, or at least that is the center of the matter. It's not a trick of mastering the dragons, as most people think. Dragons have no masters. The question is always the same, with a dragon: will he talk to you or will he eat you? If you can count upon his doing the former, and not doing the latter, why then you're a dragonlord."
