Umbire the Phantom: eggs

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eggs

Umbire the Phantom: rephrase

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rephrase

Umbire the Phantom: for, pothole

2024-11-24T09:30:24Z

for, pothole

Umbire the Phantom: slash first

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{{monster
|name=basilisk
|difficulty=10
|level=8
|experience=197
|speed=9
|AC=5
|MR=0
|align=0
|frequency=1
|genocidable=Yes
|attacks=Bite 4d2 [[stoning]], [[Passive]] [[stoning]]
|resistances conveyed=poison (53%)
|resistances=poison, petrification
|attributes={{attributes|A basilisk|animal=1|thick=1|nohands=1|oviparous=1|carnivore=1|strong=1|hostile=1}}
|size=Large
|nutr=400
|weight=1450
|reference=[[SLASH'EM_0.0.7E7F2/monst.c#line4499]]
}}

A '''basilisk''', {{monsym|basilisk}}, is a type of [[monster]] that appears in [[SLASH'EM]] and [[SlashTHEM]]. The basilisk is a large, [[thick-skinned]], [[oviparous]] and [[carnivorous]] [[Lizard (monster class)|lizard]] that is [[strong]] and has the ability to [[Stoning|stone]] anyone that makes bare-skin contact with its body or [[corpse]], similar to the [[cockatrice]].

A basilisk has a stoning bite attack and a passive stoning attack, and possesses [[poison resistance]] and [[stoning resistance]].

Eating a basilisk [[corpse]] or [[tin]] will turn the eater to stone unless they have stoning resistance, and basilisk [[egg]]s can also turn monsters that eat it or are hit by one to stone. A [[hero]] that eats a basilisk corpse and survives has a {{frac|8|15}} chance (53%) of gaining poison resistance.

==Generation==
Randomly generated basilisks are always created hostile.

Hostile basilisks can be created by the [[summon nasties]] [[monster spell]].

==Strategy==
The basilisk and the [[asphynx]] both possess similar stoning abilities to the cockatrice while occupying different [[monster class]]es, ensuring that a hero cannot remove the threat of stoning with a single blessed [[scroll of genocide]] targeting {{white|c}}.

While a basilisk is stronger and faster than a cockatrice or [[chickatrice]], it is still slow-moving at 9 [[speed]] and relatively easy to hit - some form of [[ranged attack]] is advisable in order to avoid their stoning passive attack. The corpse of a basilisk can be used as a weapon similar to a cockatrice, but in practice is far too heavy to be realistically effective.

===As a polyform===
As a polyform, the basilisk is the superior monster for travel among the monster forms capable of stoning: while it is still slower than a hero's base speed unless they have intrinsic speed, it is strong and weighs the same as a [[Human (monster)|human]]. This grants much higher [[carrying capacity]] compared to the faster asphynx, which is much smaller and cannot pick up items.

Female heroes can also polymorph into a basilisk to lay eggs, either to let them hatch into tame basilisks or to use as stoning weapons. Basilisks make relatively decent pets, though their lack of speed compared to an asphynx can make keeping them close to you somewhat tedious without a [[magic whistle]].

==History==
The basilisk first appears in SLASH'EM ancestor [[NetHack-- 3.0.10]], where it uses the {{green|:}} glyph; in [[NetHack-- 3.1.3]], it uses {{gray|:}} instead. In [[SLASH 6]], its glyph is changed to {{darkgray|:}}, which is retained for its appearance in SLASH'EM and SlashTHEM.

==Origin==
{{Wikipedia|Basilisk}}
A basilisk (from the Greek form βασιλίσκος, ''basilískos'', Latin ''basiliscus'', meaning "little king") is a mythological reptile first described in the ''[[wikipedia:Naturalis Historia|Naturalis Historia]]'' of [[wikipedia:Pliny the Elder|Pliny the Elder]]. The basilisk was a small snake reputed to be so venomous that it leaves a wide trail of deadly venom in its wake, and its gaze was just as lethal. Basilisks have a 'mitre' or crown-shaped crest adorning their head, suggesting that their description was based on various cobras, particularly the spitting cobra and king cobra. The basilisk and cockatrice are often referred to interchangeably, as seen in the [[encyclopedia]] entry that both share in variants of ''NetHack'' - many languages still translate the term "cockatrice" as "basilisk" in some form.

The basilisk's reputed weakness was the the odor of the "weasel", which is likely based on mongooses (such as the Egyptian mongoose) that possess immunity to snake venom and prey on the king cobra and some other Asiatic snakes. The basilisk was also a popular subject in medieval-era European bestiaries, which attributed it chicken-like traits and popularized the idea that a basilisk resulted from a chicken hatching the egg of a serpent or toad (the reverse of the cockatrice). Modern incarnations of the basilisk and cockatrice, such as those seen in ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' and various other fantasy media, portray them as distinct creatures: the modern basilisk is usually a vicious low-slung creature that is either lizard-like or serpentine, as opposed to the typically more bird-like cockatrice.

The basilisk of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' is an eight-legged reptilian with a single row of bony spines on its back, and occasionally has a curved horn on its nose - they come in a variety of dark colors, with the most common color being a dull brown body with a yellowish underbelly, and are the basis for the basilisk's glyph in SLASH'EM and SlashTHEM. Despite their multiple legs, basilisks are sluggish and clumsy, though they were still often shrewd hunters. Basilisks make their lairs in dark underground caves with ready and easily accessible supplies of food and water. A basilisk's eyes glow with a pale green light that can non-lethally petrify any non-gaseous creature that makes eye contact, including other basilisks and even themselves if their gaze is reflected; basilisks were more than capable of eating and digesting petrified prey. The gaze is so potent that it can affect victims with better eyesight at much further ranges, with multiple reports of basilisk victims from "arcane eye" spells, crystal balls, and eyes of the eagle - basilisk gazes could even penetrate into the astral or ethereal planes with concentration.

==Encyclopedia entry==
{{encyclopedia|Once in a great while, when the positions of the stars are
just right, a seven-year-old rooster will lay an egg. Then,
along will come a snake, to coil around the egg, or a toad,
to squat upon the egg, keeping it warm and helping it to
hatch. When it hatches, out comes a creature called basilisk,
or cockatrice, the most deadly of all creatures. A single
glance from its yellow, piercing toad's eyes will kill both
man and beast. Its power of destruction is said to be so
great that sometimes simply to hear its hiss can prove fatal.
Its breath is so venomous that it causes all vegetation
to wither.

There is, however, one creature which can withstand the
basilisk's deadly gaze, and this is the weasel. No one knows
why this is so, but although the fierce weasel can slay the
basilisk, it will itself be killed in the struggle. Perhaps
the weasel knows the basilisk's fatal weakness: if it ever
sees its own reflection in a mirror it will perish instantly.
But even a dead basilisk is dangerous, for it is said that
merely touching its lifeless body can cause a person to
sicken and die.
{{right-align|[ Mythical Beasts by Deirdre Headon (The Leprechaun Library)
and other sources ]}}
}}
{{slashem-7E7|offset=1}}
{{variant-343}}
[[Category:SLASH'EM monsters]]
[[Category:SlashTHEM monsters]]

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 A basilisk has a stoning bite attack and a passive stoning attack, and possesses [[poison resistance]] and [[stoning resistance]].
-[[Eating]] a basilisk [[corpse]] or [[tin]] will turn the eater to stone unless they have stoning resistance, and basilisk [[egg]]s can also turn monsters that eat it or are hit by one to stone. A [[hero]] that eats a basilisk corpse and survives has a {{frac|8|15}} chance (53%) of gaining poison resistance.
+[[Eating]] a basilisk [[corpse]] or [[tin]] will turn the eater to stone unless they have stoning resistance, and basilisk [[egg]]s can also turn monsters that eat it or are hit by one to stone. A [[hero]] that eats a basilisk corpse or tin with stoning resistance has a {{frac|8|15}} chance (53%) of gaining poison resistance.
 ==Generation==

@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 ==Generation==
-Randomly generated basilisks are always created hostile.
+Randomly generated basilisks are always created hostile, and basilisk eggs can hatch into basilisks.
 Hostile basilisks can be created by the [[summon nasties]] [[monster spell]].

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
   |reference=[[SLASH'EM_0.0.7E7F2/monst.c#line4499]]
 }}
 A '''basilisk''', {{monsym|basilisk}}, is a type of [[monster]] that appears in [[SLASH'EM]] and [[SlashTHEM]]. The basilisk is a large, [[thick-skinned]], [[oviparous]] and [[carnivorous]] [[Lizard (monster class)|lizard]] that is [[strong]] and has the ability to [[Stoning|stone]] anyone that makes bare-skin contact with its body or [[corpse]], similar to the [[cockatrice]].
@@ Line 24: / Line 25: @@
 A basilisk has a stoning bite attack and a passive stoning attack, and possesses [[poison resistance]] and [[stoning resistance]].
-Eating a basilisk [[corpse]] or [[tin]] will turn the eater to stone unless they have stoning resistance, and basilisk [[egg]]s can also turn monsters that eat it or are hit by one to stone. A [[hero]] that eats a basilisk corpse and survives has a {{frac|8|15}} chance (53%) of gaining poison resistance.
+[[Eating]] a basilisk [[corpse]] or [[tin]] will turn the eater to stone unless they have stoning resistance, and basilisk [[egg]]s can also turn monsters that eat it or are hit by one to stone. A [[hero]] that eats a basilisk corpse and survives has a {{frac|8|15}} chance (53%) of gaining poison resistance.
 ==Generation==

Basilisk (SLASH'EM) - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: eggs

Umbire the Phantom: rephrase

Umbire the Phantom: for, pothole

Umbire the Phantom: slash first