Chameleon - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: some copyedit

2026-01-11T18:17:01Z

some copyedit

Umbire the Phantom: bluh

2025-10-08T04:55:52Z

bluh

Umbire the Phantom: lede

2025-10-08T04:55:40Z

lede

Umbire the Phantom: copyedit

2025-10-08T04:55:18Z

copyedit

Umbire the Phantom: copyedit

2024-02-06T23:46:15Z

copyedit

Umbire the Phantom: pothole

2023-10-29T23:29:59Z

pothole

Umbire the Phantom: add a word

2023-06-08T10:31:22Z

add a word

Umbire the Phantom: /* Generation */ one more thing

2023-06-08T09:56:29Z

‎Generation: one more thing

Umbire the Phantom: and a bow on top

2023-06-08T09:53:26Z

and a bow on top

Umbire the Phantom: that applies to most shapechangers of this kind so save it for the general page, further section strategy, specify generation in quest branch, variants, etc. etc. etc. etc.

2023-06-08T09:52:29Z

that applies to most shapechangers of this kind so save it for the general page, further section strategy, specify generation in quest branch, variants, etc. etc. etc. etc.

@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 Several chameleons are guaranteed to appear within the [[Rogue quest]]: eight to ten chameleons are generated at level creation on the home level, five are generated at level creation on the locate level, and five are generated at level creation on the goal level. In addition, the section of the goal level containing the [[Master Assassin]] has a tin of chameleon meat in the leftmost room.
-Chameleons are an invalid form for [[polymorph]], and can leave their [[corpse]] upon death as normal regardless of their current form.
+Chameleons leave their own [[corpse]] upon death as normal, regardless of their current form.
 ==Strategy==
 Chameleons are quite capable of imitating various monsters that can either cast the [[summon nasties]] [[monster spell]], most infamously [[arch-lich]]es, or else can be generated by the spell themselves&mdash;this and many of the other possible out-of-depth forms can also spell death for the unfortunate, particularly in the late portions of the early game (e.g. [[Sokoban]]). As you progress throughout the dungeon and assemble your kit, chameleons gradually become less of a potential game-ender, but they remain an obstacle throughout the majority of the game, especially for [[Rogue]]s on their [[Quest]].
-A suspected chameleon should be dealt with quickly whenever possible: as mentioned previously wearing a ring of protection from shape changers or canceling them will force them to remain in their base form, which has weak defenses and can only do 8 damage at most by biting. A chameleon trapped in its base form can also be permanently polymorphed without the ability to shapeshifter further. It is also possible to pacify or even tame one if they are in the appropriate form, e.g. a [[domestic animal]] that the hero throws appropriate food at.
+A suspected chameleon should be dealt with quickly whenever possible: as mentioned previously wearing a ring of protection from shape changers or canceling them will force them to remain in their base form, which has weak defenses and can only do 8 damage at most by biting. A chameleon trapped in its base form can also be permanently polymorphed without the ability to shapeshifter further. It is also possible to pacify or even tame a chameleon if they are in the appropriate form, e.g. a [[domestic animal]] that the hero throws appropriate food at. For heroes with [[polymorph control]], tins of chameleon meat can be a useful item to keep on hand.
 ===Pets===
@@ Line 45: / Line 47: @@
 Carnivorous pets eating a chameleon corpse may polymorph into something weaker or undesired&mdash;try to avoid leaving those pets (especially [[purple worm]]s) near chameleons or their freshly-made corpses. It also pays to mind what corpses you eat yourself, lest you cause yourself a lot of misery and lost [[armor]].
-{{upcoming|3.7.0|Per the above commits, pets will only eat shapeshifter corpses if they are starving or on the verge of untaming&mdash;beware if a [[dog]] that is about to go feral turns into an arch-lich or similar monster this way!.}}
+{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|The aforementioned commits that cause pets to only eat shapeshifter corpses if they are starving or on the verge of untaming can result in trouble in some corner cases&mdash;beware if a [[dog]] that is about to go feral turns into an arch-lich or similar monster this way!}}
 ==History==

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
   |frequency=2
   |genocidable=Yes
-  |attacks=[[Bite]] 4d2 [[Physical attack|physical]]
+  |attacks=[[Bite]] 4d2 [[Physical damage|physical]]
   |weight=100
   |nutr=100

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
   |reference=[[monst.c#line2676]]
 }}
-A '''chameleon''', {{monsym|chameleon}}, is a type of [[monster]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]''. The chameleon is a [[carnivorous]] [[animal]] that is part of the [[Lizard (monster class)|lizard]] [[monster class]], and is the most common and well-known of the [[shapeshifter]]s: they have a {{frac|6}} chance per turn of [[polymorph]]ing, and will change into an animal {{frac|2|3}} of the time and a random monster the rest of the time. A chameleon that is already shapeshifted and is polymorphed by other means will continue to shapeshift as normal and will not be subjected to [[system shock]], but wearing a [[ring of protection from shape changers]] or [[cancelling]] the chameleon will trap it in its base form, which leaves them vulnerable to permanent polymorphing and system shock.{{refsrc|src/zap.c|251|nethack=3.6.7}}
+A '''chameleon''', {{monsym|chameleon}}, is a type of [[monster]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]''.
 A chameleon has a single [[bite]] attack.

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
   |frequency=2
   |genocidable=Yes
-  |attacks=Bite 4d2
+  |attacks=[[Bite]] 4d2 [[Physical attack|physical]]
   |weight=100
   |nutr=100
@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
   |reference=[[monst.c#line2676]]
 }}
-A '''chameleon''', {{monsym|chameleon}}, is the most common and well-known [[shapeshifter]] [[monster]] in ''[[NetHack]]''.
+A '''chameleon''', {{monsym|chameleon}}, is a type of [[monster]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]''. The chameleon is a [[carnivorous]] [[animal]] that is part of the [[Lizard (monster class)|lizard]] [[monster class]], and is the most common and well-known of the [[shapeshifter]]s: they have a {{frac|6}} chance per turn of [[polymorph]]ing, and will change into an animal {{frac|2|3}} of the time and a random monster the rest of the time. A chameleon that is already shapeshifted and is polymorphed by other means will continue to shapeshift as normal and will not be subjected to [[system shock]], but wearing a [[ring of protection from shape changers]] or [[cancelling]] the chameleon will trap it in its base form, which leaves them vulnerable to permanent polymorphing and system shock.{{refsrc|src/zap.c|251|nethack=3.6.7}}
-Chameleons have a {{frac|6}} chance per turn of changing forms: chameleons will change into an [[animal]] {{frac|2|3}} of the time, and a random monster the rest of the time. A chameleon is immune to [[system shock]] and will continue to shapeshift as normal if [[you]] [[polymorph]] them while they are already shapeshifted, but can be permanently polymorphed and subjected to system shock if forcibly polymorphed while in their base form.{{refsrc|src/zap.c|251|nethack=3.6.7}}
+A chameleon has a single [[bite]] attack.
-[[Eating]] a chameleon [[corpse]] or [[tin]] causes you to polymorph, unless you have [[unchanging]].
+[[Eating]] a chameleon [[corpse]] or [[tin]] causes the eater to polymorph unless they have [[unchanging]].
 ==Generation==
-Chameleons are always generated hostile.
+Chameleons are always generated hostile. They are not a valid polymorph form.
 Several chameleons are guaranteed to appear within the [[Rogue quest]]: eight to ten chameleons are generated at level creation on the home level, five are generated at level creation on the locate level, and five are generated at level creation on the goal level. In addition, the section of the goal level containing the [[Master Assassin]] has a tin of chameleon meat in the leftmost room.
@@ Line 32: / Line 34: @@
 ==Strategy==
-Chameleons are quite capable of imitating various monsters that can either cast the [[summon nasties]] [[monster spell]], most infamously [[arch-lich]]es, or else can be generated by the spell themselves - this and many of the other possible out-of-depth forms can also spell death for the unfortunate, particularly in the late portions of the early game (e.g. [[Sokoban]]). As you progress throughout the dungeon and assemble your kit, chameleons gradually become less of a potential game-ender, but they remain an obstacle throughout the majority of the game, especially for [[Rogue]]s on their [[Quest]].
+Chameleons are quite capable of imitating various monsters that can either cast the [[summon nasties]] [[monster spell]], most infamously [[arch-lich]]es, or else can be generated by the spell themselves&mdash;this and many of the other possible out-of-depth forms can also spell death for the unfortunate, particularly in the late portions of the early game (e.g. [[Sokoban]]). As you progress throughout the dungeon and assemble your kit, chameleons gradually become less of a potential game-ender, but they remain an obstacle throughout the majority of the game, especially for [[Rogue]]s on their [[Quest]].
-A suspected chameleon should be dealt with quickly whenever possible: wearing a [[ring of protection from shape changers]] or [[canceling]] them will force them to remain in their base form, which has weak defenses and can only do 8 damage at most by biting. A chameleon trapped in its base form can be permanently polymorphed without the ability to shapeshifter further.
+A suspected chameleon should be dealt with quickly whenever possible: as mentioned previously wearing a ring of protection from shape changers or canceling them will force them to remain in their base form, which has weak defenses and can only do 8 damage at most by biting. A chameleon trapped in its base form can also be permanently polymorphed without the ability to shapeshifter further. It is also possible to pacify or even tame one if they are in the appropriate form, e.g. a [[domestic animal]] that the hero throws appropriate food at.
 ===Pets===
-Chameleons can be tamed  in the form of a [[domestic animal]] with the appropriate food, and will remain tame even as they change forms. Unfortunately, its usefulness as a pet is heavily limited, since it cannot be predicted when it will change into a useful form or one that is weak or else self-destructs to attack; it is typically better to polymorph them into another form using protection from shape changers.
+Chameleons that are tamed by any means will remain tame even as they change forms. Unfortunately, its usefulness as a pet is heavily limited, since it cannot be predicted when it will change into a useful form or one that is weak or else [[Explosion attack|self-destructs to attack]]; it is typically better to polymorph them into another form using protection from shape changers.
-Carnivorous pets eating a chameleon corpse may polymorph into something weaker or undesired - try to avoid leaving those pets (especially [[purple worm]]s) near chameleons or their freshly-made corpses. It also pays to mind what corpses you eat yourself, lest you cause yourself a lot of misery and lost [[armor]].
+Carnivorous pets eating a chameleon corpse may polymorph into something weaker or undesired&mdash;try to avoid leaving those pets (especially [[purple worm]]s) near chameleons or their freshly-made corpses. It also pays to mind what corpses you eat yourself, lest you cause yourself a lot of misery and lost [[armor]].
-{{upcoming|3.7.0|Pets will no longer eat shapeshifter corpses unless they are starving or on the verge of untaming.}}
+{{upcoming|3.7.0|Per the above commits, pets will only eat shapeshifter corpses if they are starving or on the verge of untaming&mdash;beware if a [[dog]] that is about to go feral turns into an arch-lich or similar monster this way!.}}
 ==History==
 The chameleon first appears in Hack 1.21 and Hack for PDP-11, which are based on [[Jay Fenlason's Hack]], and is included in the initial bestiary for [[Hack 1.0]].
-In [[NetHack 3.6.0]], [[Vampire (monster class)|vampires]] are made into shapeshifters, introducing a bug that caused chameleons polymorphing into any type of vampire to remain stuck in that form, unable to cycle between random forms or use the vampire's own shapeshifting. This was fixed in [[NetHack 3.6.1]] via {{commit|885de116e1e93faa8ad5dc2685d16a9f553c50ed|commit 885de11}} and {{commit|45ba0addf25a6a0f29b6de793524e5250a6c039a|commit 45ba0ad}}.
+In [[NetHack 3.6.0]], [[Vampire (monster class)|vampires]] are made into shapeshifters, introducing a bug that caused chameleons polymorphing into any type of vampire to remain stuck in that form and unable to cycle between random forms ''or'' use the vampire's own shapeshifting. This is fixed in [[NetHack 3.6.1]] via {{commit|885de116e1e93faa8ad5dc2685d16a9f553c50ed}} and {{commit|45ba0addf25a6a0f29b6de793524e5250a6c039a}}.
 ==Origin==
 {{wikipedia|Chameleon}}
-Chameleons (or chamaeleons) are a distinctive and highly specialized natural group of Old World lizards, with more than 200 species in in the family ''Chamaeleonidae''. Chameleons are best known for their distinct range of colors and the ability to shift those colors, with variability from a shift in brightness or hues to employing a plethora of color-combinations - this is employed to avoid alerting prey or other predators such as birds and snakes, as well as in social signaling and reactions to temperature and other conditions, which depend on the species. Chameleons live in warm habitats that range from rainforest to desert conditions - various species occur in the mainland of Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar, as well as in southern Europe and across southern Asia as far as Sri Lanka, and some species have been introduced to Hawaii, California, and Florida.
+Chameleons (or chamaeleons) are a distinctive and highly specialized natural group of Old World lizards, with more than 200 species in in the family ''Chamaeleonidae''. Chameleons are best known for their distinct range of colors and the ability to shift those colors, with variability from a shift in brightness or hues to employing a plethora of color-combinations - this is employed to avoid alerting prey or other predators such as birds and snakes, as well as in social signaling and reactions to temperature and other conditions, which depend on the species. Chameleons live in warm habitats that range from rainforest to desert conditions&mdash;various species occur in the mainland of Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar, as well as in southern Europe and across southern Asia as far as Sri Lanka, and some species have been introduced to Hawaii, California, and Florida.
-Chameleons vary greatly in size and body structure, and are generally adapted for climbing, with a laterally-compressed body designed to distribute their weight, four-toed feet that have a pair of toes each facing forward and back, and a prehensile tail used to maintain stability. A chameleon's length can vary from as small as 15 mm (0.59 in) to 68.5 cm (27.0 in). The head of a chameleon often has a distinctive shape, and may include crests or horns on their brow and snout - their eyes are independently mobile, providing two separate, individual images of the chameleon’s environment for the brain to analyze; when hunting prey, they focus forward in order to coordinate more stereoscopic vision. Chameleons are primarily insectivores that feed using projectile tongues with a specialized bone and muscle structure to capture distant prey in as little as 0.07 seconds; some species can project their tongues more than twice the length of their body.
+Chameleons vary greatly in size and body structure, and are generally adapted for climbing, with a laterally-compressed body designed to distribute their weight, four-toed feet that have a pair of toes each facing forward and back, and a prehensile tail used to maintain stability. A chameleon's length can vary from as small as 15 mm (0.59 in) to 68.5 cm (27.0 in). The head of a chameleon often has a distinctive shape, and may include crests or horns on their brow and snout&mdash;their eyes are independently mobile, providing two separate and individual images of the chameleon’s environment for the brain to analyze; when hunting prey, they focus forward in order to coordinate more stereoscopic vision. Chameleons are primarily insectivores that feed using projectile tongues with a specialized bone and muscle structure to capture distant prey in as little as 0.07 seconds; some species can project their tongues more than twice the length of their body.
-In fiction, the chameleon's camouflage is subject to varying levels of exaggeration, with some fantasy media such as the ''Xanth'' series (which provides the [[encyclopedia]] entry) extending this to full-on shapeshifting - the chameleon of ''NetHack'' clearly takes inspiration from this latter "school" of portrayals. Chameleons are also often associated with subterfuge and deceit, being commonly employed as spy motifs.
+In fiction, the chameleon's camouflage is subject to varying levels of exaggeration, with some fantasy media such as the ''Xanth'' series (which provides the [[encyclopedia]] entry) extending this to full-on shapeshifting&mdash;the chameleon of ''NetHack'' clearly takes inspiration from this latter "school" of portrayals. Chameleons are also often associated with subterfuge and deceit, being commonly employed as spy motifs.
 ==Variants==
 ===SLASH'EM===
-In [[SLASH'EM]], polymorphed monsters return to their base form upon death much like the player - this makes hostile chameleons far more dangerous, especially due to the amount of new monsters they can take the form of, since a polymorphed chameleon that is killed can quickly shapeshift again after resuming their normal form. This also makes tamed chameleons somewhat more useful, since they are at least likely to live longer and take on powerful forms that can aid you in combat.
+In [[SLASH'EM]], polymorphed monsters return to their base form upon death much like the player&mdash;this makes hostile chameleons far more dangerous, especially due to the amount of new monsters they can take the form of, since a polymorphed chameleon that is killed can quickly shapeshift again after resuming their normal form. This also makes tamed chameleons somewhat more useful, since they are at least likely to live longer and take on powerful forms that can aid you in combat.
 In older versions of SLASH'EM, chameleons served as the first [[quest]] monster for the [[Defunct features (SLASH'EM)|defunct Doppelganger quest]], making up {{frac|96|175}} of randomly generated monsters in the branch. Several chameleons would also be generated on level creation for each level within the branch: eight on the home level, three on each upper filler level, fourteen on the locate level, two on each lower filler level, and nine on the goal level.
@@ Line 66: / Line 70: @@
 ===EvilHack===
-In [[EvilHack]], chameleons also have several new lethal forms to take advantage of, and can revive after being killed - however, unlike SLASH'EM and GruntHack, a chameleon returned to its base form this way will be cancelled, preventing it from shapeshifting again.
+In [[EvilHack]], chameleons also have several new lethal forms to take advantage of, and can revive after being killed&mdash;however, unlike SLASH'EM and GruntHack, a chameleon returned to its base form this way will be cancelled, preventing it from shapeshifting again.
 ==Encyclopaedia entry==

@@ Line 39: / Line 39: @@
 Chameleons can be tamed  in the form of a [[domestic animal]] with the appropriate food, and will remain tame even as they change forms. Unfortunately, its usefulness as a pet is heavily limited, since it cannot be predicted when it will change into a useful form or one that is weak or else self-destructs to attack; it is typically better to polymorph them into another form using protection from shape changers.
-Carnivorous pets eating a chameleon corpse may polymorph into something weaker or useless - try to avoid leaving those pets (especially [[purple worm]]s) near chameleons or their freshly-made corpses. It also pays to mind what corpses you eat yourself, lest you cause yourself a lot of misery and lost [[armor]].
+Carnivorous pets eating a chameleon corpse may polymorph into something weaker or undesired - try to avoid leaving those pets (especially [[purple worm]]s) near chameleons or their freshly-made corpses. It also pays to mind what corpses you eat yourself, lest you cause yourself a lot of misery and lost [[armor]].
 {{upcoming|3.7.0|Pets will no longer eat shapeshifter corpses unless they are starving or on the verge of untaming.}}
 ==History==
-The chameleon has been present in the game since Hack 1.21, a variant of [[Jay Fenlason's Hack]].
+The chameleon first appears in Hack 1.21 and Hack for PDP-11, which are based on [[Jay Fenlason's Hack]], and is included in the initial bestiary for [[Hack 1.0]].
-When [[Vampire (monster class)|vampires]] became shapeshifters in [[NetHack 3.6.0]], a bug was introduced that caused chameleons that polymorphed into any type of vampire to remain stuck in that form, leaving them unable to cycle between random forms or use the vampire's own shapeshifting. This was fixed in [[NetHack 3.6.1]] via {{commit|885de116e1e93faa8ad5dc2685d16a9f553c50ed|commit 885de11}} and {{commit|45ba0addf25a6a0f29b6de793524e5250a6c039a|commit 45ba0ad}}.
+In [[NetHack 3.6.0]], [[Vampire (monster class)|vampires]] are made into shapeshifters, introducing a bug that caused chameleons polymorphing into any type of vampire to remain stuck in that form, unable to cycle between random forms or use the vampire's own shapeshifting. This was fixed in [[NetHack 3.6.1]] via {{commit|885de116e1e93faa8ad5dc2685d16a9f553c50ed|commit 885de11}} and {{commit|45ba0addf25a6a0f29b6de793524e5250a6c039a|commit 45ba0ad}}.
 ==Origin==
 {{wikipedia|Chameleon}}
-Chameleons (or chamaeleons) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards, with more than 200 species in in the family ''Chamaeleonidae''. Chameleons are best known for their distinct range of colors and the ability to shift those colors, with variability from a shift in brightness or hues to employing a plethora of color-combinations - this is employed to avoid alerting prey or other predators such as birds and snakes, as well as in social signaling and reactions to temperature and other conditions, which depend on the species. Chameleons live in warm habitats that range from rainforest to desert conditions - various species occur in the mainland of Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar, as well as in southern Europe and across southern Asia as far as Sri Lanka, and some species have been introduced to Hawaii, California, and Florida.
+Chameleons (or chamaeleons) are a distinctive and highly specialized natural group of Old World lizards, with more than 200 species in in the family ''Chamaeleonidae''. Chameleons are best known for their distinct range of colors and the ability to shift those colors, with variability from a shift in brightness or hues to employing a plethora of color-combinations - this is employed to avoid alerting prey or other predators such as birds and snakes, as well as in social signaling and reactions to temperature and other conditions, which depend on the species. Chameleons live in warm habitats that range from rainforest to desert conditions - various species occur in the mainland of Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar, as well as in southern Europe and across southern Asia as far as Sri Lanka, and some species have been introduced to Hawaii, California, and Florida.
 Chameleons vary greatly in size and body structure, and are generally adapted for climbing, with a laterally-compressed body designed to distribute their weight, four-toed feet that have a pair of toes each facing forward and back, and a prehensile tail used to maintain stability. A chameleon's length can vary from as small as 15 mm (0.59 in) to 68.5 cm (27.0 in). The head of a chameleon often has a distinctive shape, and may include crests or horns on their brow and snout - their eyes are independently mobile, providing two separate, individual images of the chameleon’s environment for the brain to analyze; when hunting prey, they focus forward in order to coordinate more stereoscopic vision. Chameleons are primarily insectivores that feed using projectile tongues with a specialized bone and muscle structure to capture distant prey in as little as 0.07 seconds; some species can project their tongues more than twice the length of their body.
-In fiction, the chameleon's camouflauge is subject to varying levels of exaggeration, with some fantasy works such as the ''Xanth'' series (from which the [[encyclopedia]] entry originates) extending this to full-on shapeshifting - the chameleon of ''NetHack'' clearly takes more inspiration from this latter "school" of portrayals. Chameleons are also often associated with subterfuge and deceit, being commonly employed as spy motifs.
+In fiction, the chameleon's camouflage is subject to varying levels of exaggeration, with some fantasy media such as the ''Xanth'' series (which provides the [[encyclopedia]] entry) extending this to full-on shapeshifting - the chameleon of ''NetHack'' clearly takes inspiration from this latter "school" of portrayals. Chameleons are also often associated with subterfuge and deceit, being commonly employed as spy motifs.
 ==Variants==
@@ Line 60: / Line 60: @@
 In [[SLASH'EM]], polymorphed monsters return to their base form upon death much like the player - this makes hostile chameleons far more dangerous, especially due to the amount of new monsters they can take the form of, since a polymorphed chameleon that is killed can quickly shapeshift again after resuming their normal form. This also makes tamed chameleons somewhat more useful, since they are at least likely to live longer and take on powerful forms that can aid you in combat.
-In older versions of SLASH'EM, chameleons served as the first quest monster for the [[Defunct features (SLASH'EM)|defunct Doppelganger quest]], making up 55% of randomly generated monsters in the branch. Several chameleons would also be generated on level creation for each level within the branch: eight on the home level, three on each upper filler level, fourteen on the locate level, two on each lower filler level, and nine on the goal level.
+In older versions of SLASH'EM, chameleons served as the first [[quest]] monster for the [[Defunct features (SLASH'EM)|defunct Doppelganger quest]], making up {{frac|96|175}} of randomly generated monsters in the branch. Several chameleons would also be generated on level creation for each level within the branch: eight on the home level, three on each upper filler level, fourteen on the locate level, two on each lower filler level, and nine on the goal level.
 ===GruntHack===
@@ Line 66: / Line 66: @@
 ===EvilHack===
-In [[EvilHack]], chameleons also have several new lethal forms to take advantage of, and can revive after being killed; however, unlike SLASH'EM and GruntHack, a chameleon returned to its base form this way will be cancelled, preventing it from shapeshifting again.
+In [[EvilHack]], chameleons also have several new lethal forms to take advantage of, and can revive after being killed - however, unlike SLASH'EM and GruntHack, a chameleon returned to its base form this way will be cancelled, preventing it from shapeshifting again.
 ==Encyclopaedia entry==

@@ Line 81: / Line 81: @@
 [ A Spell for Chameleon, by Piers Anthony ]
 }}
 {{nethack-367}}
 [[Category:Monsters]]