Corpse - Revision history

JASON10668: /* Corpses that are both beneficial and harmful */ fix source ref

2026-05-28T12:40:50Z

‎Corpses that are both beneficial and harmful: fix source ref

Joes: /* Corpse benefits and dangers */ fix source refs

2026-05-12T09:04:36Z

‎Corpse benefits and dangers: fix source refs

Umbire the Phantom: corrections

2025-08-11T17:01:49Z

corrections

Umbire the Phantom: potholes

2025-01-16T12:09:58Z

potholes

Umbire the Phantom: /* History */ copyedit

2024-12-16T06:54:02Z

‎History: copyedit

Umbire the Phantom: languages + copyedit

2024-02-18T15:55:01Z

languages + copyedit

Umbire the Phantom: /* Aging */ word choice

2023-12-27T07:11:27Z

‎Aging: word choice

Umbire the Phantom: pothole

2023-08-03T16:06:53Z

pothole

Umbire the Phantom: expand history + variants some

2023-07-01T11:12:07Z

expand history + variants some

Cathartes: avoid disambig page by linking wand/spell directly

2022-02-13T23:39:52Z

avoid disambig page by linking wand/spell directly

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 Finally, there are non-poisonous corpses which are good or bad:
 * Eating a [[chameleon]] or [[doppelganger]] corpse will [[polymorph]] you. Doppelgangers are human, so beware of [[cannibalism]].
-* Eating a [[disenchanter]] corpse is generally bad. One of the following intrinsics is randomly selected:{{refsrc|src/eat.c|1034|version=NetHack 3.6.0}}Source:NetHack_3.6.0/src/sit.c#attrcurse fire resistance, cold resistance, poison resistance, telepathy, invisibility, see invisible, speed, stealth, intrinsic protection, teleportitis, aggravate monsters. If you possess the chosen intrinsic, you lose it. Of these, only teleportitis, aggravate monsters, and invisibility could be detrimental.
+* Eating a [[disenchanter]] corpse is generally bad. One of the following intrinsics is randomly selected:{{refsrc|src/eat.c|1034|version=NetHack 3.6.0}}{{refsrc|src/sit.c|388|nethack=3.6.0}} fire resistance, cold resistance, poison resistance, telepathy, invisibility, see invisible, speed, stealth, intrinsic protection, teleportitis, aggravate monsters. If you possess the chosen intrinsic, you lose it. Of these, only teleportitis, aggravate monsters, and invisibility could be detrimental.
 * [[Leprechaun]]s and all [[Nymph (monster class)|nymphs]] confer [[teleportitis]]. This can be inconvenient if you lack [[teleport control]].
 * [[Master Kaen]] confers poison resistance, but being human (and Monks' [[Quest Nemesis]]), he's likely to trigger [[cannibalism]].

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 Finally, there are non-poisonous corpses which are good or bad:
 * Eating a [[chameleon]] or [[doppelganger]] corpse will [[polymorph]] you. Doppelgangers are human, so beware of [[cannibalism]].
-* Eating a [[disenchanter]] corpse is generally bad. One of the following intrinsics is randomly selected:<ref>[Source:NetHack_3.6.0/src/eat.c#1034]</ref><ref>[Source:NetHack_3.6.0/src/sit.c#attrcurse]</ref> fire resistance, cold resistance, poison resistance, telepathy, invisibility, see invisible, speed, stealth, intrinsic protection, teleportitis, aggravate monsters. If you possess the chosen intrinsic, you lose it. Of these, only teleportitis, aggravate monsters, and invisibility could be detrimental.
+* Eating a [[disenchanter]] corpse is generally bad. One of the following intrinsics is randomly selected:{{refsrc|src/eat.c|1034|version=NetHack 3.6.0}}Source:NetHack_3.6.0/src/sit.c#attrcurse fire resistance, cold resistance, poison resistance, telepathy, invisibility, see invisible, speed, stealth, intrinsic protection, teleportitis, aggravate monsters. If you possess the chosen intrinsic, you lose it. Of these, only teleportitis, aggravate monsters, and invisibility could be detrimental.
 * [[Leprechaun]]s and all [[Nymph (monster class)|nymphs]] confer [[teleportitis]]. This can be inconvenient if you lack [[teleport control]].
 * [[Master Kaen]] confers poison resistance, but being human (and Monks' [[Quest Nemesis]]), he's likely to trigger [[cannibalism]].

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 ===Gaining intrinsics===
-Most, though not all, corpse-eating effects are chances of gaining intrinsics. The chance of gaining an intrinsic from a intrinsic-providing corpse is based on the monster's base level and the amount of intrinsics it can provide. If a monster can provide multiple intrinsics, there is an equal chance of each being conferred, even if you already possess the intrinsic. Once one intrinsic is picked from the list, there is a ''level''/15 chance that it will be conferred. [[Telepathy]], [[teleportitis]], and [[teleport control]] are exceptions; telepathy is guaranteed, teleportitis is ''level''/10, and teleport control is ''level''/12. [[Killer bee]] and [[scorpion]] corpses are also exceptions; their chance of conferring poison resistance is (''level''+5)/20.{{refsrc|src/eat.c|840|version=NetHack 3.6.6}}{{refsrc|src/eat.c|1128|version=NetHack 3.6.6}}
+Most, though not all, corpse-eating effects are chances of gaining intrinsics. The chance of gaining an intrinsic from a intrinsic-providing corpse is dependent on the monster's base level and the amount of intrinsics it can provide. If a monster can provide multiple intrinsics, there is an equal chance of each being conferred, even if you already possess the intrinsic. Once one intrinsic is picked from the list, there is a ''ML''/15 chance that it will be conferred. [[Telepathy]], [[teleportitis]], and [[teleport control]] are exceptions: telepathy is guaranteed, teleportitis is ''ML''/10, and teleport control is ''level''/12. [[Killer bee]] and [[scorpion]] corpses are also exceptions, with their chance of conferring poison resistance calculated as (''level''+5)/20.{{refsrc|src/eat.c|840|version=NetHack 3.6.6}}{{refsrc|src/eat.c|1128|version=NetHack 3.6.6}}
 === Purely beneficial corpses and globs ===
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 ** Elf players suffer [[cannibalism]] from eating other elves, but they gain sleep resistance naturally.
 * [[Wraith]] corpses provide a guaranteed level up.
-* All [[giant]]s, [[titan]]s, the [[Cyclops]], and [[Lord Surtur]] provide an increase in [[strength]].
+* All [[giant]]s, the [[Cyclops]], and [[Lord Surtur]] provide an increase in [[strength]].
 ** Fire giants and Lord Sultur also confer fire resistance.
 ** Frost giants also confer cold resistance.
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 * [[Newt]]s provide 1&ndash;3 [[energy]], or increase maximum energy if already at max.
 * [[Quasit]]s confer poison resistance.
 * [[Shrieker]]s confer poison resistance.
-* [[Tengu]] confer both teleportitis and teleport control, as well as poison resistance.
+* [[Tengu]] confer teleportitis, teleport control and poison resistance.
 As a general rule, monsters with a fiery attack (red molds, red dragons, etc.) tend to confer fire resistance and monsters with a cold attack (brown molds, white dragons, etc.) tend to confer cold resistance.
 === Corpses that are both beneficial and harmful ===
+This section lists corpses which both provide benefit beyond nutrition value, and are harmful beyond being acidic, or cause an effect which may be both beneficial and harmful.
 The following corpses are poisonous but also confer poison resistance:

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 ==Description==
-Most corpses can be [[revive]]d with a [[wand of undead turning]] or [[spell of turn undead]], and a few revive spontaneously.
+Most corpses can be [[revived]] with a [[wand of undead turning]] or [[spell of turn undead]], and a few revive spontaneously.
 Even though all corpses are classified as comestibles, that does not imply that they should all be eaten. Some corpses are [[acid]]ic, [[poison]]ous or [[hallucination|hallucinogenic]], while others can give you a property that you may not want, and still others are deadly to eat. Normally, you should avoid those corpses unless you have the appropriate resistance or means of curing the condition that they cause.
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 * Eating a [[chameleon]] or [[doppelganger]] corpse will [[polymorph]] you. Doppelgangers are human, so beware of [[cannibalism]].
 * Eating a [[disenchanter]] corpse is generally bad. One of the following intrinsics is randomly selected:<ref>[Source:NetHack_3.6.0/src/eat.c#1034]</ref><ref>[Source:NetHack_3.6.0/src/sit.c#attrcurse]</ref> fire resistance, cold resistance, poison resistance, telepathy, invisibility, see invisible, speed, stealth, intrinsic protection, teleportitis, aggravate monsters. If you possess the chosen intrinsic, you lose it. Of these, only teleportitis, aggravate monsters, and invisibility could be detrimental.
-* [[Leprechaun]]s and all [[nymph]]s confer [[teleportitis]]. This can be inconvenient if you lack [[teleport control]].
+* [[Leprechaun]]s and all [[Nymph (monster class)|nymphs]] confer [[teleportitis]]. This can be inconvenient if you lack [[teleport control]].
 * [[Master Kaen]] confers poison resistance, but being human (and Monks' [[Quest Nemesis]]), he's likely to trigger [[cannibalism]].
 * [[Nurse]]s fully heal, and have a 73% chance of granting poison resistance. Nurses are human, so beware of [[cannibalism]].
 * [[Cockatrice]] and [[chickatrice]] corpses kill you instantly by petrification, but if you are [[petrification resistance|resistant]] or saved by [[amulet of life saving]], you may become poison resistant.
 * [[Stalker]] corpses make you temporarily invisible for 50&ndash;149 turns. If you are already invisible, it will make you permanently invisible and grant [[see invisible]]. Eating one will also [[stun]] you for 60+ turns.
-* [[Violet fungus|Violet fungi]] cause hallucination for 200+ turns, but may confer poison resistance.
+* [[Violet fungi]] cause hallucination for 200+ turns, but may confer poison resistance.
 * The [[Wizard of Yendor]] confers one of: fire resistance, poison resistance, teleport control, and teleportitis. He is a human, so beware of [[cannibalism]].
 * [[Giant zombie]]s and [[Giant mummy|mummies]] may increase your strength, but have a high risk of food poisoning that is best avoided by using a [[tinning kit]].

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 ==History==
-Corpses have been present in the game since [[Hack 1.0]] - [[Jay Fenlason's Hack]] also has the [[dead lizard]], though this was a random food item rather than a corpse left by a killed monster. From Hack 1.0 to [[NetHack 3.0.0]], a corpse was known as a '''dead [[foo]]'''.
+Corpses have been present in the game since [[Hack 1.0]] - [[Jay Fenlason's Hack]] also has the [[dead lizard]], though this was a random food item rather than a corpse left by a killed monster. From Hack 1.0 to [[NetHack 2.3e]], a corpse is known as a '''dead [[foo]]'''. [[NetHack 3.0.0]] gives the corpse item its current name.
 ==Variants==

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 {{comestible
    |color=brown
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 A '''corpse''', also referred to as a '''cadaver''', is the body of a dead [[monster]]. It is a very common [[comestible]]. Some monsters never drop corpses, some monsters drop corpses occasionally, while others will always drop corpses except in special circumstances.
-Even though all corpses are classified as comestibles, that does not imply that they should all be eaten. Some corpses are [[acid]]ic, [[poison]]ous or [[hallucination|hallucinogenic]]; some corpses will give you a property that you may not want; even worse, some corpses are deadly to eat. Normally, you should avoid those corpses unless you have the appropriate resistance or means of curing the condition that they cause. One way to learn which corpses to avoid is to watch which ones your pet eats; for example, a pet will never eat a poisonous corpse (unless the pet is poison resistant). However, there are exceptions to this rule; for example, domestic pets may eat corpses of cats, dogs, bats, violet fungi, leprechauns, nymphs, stalkers, tengu, and your race without adverse effects, and you do not want to eat those corpses unless you have a way of dealing with their negative effects.
+==Description==
-Most corpses can be [[revive]]d with a [[wand of undead turning]] or [[spell of turn undead]], and a few revive spontaneously.
+Even though all corpses are classified as comestibles, that does not imply that they should all be eaten. Some corpses are [[acid]]ic, [[poison]]ous or [[hallucination|hallucinogenic]], while others can give you a property that you may not want, and still others are deadly to eat. Normally, you should avoid those corpses unless you have the appropriate resistance or means of curing the condition that they cause.
 ==Corpse generation odds==

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 ** If you eat a tainted corpse while being [[Immunity to sickness|immune to sickness]], you will not become sick, but the corpse still rots completely, conferring no nutrition, intrinsics, etc.
 ** If you were sick already, eating a tainted corpse re-rolls the number of turns you have left to live, compares it to the current number, and takes the lower of the two. Eating the corpse also takes 1 turn, so you will always be closer to death afterward.
-* Otherwise, if the rottenness is at least 4 ("old"), and you are not sickness resistant, there is a 20% chance that you "feel sick" and lose 1d8 HP. Dying from this damage will display the death message "killed by a cadaver".
+* Otherwise, if the rottenness is at least 4 ("old"), and you are not sickness resistant, there is a 20% chance that you "feel sick" and lose 1d8 HP. Dying from this will display the death message as "killed by a cadaver".
 ** If the rottenness is 6 or more but the corpse is not tainted, the chance is 100%.
 ** In addition to sickness resistance, you are completely protected from this damage if the corpse is poisonous or you receive acidic damage from it.

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 === Corpses that are only harmful ===
 The following corpses cause harm without any beneficial effect except nutrition:
-* Eating corpses of your own race constitutes [[cannibalism]]. Unless you are an [[orc]] or [[Caveman]], you gain the [[aggravate monster]] intrinsic, and lose 2&ndash;5 points of [[Luck]]. All {{white|@}} except elves, along with all {{white|K}}, are human, including [[werecreature]]s and [[doppelganger]]s. Other races are obvious.
+* Eating corpses of your own race constitutes [[cannibalism]]. Unless you are an [[Orc (starting race)|orc]] or [[Caveman]], you gain the [[aggravate monster]] intrinsic and lose 2&ndash;5 points of [[Luck]]. All {{white|@}} except elves, along with all {{white|K}}, are human, including [[werecreature]]s and [[doppelganger]]s. Other races are obvious.
 ** Eating [[abbot]]s also inflicts hallucination.
 * [[Cat]]s and [[dog]]s confer the [[aggravate monster]] intrinsic, unless you are an [[orc]] or [[Caveman]].

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 * [[ochre jelly]] (20)
-== Variants ==
+==History==
-In [[SLASH'EM]], corpses sometimes get overgrown with molds. This behavior has also been ported to [[xNetHack]]. Knowing this, players may get extra resistances or lichen corpses. See [[Fungus#SLASH'EM|Fungus § SLASH'EM]] for more details.
+Corpses have been present in the game since [[Hack 1.0]] - [[Jay Fenlason's Hack]] also has the [[dead lizard]], though this was a random food item rather than a corpse left by a killed monster. From Hack 1.0 to [[NetHack 3.0.0]], a corpse was known as a '''dead [[foo]]'''.
 ==See also==