Dungeon fern - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: category, tweaks

2026-02-28T12:50:28Z

category, tweaks

Umbire the Phantom: detail

2025-08-02T10:31:12Z

detail

Umbire the Phantom: move todo

2025-08-02T04:08:34Z

move todo

Umbire the Phantom: bloop

2025-08-01T18:51:51Z

bloop

Umbire the Phantom: tocright

2025-08-01T01:44:52Z

tocright

Umbire the Phantom: alright, Good Enough

2025-07-31T16:55:55Z

alright, Good Enough

Umbire the Phantom: so I'm almost certainly keeping this - workshop it more

2025-07-31T12:31:19Z

so I'm almost certainly keeping this - workshop it more

Umbire the Phantom: keep this text to reference and refine in the event I make a hub article

2025-07-31T09:04:58Z

keep this text to reference and refine in the event I make a hub article

Umbire the Phantom: Umbire the Phantom moved page Dungeon fern to Dungeon fern (UnNetHack): disambig

2025-07-31T07:04:16Z

Umbire the Phantom moved page Dungeon fern to Dungeon fern (UnNetHack): disambig

New page

#REDIRECT [[Dungeon fern (UnNetHack)]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{tocright}}
-The '''dungeon fern''' is a subset of monsters that appear in multiple variants of ''[[NetHack]]''. Dungeon ferns and their relatives can be found in [[UnNetHack]], [[dNetHack]], [[notdNetHack]], [[notnotdNetHack]], and [[Hack'EM]]&mdash;their specific abilities, functions and classification depend on the variant they are found in.
+The '''dungeon fern''' is a subset of [[monster]]s that appear in multiple variants of ''[[NetHack]]''. Dungeon ferns and their relatives can be found in [[UnNetHack]], [[dNetHack]], [[notdNetHack]], [[notnotdNetHack]], and [[Hack'EM]]&mdash;their specific abilities, functions and classification depend on the variant where they appear.
 {{todo|Update and detail info for variants other than UnNetHack, and redirect things accordingly as articles are made.}}
@@ Line 91: / Line 91: @@
 keep them from overtaking their home.
 }}{{variant-noversion}}
 [[Category:UnNetHack monsters]]
 [[Category:dNetHack monsters]]

@@ Line 39: / Line 39: @@
 * Swamp ferns can reproduce themselves using muddy swamp.
-[[Reading]] a blessed [[scroll of stinking cloud]] while [[confused]] will generate up to three generic fern spore monsters ({{brown|e}}), which can produce any of the four species of ferns if they explode on appropriate terrain&mdash;they are not randomly generated otherwise.
+[[Reading]] a blessed [[scroll of stinking cloud]] while [[confused]] will generate up to three generic fern spore monsters ({{brown|e}}), which are not randomly generated otherwise&mdash;they can produce any of the four species of ferns, depending on if they explode over appropriate terrain.
 ==dNetHack==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{tocright}}
 The '''dungeon fern''' is a subset of monsters that appear in multiple variants of ''[[NetHack]]''. Dungeon ferns and their relatives can be found in [[UnNetHack]], [[dNetHack]], [[notdNetHack]], [[notnotdNetHack]], and [[Hack'EM]]&mdash;their specific abilities, functions and classification depend on the variant they are found in.
 ==Common traits==
@@ Line 38: / Line 40: @@
 [[Reading]] a blessed [[scroll of stinking cloud]] while [[confused]] will generate up to three generic fern spore monsters ({{brown|e}}), which can produce any of the four species of ferns if they explode on appropriate terrain&mdash;they are not randomly generated otherwise.
 ==dNetHack==

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 Dungeon ferns are [[stationary]] with a low [[speed]] of 2, and have no directly-damaging attacks. However, if a [[hero]] is within roughly ten squares of a fern, they have a chance each turn of using a '''spore-making''' attack (or simply a '''spore''' attack) that is coded as a [[gaze attack]]: this attack has a {{frac|2}} chance of creating fern spores during each of their turns. The main differences among the four species of dungeon fern are the types of damage caused by their exploding spores, and the terrain in which they can reproduce.
-Fern spores are [[Eye or sphere|spherical]] creatures that are more dangerous relatives of [[gas spore]]s with [[poison resistance]]. These fern spores will attack the hero and [[grudge]] other monsters in the dungeon, and monsters that are not fern monsters or [[Devil's Snare]] will mutually grudge them in return&mdash;this is because ferns reproduce themselves by generating the spores, which in turn will attempt to explode and "seed" themselves in the terrain. A dungeon fern's spores have two means of attacking: an active [[explosion attack]] that releases a small plume of [[poison cloud]]s, and an [[on-death explosion]] that hits monsters in a 3x3 square centered on its location, similar to the gas spore.
+Fern spores are [[Eye or sphere|spherical]] creatures across all variants, and are more dangerous relatives of [[gas spore]]s with [[poison resistance]]. These fern spores will attack the hero and [[grudge]] other monsters in the dungeon, and most other monsters will mutually grudge them in return&mdash;this is because ferns reproduce themselves by generating the spores, which in turn will attempt to explode and "seed" themselves in the terrain. A dungeon fern's spores have two means of attacking: an active [[explosion attack]] that releases a small plume of [[poison cloud]]s, and an [[on-death explosion]] that hits monsters in a 3x3 square centered on its location, similar to the gas spore.
 Spore explosions have a {{frac|3}} chance of creating another dungeon fern, with a {{frac|6}} chance of creating a full-grown fern of the same type as the spore and otherwise creating a sprout of that dungeon fern: fern sprouts are [[stationary]] and can create spores like fully-grown ferns, but act at the same low speed of 2 and have a lower chance of {{frac|4}} to create spores so each turn.
 ==UnNetHack==
-In [[UnNetHack]], ferns are part of the [[fungus or mold]] [[monster class]], {{white|F}}, which is renamed to "fungus, mold, or fern" for the [[far look]] and [[what is]] commands.
+In [[UnNetHack]], ferns are part of the [[fungus or mold]] [[monster class]], {{white|F}}, which is renamed to "fungus, mold, or fern" for the [[far look]] and [[what is]] commands. Monsters in the dungeon that are not fern monsters or [[Devil's Snare (UnNetHack)|Devil's Snare]] share a mutual grudge with fern spores.
 UnNetHack features the following dungeon fern monsters:
@@ Line 39: / Line 39: @@
 [[Reading]] a blessed [[scroll of stinking cloud]] while [[confused]] will generate up to three generic fern spore monsters ({{brown|e}}), which can produce any of the four species of ferns if they explode on appropriate terrain&mdash;they are not randomly generated otherwise.
-{{todo|Update variant info below this template, and redirect things accordingly as articles are made.}}
+{{todo|Update and detail variant info below this template, and redirect things accordingly as articles are made.}}
 ==dNetHack==
-In [[dNetHack]], dungeon ferns are part of the [[Plant (dNetHack)|plant]] class, which uses the {{white|<nowiki>{</nowiki>}} glyph.
+In [[dNetHack]], [[notdNetHack]] and [[notnotdNetHack]], dungeon ferns and sprouts are part of the [[Plant (dNetHack)|plant]] monster class, which uses the {{white|{}} glyph.
-Two types of ferns appear as monsters in dNetHack, along with their respective spores and sprouts: the dungeon fern and the swamp fern (here {{brightmagenta|<nowiki>{</nowiki>}}). The former is identical to its UnNetHack counterpart, but the explosion of the dNetHack swamp fern spore ({{magenta|e}}) deals [[D notation|4d8]] damage instead of 2d4, and causes fungal [[disease]]s.
+dNetHack features the following dungeon fern monsters:
 ==Hack'EM==
-[[Hack'EM]] adds the dungeon ferns from UnNetHack.
+[[Hack'EM]] adds the dungeon ferns from UnNetHack, placing the ferns and sprouts within the fungus or mold monster class as UnNetHack does:
 ==Strategy==
-It is important to destroy dungeon ferns quickly unless you possess the means to contain out-of-control growth&mdash;the dangerous effects of the spores' poison clouds can be mitigated by poison resistance or [[unbreathing]], and if you lack either of these properties, standing at a diagonal to the spore when it bursts will give you a significant chance of being outside of the cloud when it forms. A careful player can take advantage of this and lure spores toward otherwise difficult monsters without poison resistance or unbreathing.
+In general, it is important to destroy dungeon ferns quickly unless you possess the means to contain out-of-control growth&mdash;the dangerous effects of the spores' poison clouds can be mitigated by poison resistance or [[unbreathing]], and if you lack either of these properties, standing at a diagonal to the spore when it bursts will give you a significant chance of being outside of the cloud when it forms. A careful player can take advantage of this and lure spores toward otherwise difficult monsters without poison resistance or unbreathing.
 ==Origin==

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:44, 1 August 2025
Line 1:		Line 1:
		+	{{tocright}}
	The '''dungeon fern''' is a subset of monsters that appear in multiple variants of ''[[NetHack]]''. Dungeon ferns and their relatives can be found in [[UnNetHack]], [[dNetHack]], [[notdNetHack]], [[notnotdNetHack]], and [[Hack'EM]]—their specific abilities, functions and classification depend on the variant they are found in.		The '''dungeon fern''' is a subset of monsters that appear in multiple variants of ''[[NetHack]]''. Dungeon ferns and their relatives can be found in [[UnNetHack]], [[dNetHack]], [[notdNetHack]], [[notnotdNetHack]], and [[Hack'EM]]—their specific abilities, functions and classification depend on the variant they are found in.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-#REDIRECT [[Dungeon fern (UnNetHack)]]<!--
+The '''dungeon fern''' is a subset of monsters that appear in multiple variants of ''[[NetHack]]''. Dungeon ferns and their relatives can be found in [[UnNetHack]], [[dNetHack]], [[notdNetHack]], [[notnotdNetHack]], and [[Hack'EM]]&mdash;their specific abilities, functions and classification depend on the variant they are found in.
 ==Common traits==
-Ferns are [[sessile]] and have no physical attacks. However, when approached, they create '''fern spores''', the more dangerous cousins of [[gas spore]]s.
+Dungeon ferns are [[stationary]] with a low [[speed]] of 2, and have no directly-damaging attacks. However, if a [[hero]] is within roughly ten squares of a fern, they have a chance each turn of using a '''spore-making''' attack (or simply a '''spore''' attack) that is coded as a [[gaze attack]]: this attack has a {{frac|2}} chance of creating fern spores during each of their turns. The main differences among the four species of dungeon fern are the types of damage caused by their exploding spores, and the terrain in which they can reproduce.
-Fern spores attack their targets directly by bursting into [[poison cloud]]s; the explosion itself does no harm to the target, and the dangerous effects of the cloud are entirely mitigated by [[poison resistance]] or [[unbreathing]]. If you do not have either of these, standing at a diagonal to the spore when it bursts will give you a significant chance of being outside of the cloud when it forms.  Attacking directly ''will'' cause the spore to explode properly, just like a gas spore.
+Fern spores are [[Eye or sphere|spherical]] creatures that are more dangerous relatives of [[gas spore]]s with [[poison resistance]]. These fern spores will attack the hero and [[grudge]] other monsters in the dungeon, and monsters that are not fern monsters or [[Devil's Snare]] will mutually grudge them in return&mdash;this is because ferns reproduce themselves by generating the spores, which in turn will attempt to explode and "seed" themselves in the terrain. A dungeon fern's spores have two means of attacking: an active [[explosion attack]] that releases a small plume of [[poison cloud]]s, and an [[on-death explosion]] that hits monsters in a 3x3 square centered on its location, similar to the gas spore.
-Exploding fern spores have a 1 in 3 chance of creating a new fern.  There is a 1 in 6 chance that it will be a full-grown dungeon fern; otherwise, it will be a '''dungeon fern sprout''', a lower-level dungeon fern which produces spores at a lower rate.  It is important to destroy both kinds of ferns quickly unless you possess the means to contain out-of-control growth.
+Spore explosions have a {{frac|3}} chance of creating another dungeon fern, with a {{frac|6}} chance of creating a full-grown fern of the same type as the spore and otherwise creating a sprout of that dungeon fern: fern sprouts are [[stationary]] and can create spores like fully-grown ferns, but act at the same low speed of 2 and have a lower chance of {{frac|4}} to create spores so each turn.
-Dungeon fern spores will target other monsters as well as the player, and in turn other monsters [[Grudge|will attack fern spores on sight]]. A careful player can take advantage of this and lure spores toward otherwise difficult monsters without poison resistance.
+==UnNetHack==
-==UnNetHack==
+UnNetHack features the following dungeon fern monsters:
-===Dungeon fern===
+* {{brightgreen|F}} [[Dungeon fern (UnNetHack)|dungeon fern]]
-The regular dungeon fern produces spores that deal physical damage when they explode.  These spore explosions can produce new ferns and sprouts on [[floor]] and [[muddy swamp]] tiles.
+** {{brightgreen|F}} [[Dungeon fern sprout (UnNetHack)|dungeon fern sprout]]
-===Arctic fern===
+Dungeon ferns and swamp ferns (and their sprouts) produce spores that deal physical damage with their explosion attack, while blazing ferns and their sprouts produce spores that deal [[Fire (element)|fire]] damage with their explosion attack, and arctic ferns and their sprouts produce spores that deal [[cold]] damage with their explosion attack. Blazing ferns, sprouts and spores possess [[fire resistance]], while arctic ferns, sprouts and spores possess [[cold resistance]], and all spores possess [[poison resistance]].
-===Blazing fern===
+Fern reproduction is limited to the following terrain for each monster type:
-===Swamp fern===
+* Dungeon ferns can reproduce themselves using normal [[floor]] squares and [[muddy swamp]].
-The '''swamp fern''' ({{cyan|F}}) produces spores ({{yellow|e}}) that deal physical damage when they explode, like the dungeon fern.  However, they will only produce new swamp ferns and sprouts on [[muddy swamp|swamp]] tiles.
+* Arctic ferns can reproduce themselves using [[pool]]s, [[moat]]s, [[ice]] squares, and muddy swamp.
-In the [[Ruins of Moria]], there is a 25% chance that a fraction of the tiles on the Forest level will be swamp.  If so, four swamp ferns will be generated throughout the level.
+[[Reading]] a blessed [[scroll of stinking cloud]] while [[confused]] will generate up to three generic fern spore monsters ({{brown|e}}), which can produce any of the four species of ferns if they explode on appropriate terrain&mdash;they are not randomly generated otherwise.
-===Fern spore===
+{{todo|Update variant info below this template, and redirect things accordingly as articles are made.}}
-==Other variants==
+==dNetHack==
 In [[dNetHack]], dungeon ferns are part of the [[Plant (dNetHack)|plant]] class, which uses the {{white|<nowiki>{</nowiki>}} glyph.
 Two types of ferns appear as monsters in dNetHack, along with their respective spores and sprouts: the dungeon fern and the swamp fern (here {{brightmagenta|<nowiki>{</nowiki>}}). The former is identical to its UnNetHack counterpart, but the explosion of the dNetHack swamp fern spore ({{magenta|e}}) deals [[D notation|4d8]] damage instead of 2d4, and causes fungal [[disease]]s.
-===Hack'EM===
+==Hack'EM==
 [[Hack'EM]] adds the dungeon ferns from UnNetHack.
 ==Origin==
@@ Line 54: / Line 65: @@
 the dungeon fern, and will attack its spores on sight to
 keep them from overtaking their home.
-}}
+}}{{variant-noversion}}
 [[Category:UnNetHack monsters]]
 [[Category:dNetHack monsters]]
@@ Line 62: / Line 71: @@
 [[Category:notnotdNetHack monsters]]
 [[Category:Hack'EM monsters]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:04, 31 July 2025
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	#REDIRECT [[Dungeon fern (UnNetHack)]]	+	#REDIRECT [[Dungeon fern (UnNetHack)]]<!--
		+	The '''dungeon fern''' is a subset of monsters that appear in [[UnNetHack]], [[dNetHack]], [[notdNetHack]], and [[notnotdNetHack]]. Ferns are [[sessile]] and have no physical attacks. However, when approached, they create '''fern spores''', the more dangerous cousins of [[gas spore]]s.
		+
		+	Dungeon fern spores attack their targets directly by bursting into [[poison cloud]]s; the explosion itself does no harm to the target, and the dangerous effects of the cloud are entirely mitigated by [[poison resistance]] or [[unbreathing]]. If you do not have either of these, standing at a diagonal to the spore when it bursts will give you a significant chance of being outside of the cloud when it forms. Attacking directly ''will'' cause the spore to explode properly, just like a gas spore.
		+
		+	Exploding dungeon fern spores have a 1 in 3 chance of creating a new fern. There is a 1 in 6 chance that it will be a full-grown dungeon fern;{{refsrc\|src/mon.c\|1769\|unnethack=1986}} otherwise, it will be a '''dungeon fern sprout''', a lower-level dungeon fern which produces spores at a lower rate. It is important to destroy both kinds of ferns quickly unless you possess the means to contain out-of-control growth.
		+
		+	Dungeon fern spores will target other monsters as well as the player, and in turn other monsters [[Grudge\|will attack fern spores on sight]].{{refsrc\|src/mon.c\|1340\|unnethack=1986}} A careful player can take advantage of this and lure spores toward otherwise difficult monsters without poison resistance.
		+
		+	==UnNetHack==
		+	In UnNetHack, ferns are part of the {{white\|F}} monster class, which is defined (according to the [[what is]] and [[farlook]] commands) as "fungus, mold, or fern". UnNetHack features four different species of fern: the regular dungeon fern, the arctic fern, the blazing fern, and the swamp fern. The main differences among the four species are the types of damage caused by their exploding spores, and the terrain in which they can reproduce.{{refsrc\|src/mon.c\|1780\|unnethack=1986}}
		+
		+	===Dungeon fern===
		+	The regular dungeon fern produces spores that deal physical damage when they explode. These spore explosions can produce new ferns and sprouts on [[floor]] and [[muddy swamp]] tiles.
		+
		+	===Arctic fern===
		+	The '''arctic fern''' ({{brightblue\|F}}) resists [[cold]] damage, and its spores ({{blue\|e}}) deal cold damage when they explode. New arctic ferns and sprouts can only grow on [[water]], [[ice]], or [[muddy swamp\|swamp]] tiles.
		+
		+	===Blazing fern===
		+	The '''blazing fern''' ({{orange\|F}}) resists [[fire]] damage, and its spores ({{red\|e}}) deal fire damage when they explode. New blazing ferns and sprouts can only grow on [[lava]] tiles.
		+
		+	===Swamp fern===
		+	The '''swamp fern''' ({{cyan\|F}}) produces spores ({{yellow\|e}}) that deal physical damage when they explode, like the dungeon fern. However, they will only produce new swamp ferns and sprouts on [[muddy swamp\|swamp]] tiles.
		+
		+	In the [[Ruins of Moria]], there is a 25% chance that a fraction of the tiles on the Forest level will be swamp. If so, four swamp ferns will be generated throughout the level.{{refsrc\|dat/moria.des\|392\|unnethack=1986}}
		+
		+	===Fern spore===
		+	In UnNetHack, reading a blessed [[scroll of stinking cloud]] while confused will generate up to three nonspecific '''fern spores''' ({{brown\|e}}), which can produce any of the four species of ferns, on appropriate terrain. (Reading a non-blessed scroll produces [[gas spore]]s instead.{{refsrc\|src/read.c\|1615\|unnethack=1986}}) These spores are not otherwise randomly generated.
		+
		+	==Other variants==
		+
		+	===dNetHack===
		+	In [[dNetHack]], dungeon ferns are part of the [[Plant (dNetHack)\|plant]] class, which uses the {{white\|<nowiki>{</nowiki>}} glyph.
		+
		+	Two types of ferns appear as monsters in dNetHack, along with their respective spores and sprouts: the dungeon fern and the swamp fern (here {{brightmagenta\|<nowiki>{</nowiki>}}). The former is identical to its UnNetHack counterpart, but the explosion of the dNetHack swamp fern spore ({{magenta\|e}}) deals [[D notation\|4d8]] damage instead of 2d4, and causes fungal [[disease]]s.
		+
		+	==Origin==
		+	Ferns are a group of real plants with characteristic leaves. They are primitive, having neither seeds nor flowers; they reproduce with spores, hence the spore attack in the game.
		+
		+	==Encyclopedia entry==
		+	{{encyclopedia\|
		+	These dreadful weeds have been driven to extinction on the
		+	surface, yet deep within the dark and damp of the dungeon
		+	they still flourish. When it detects the motion of nearby
		+	creatures, the dungeon fern releases a deadly, poisonous
		+	spore, which quickly detonates to propagate the species.
		+
		+	Residents of the dungeon have learned how not to disturb
		+	the dungeon fern, and will attack its spores on sight to
		+	keep them from overtaking their home.
		+	}}
		+
		+	==References==
		+	<references/>
		+	* dNetHack monst.c line 4993
		+	{{variant-noversion}}
		+	[[Category:UnNetHack monsters]]
		+	[[Category:dNetHack monsters]]
		+	[[Category:notdNetHack monsters]]
		+	[[Category:notnotdNetHack monsters]]
		+	-->