Genetic engineer (SLASH'EM) - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: touch-ups

2025-04-14T13:41:15Z

touch-ups

Umbire the Phantom: potholes

2025-03-30T07:13:12Z

potholes

Umbire the Phantom: messages - just noticing the former is already used for sinks

2024-12-24T18:19:23Z

messages - just noticing the former is already used for sinks

Umbire the Phantom: origin

2024-12-24T15:39:14Z

origin

Umbire the Phantom: forgot refs

2024-12-24T15:27:18Z

forgot refs

Umbire the Phantom: create SLASH'EM article to distinguish from upcoming vanilla

2024-12-24T15:26:59Z

create SLASH'EM article to distinguish from upcoming vanilla

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{{monster
|name=genetic engineer
|tile=[[Image:Genetic engineer SLASH'EM.png]]
|difficulty=14
|level=12
|speed=12
|AC=3
|MR=10
|align=0
|experience=267
|frequency=1
|genocidable=Yes
|size=Medium
|weight=1450
|nutr=20
|attacks=Claw 1d4 [[polymorph]]
|resistances=[[poison resistance]]
|resistances conveyed=Causes [[polymorph]]
|attributes={{attributes|A genetic engineer|humanoid=1|omnivore=1|pois=1|tport=1|hostile=1|infravisible=1|hell=1}}
|reference=[[SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2/monst.c#line3020]]
}}
{{for|the monster in upcoming versions of NetHack and other variants|Genetic engineer (disambiguation)}}

A '''genetic engineer''', {{monsym|genetic engineer}}, is a type of [[monster]] that appears in [[SLASH'EM]] and [[SlashTHEM]]. The genetic engineer is a type of [[humanoid]] [[Quantum mechanic (monster class)|quantum mechanic]] monster that can be seen via [[infravision]], and can [[teleport]] at random.

A genetic engineer has a single claw attack that can [[polymorph]] its target if the engineer is not [[canceled]], with details varying depending on if the attack hits the [[hero]] or a monster: against the hero, it can be blocked by [[Magic cancellation (3.4.3)|magic cancellation]], [[unchanging]] or [[magic resistance]], and otherwise the hero is polymorphed; against another monster, if the target does not have magic resistance or [[Need +x weapon to hit|require a weapon of a certain enchantment to hit]] and they are not killed by the attack, the monster is polymorphed.{{refsrc|mhitm.c|1747|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2}}{{refsrc|uhitm.c|2246|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2}} The resulting polymorph is temporary in both cases, and can produce out-of-depth forms for monsters similar to self-polymorph from [[chameleon]]s.{{refsrc|mhitm.c|1764|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2|comment=this calls <tt>mon_poly</tt>, which in turns calls <tt>mon_spec_poly</tt> which calls <tt>newcham</tt>—this latter-most function does not respect difficulty or depth}}

A genetic engineer [[corpse]] is [[poisonous]] to eat, and [[eating]] a genetic engineer corpse or [[tin]] will polymorph the eater unless they have unchanging.

==Generation==
Genetic engineers are only randomly generated in [[Gehennom]], and are always created hostile.

Two genetic engineers are generated next to [[Doctor Frankenstein]] in [[Frankenstein's Lab]] at level creation, with two more placed randomly around the level.

==Strategy==
The genetic engineer is generally a dangerous opponent, since they can easily polymorph you into a form that breaks armor or else shrinks out of it - this in turn will usually leave you susceptible to being polymorphed further due to lack of magic cancellation. Fortunately, they are typically only encountered around [[Gehennom]], and you should have a source of magic resistance before then. Players without magic resistance that encounter one early (e.g. via [[polymorph trap]]) should use their best [[ranged attack]]s to kill off the engineer before they can get into melee range.

'''Do not''' use [[conflict]] around genetic engineers if at all possible: monsters in SLASH'EM revert to their original form if killed while polymorphed, effectively giving them an "extra life" in many cases even if the new form is weak; this causes fights to drag out longer than necessary in best-case scenarios, and as with other instances of monsters polymorphing, this may also create out-of-depth and/or highly-resistant monsters such as the magic-resistant [[crystal golem]]. While the attack is subject to [[enchantment resistance]] against other monsters, this should not be relied upon for conflict-based strategies, and the property should be temporarily disabled if any genetic engineers are present so that the hero can kill them first.

===As a polyform===
The genetic engineer also represents an interesting strategy for players that use [[polyself]] often: their polymorph attack triggers whether or not you are fighting with [[bare hands]] in that form, and ignores [[magic resistance (monster)|magic resistance scores]] against monsters, allowing you to bypass or even tame numerous monsters that are either very formidable enemies (e.g. [[Archon]]s and [[giant shoggoth]]s) or very difficult to tame (e.g. [[Planetar and Solar]]). This also allows you to tame monsters for which taming is normally impossible - for example, this is the only way to tame Death in SLASH'EM that preserves his current form, as opposed to [[sliming]] him and taming the resulting [[green slime]].

[[Gray dragon]]s and other monsters with player-style magic resistance are completely immune, while monsters with armor that provides magic cancellation can prevent your attack from working immediately. [[Shopkeeper]]s, [[aligned priest]]s, and hostile [[minion]]s can never be tamed, even if polymorphed. In addition, the effect is also subject to enchantment resistance, meaning that it will not work unless you are wielding a weapon of the appropriate enchantment to hit that monster with.

Otherwise, the genetic engineer form is not very strong; many monsters are capable of killing you and revert you to normal before you get a chance to polymorph them, particularly if you are surrounded. As noted above, there is also the ever-present risk of creating a stronger monster that you cannot defeat. Furthermore, hitting a monster and polymorphing it into a form with passive attacks will cause the new form's attacks to trigger rather than any the old monster - if you are trying to polymorph a monster, be sure to wear [[gloves]] to prevent [[YASD]] in case that monster becomes a [[cockatrice]], [[asphynx]], [[Basilisk (SLASH'EM)|basilisk]], or a similar monster.
{{slashem-7E7|offset=1}}
{{variant-343}}
[[Category:SLASH'EM monsters]]
[[Category:SlashTHEM monsters]]

@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 A '''genetic engineer''', {{monsym|genetic engineer}}, is a type of [[monster]] that appears in [[SLASH'EM]] and [[SlashTHEM]]. The genetic engineer is a type of [[humanoid]] [[Quantum mechanic (monster class)|quantum mechanic]] monster that can be seen via [[infravision]], and can [[teleport]] at random.
-A genetic engineer has a single claw attack that can [[polymorph]] its target if the engineer is not [[canceled]], with details varying depending on if the attack hits the [[hero]] or a monster: against the hero, it can be blocked by [[Magic cancellation (3.4.3)|magic cancellation]], [[unchanging]] or [[magic resistance]], and otherwise the hero is polymorphed; against another monster, if the target does not have magic resistance or [[Need +x weapon to hit|require a weapon of a certain enchantment to hit]] and they are not killed by the attack, the monster is polymorphed.{{refsrc|mhitm.c|1747|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2}}{{refsrc|uhitm.c|2246|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2}} The resulting polymorph is temporary in both cases, and can produce out-of-depth forms for monsters similar to self-polymorph from [[chameleon]]s.{{refsrc|mhitm.c|1764|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2|comment=this calls <tt>mon_poly</tt>, which in turns calls <tt>mon_spec_poly</tt> which calls <tt>newcham</tt>&mdash;this latter-most function does not respect difficulty or depth}}
+A genetic engineer has a single claw attack that can [[polymorph]] its target if the engineer is not [[canceled]], with details varying depending on if the attack hits the [[hero]] or a monster: against the hero, it can be blocked by [[Magic cancellation (3.4.3)|magic cancellation]], [[unchanging]] or [[magic resistance]], and otherwise the hero is polymorphed; against another monster, if the target does not have magic resistance or [[Need +x weapon to hit|require a weapon of a certain enchantment to hit]], they will polymorph if they are not killed by the attack.{{refsrc|mhitm.c|1747|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2}}{{refsrc|uhitm.c|2246|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2}} The resulting polymorph is temporary in both cases, and can produce out-of-depth forms for monsters similar to self-polymorph from [[chameleon]]s.{{refsrc|mhitm.c|1764|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2|comment=this calls <tt>mon_poly</tt>, which in turns calls <tt>mon_spec_poly</tt> which calls <tt>newcham</tt>&mdash;this latter-most function does not respect difficulty or depth}}
 A genetic engineer [[corpse]] is [[poisonous]] to eat, and [[eating]] a genetic engineer corpse or [[tin]] will polymorph the eater unless they have unchanging.
@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 ==Strategy==
-The genetic engineer is generally a dangerous opponent, since they can easily polymorph you into a form that breaks armor or else shrinks out of it - this in turn will usually leave you susceptible to being polymorphed further due to lack of magic cancellation. Fortunately, they are typically only encountered around [[Gehennom]], and you should have a source of magic resistance before then. Players without magic resistance that encounter one early (e.g. via [[polymorph trap]]) should use their best [[ranged attack]]s to kill off the engineer before they can get into melee range.
+The genetic engineer is generally a dangerous opponent, since they can easily polymorph you into a form that breaks armor or else shrinks out of it, which will usually leave you susceptible to being polymorphed further due to lack of magic cancellation. Fortunately, they are typically only encountered around [[Gehennom]], and you should have a source of magic resistance before then. Players without magic resistance that encounter one early (e.g. via [[polymorph trap]]) should use their best [[ranged attack]]s to kill off the engineer before they can get into melee range.
 '''Do not''' use [[conflict]] around genetic engineers if at all possible: monsters in SLASH'EM revert to their original form if killed while polymorphed, effectively giving them an "extra life" in many cases even if the new form is weak; this causes fights to drag out longer than necessary in best-case scenarios, and as with other instances of monsters polymorphing, this may also create out-of-depth and/or highly-resistant monsters such as the magic-resistant [[crystal golem]]. While the attack is subject to [[enchantment resistance]] against other monsters, this should not be relied upon for conflict-based strategies, and the property should be temporarily disabled if any genetic engineers are present so that the hero can kill them first.
@@ Line 43: / Line 43: @@
 [[Gray dragon]]s and other monsters with player-style magic resistance are completely immune, while monsters with armor that provides magic cancellation can prevent your attack from working immediately. [[Shopkeeper]]s, [[aligned priest]]s and hostile [[minion]]s will remember their identity, and can never be tamed even if polymorphed. As mentioned previously, the effect is also subject to the "[[hits creatures as +x weapon]]" and "[[need +x weapon to hit]]" properties, meaning that it will not work on certain monsters unless you are wielding a weapon of the appropriate [[enchantment]].
-Besides the above, there are the usual risks of polymorph, e.g. creating stronger and/or more resistant monsters, or else creating a monster with a dangerous or lethal [[passive attack]], which will always immediately trigger in response as if the new form had been attacked&mdash;this includes [[stoning]] monsters such as [[cockatrice]]s, [[asphynx]]es and [[Basilisk (SLASH'EM)|basilisks]]; [[YASD]] can be prevented from these instances by simply wearing [[gloves]]. In addition, the genetic engineer form is not very strong defensively, and many monsters are capable of killing a hero and reverting them to normal before they can get a chance to polymorph them, particularly if the hero are surrounded.
+Besides the above, there are the usual risks of polymorph, e.g. creating stronger and/or more resistant monsters, or else creating a monster with a dangerous or lethal [[passive attack]], which will always immediately trigger in response as if the new form had been attacked&mdash;this includes [[stoning]] monsters such as [[cockatrice]]s, [[asphynx]]es and [[Basilisk (SLASH'EM)|basilisks]]; [[YASD]] can be prevented from these instances by simply wearing [[gloves]]. In addition, the genetic engineer form is not very strong defensively beyond its base 3 [[AC]], and there is the risk of a hero being 'killed' and reverted to normal before they can get a chance to polymorph any hostiles, particularly if the hero is surrounded at that moment.
 ==Origin==
@@ Line 51: / Line 51: @@
 ==Messages==
 {{message|You undergo a freakish metamorphosis!|You were polymorphed by a genetic engineer's attack or ate their corpse or tin.}}
-{{message|<[[Foo]]> undergoes a freakish metamorphosis!|A monster was polymorphed by a genetic engineer's attack.}}
+{{message|<The monster> undergoes a freakish metamorphosis!|A monster was polymorphed by a genetic engineer's attack.}}
 ==References==

@@ Line 39: / Line 39: @@
 ===As a polyform===
-The genetic engineer also represents an interesting strategy for players that use [[polyself]] often: their polymorph attack is a claw attack, so it triggers regardless of wielded weapons, and ignores [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR scores]]&mdash;this allows [[taming]] of numerous monsters that are either very formidable enemies (e.g. [[Archon]]s and [[giant shoggoth]]s) or very difficult to tame (e.g. [[Planetar and Solar]]). This also allows taming of monsters that cannot normally be made tame, e.g. this is the only way to tame Death in SLASH'EM that preserves his current form, as opposed to [[sliming]] him and taming the resulting [[green slime]].
+The genetic engineer also represents an interesting strategy for players that use [[polyself]] often: their polymorph attack is a claw attack, so it triggers regardless of wielded weapons, and ignores [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR scores]]&mdash;this allows [[taming]] of numerous monsters that are either very formidable enemies (e.g. [[Archon]]s and [[giant shoggoth]]s) or very difficult to tame (e.g. the [[Planetar]] and [[[Solar]]). This also allows taming of monsters that cannot normally be made tame, e.g. this is the only way to tame Death in SLASH'EM that preserves his current form, as opposed to [[sliming]] him and taming the resulting [[green slime]].
 [[Gray dragon]]s and other monsters with player-style magic resistance are completely immune, while monsters with armor that provides magic cancellation can prevent your attack from working immediately. [[Shopkeeper]]s, [[aligned priest]]s and hostile [[minion]]s will remember their identity, and can never be tamed even if polymorphed. As mentioned previously, the effect is also subject to the "[[hits creatures as +x weapon]]" and "[[need +x weapon to hit]]" properties, meaning that it will not work on certain monsters unless you are wielding a weapon of the appropriate [[enchantment]].

@@ Line 48: / Line 48: @@
 {{wikipedia|Genetic engineer}}
 Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including the transfer of genes within and across species boundaries to produce improved or novel organisms. New DNA is obtained by either isolating and copying the genetic material of interest using recombinant DNA methods or by artificially synthesising the DNA. The new DNA can be inserted randomly, or targeted to a specific part of the genome&mdash;the process can also be used to "knock out" or remove genes. The genetic engineer monster is a visual [[pun]] on the term by applying it literally, similar to the [[quantum mechanic]].
 ==References==

@@ Line 39: / Line 39: @@
 ===As a polyform===
-The genetic engineer also represents an interesting strategy for players that use [[polyself]] often: their polymorph attack triggers whether or not you are fighting with [[bare hands]] in that form, and ignores [[magic resistance (monster)|magic resistance scores]] against monsters, allowing you to bypass or even tame numerous monsters that are either very formidable enemies (e.g. [[Archon]]s and [[giant shoggoth]]s) or very difficult to tame (e.g. [[Planetar and Solar]]). This also allows you to tame monsters for which taming is normally impossible - for example, this is the only way to tame Death in SLASH'EM that preserves his current form, as opposed to [[sliming]] him and taming the resulting [[green slime]].
+The genetic engineer also represents an interesting strategy for players that use [[polyself]] often: their polymorph attack is a claw attack, so it triggers regardless of wielded weapons, and ignores [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR scores]]&mdash;this allows [[taming]] of numerous monsters that are either very formidable enemies (e.g. [[Archon]]s and [[giant shoggoth]]s) or very difficult to tame (e.g. [[Planetar and Solar]]). This also allows taming of monsters that cannot normally be made tame, e.g. this is the only way to tame Death in SLASH'EM that preserves his current form, as opposed to [[sliming]] him and taming the resulting [[green slime]].
-[[Gray dragon]]s and other monsters with player-style magic resistance are completely immune, while monsters with armor that provides magic cancellation can prevent your attack from working immediately. [[Shopkeeper]]s, [[aligned priest]]s, and hostile [[minion]]s can never be tamed, even if polymorphed. In addition, the effect is also subject to enchantment resistance, meaning that it will not work unless you are wielding a weapon of the appropriate enchantment to hit that monster with.
+[[Gray dragon]]s and other monsters with player-style magic resistance are completely immune, while monsters with armor that provides magic cancellation can prevent your attack from working immediately. [[Shopkeeper]]s, [[aligned priest]]s and hostile [[minion]]s will remember their identity, and can never be tamed even if polymorphed. As mentioned previously, the effect is also subject to the "[[hits creatures as +x weapon]]" and "[[need +x weapon to hit]]" properties, meaning that it will not work on certain monsters unless you are wielding a weapon of the appropriate [[enchantment]].
-Otherwise, the genetic engineer form is not very strong; many monsters are capable of killing you and revert you to normal before you get a chance to polymorph them, particularly if you are surrounded. As noted above, there is also the ever-present risk of creating a stronger monster that you cannot defeat. Furthermore, hitting a monster and polymorphing it into a form with passive attacks will cause the new form's attacks to trigger rather than any the old monster - if you are trying to polymorph a monster, be sure to wear [[gloves]] to prevent [[YASD]] in case that monster becomes a [[cockatrice]], [[asphynx]], [[Basilisk (SLASH'EM)|basilisk]], or a similar monster.
+Besides the above, there are the usual risks of polymorph, e.g. creating stronger and/or more resistant monsters, or else creating a monster with a dangerous or lethal [[passive attack]], which will always immediately trigger in response as if the new form had been attacked&mdash;this includes [[stoning]] monsters such as [[cockatrice]]s, [[asphynx]]es and [[Basilisk (SLASH'EM)|basilisks]]; [[YASD]] can be prevented from these instances by simply wearing [[gloves]]. In addition, the genetic engineer form is not very strong defensively, and many monsters are capable of killing a hero and reverting them to normal before they can get a chance to polymorph them, particularly if the hero are surrounded.
 ==References==

@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 Otherwise, the genetic engineer form is not very strong; many monsters are capable of killing you and revert you to normal before you get a chance to polymorph them, particularly if you are surrounded. As noted above, there is also the ever-present risk of creating a stronger monster that you cannot defeat. Furthermore, hitting a monster and polymorphing it into a form with passive attacks will cause the new form's attacks to trigger rather than any the old monster - if you are trying to polymorph a monster, be sure to wear [[gloves]] to prevent [[YASD]] in case that monster becomes a [[cockatrice]], [[asphynx]], [[Basilisk (SLASH'EM)|basilisk]], or a similar monster.
 {{slashem-7E7|offset=1}}
 {{variant-343}}
 [[Category:SLASH'EM monsters]]
 [[Category:SlashTHEM monsters]]