Sea monster - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: /* dNetHack */ word choice

2026-04-13T10:16:49Z

‎dNetHack: word choice

Umbire the Phantom: tweaks

2026-01-10T13:32:03Z

tweaks

Umbire the Phantom: word choice

2025-10-07T20:11:50Z

word choice

Umbire the Phantom: tocright for style, word choice

2025-06-29T11:23:15Z

tocright for style, word choice

Umbire the Phantom: potholes

2025-06-29T11:22:40Z

potholes

Umbire the Phantom: /* dNetHack */ detail Elshava

2025-03-20T22:34:26Z

‎dNetHack: detail Elshava

Umbire the Phantom: /* dNetHack */ sea

2025-03-20T22:32:15Z

‎dNetHack: sea

Umbire the Phantom: /* dNetHack */ elshava

2025-03-20T22:30:56Z

‎dNetHack: elshava

Umbire the Phantom: lol whoops, somehow missed this

2025-03-20T22:05:32Z

lol whoops, somehow missed this

Umbire the Phantom: /* Common traits */ nopoly

2025-03-20T21:32:12Z

‎Common traits: nopoly

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 * [[User:Chris/dNetHack/Cartouche of the Cat Lord|Cartouche of the Cat Lord]] at any level of reinforcement
-* [[User:Chris/dNetHack/Elder Sign|Elder signs]] at any level of reinforcement
+* The [[User:Chris/dNetHack/Elder Sign|Elder Sign]] at any level of reinforcement
-* [[User:Chris/dNetHack/Veioistafur|Veioistafur stave]], which also grants +4 to hit and +1d20 damage against sea monsters when attacking with a weapon it is engraved on (though it does not scare them)
+* [[User:Chris/dNetHack/Veioistafur|Veioistafur stave]], which also grants +4 to hit and +1d20 damage against sea monsters to a wooden weapon that it is engraved on (though it does not scare them in this form)
 * [[User:Chris/dNetHack/Cerulean Sign|Cerulean Signs]]

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 While most of the weaker sea monsters are annoyances at worst, sharks can deal decent damage with their [[speed]] and bites, while eels and kraken can bring [[instant death]] to any hero they can successfully get a grip on&mdash;[[greased]] outer armor or an [[oilskin cloak]] will prevent this, with the grease potentially wearing off after each time they slip free, and [[magical breathing]] will keep the hero from being drowned, though they may still end up underwater and wet their inventory.
-Ranged attacks such as [[wand]]s and spells are the best to use against sea monsters, since a hero can safely keep out of range of any possible eels or kraken. The [[aklys]], [[lance]] and [[polearms]] are also viable in terms of weapons, since they do not require limited resources (i.e. [[energy]] or [[charge]]s), though there are notable drawbacks: a wielded aklys that is [[thrown]] may fail to return; [[pounding]] can be tedious to target without the required [[skill]] in polearms or lances, and a hero may want to spend their skill slots elsewhere in the long term, especially by the point that they begin encountering sea monsters regularly. [[Rock]]s can be used as expendable projectiles, with a [[sling]] being entirely optional, but they can also skip across the water's surface, increasing the chances of them missing.{{refsrc|src/zap.c|3346|nethack=3.6.7}}
+Ranged attacks such as [[wand]]s and [[spell]]s are the best to use against sea monsters, since a hero can safely keep out of range of any possible eels or kraken. The [[aklys]], [[lance]] and [[polearms]] are also viable in terms of weapons, since they do not require limited resources (i.e. [[energy]] for spells or [[charge]]s for wands), though there are notable drawbacks: a wielded aklys that is [[thrown]] may fail to return; [[pounding]] can be tedious to target without the required [[skill]] in polearms or lances, and a hero may want to spend their skill slots elsewhere in the long term, especially by the point that they begin encountering sea monsters regularly. [[Rock]]s can be used as expendable projectiles, with a [[sling]] being entirely optional, but they can also skip across the water's surface, increasing the chances of them missing.{{refsrc|src/zap.c|3346|nethack=3.6.7}}
-[[Wands of cold]] and {{of|wand|fire}} can strand sea monsters outside of the water, making them much easier to deal with briefly, and can also scare eels and kraken into releasing a hero they have a hold on&mdash;a [[scroll of earth]] can also be read to restrict their movements with the land squares made from the resulting boulders. Sea monsters in smaller bodies of water can be easily trapped on land this way, especially with the {{+ of|cone of cold}} and {{+ of|fireball}} spells, leaving them at the hero's mercy with no fear of drowning; [[pet]]s that are strong enough can also attack sea monsters without worrying about drowning. Sea monsters' lack of MR score also leaves them vulnerable to wands, magic and other items in general: putting a sea monster to [[sleep]] in particular can render them very easy targets, and only the jellyfish and electric eel have resistances of any kind.
+[[Wands of cold]] and {{of|wand|fire}} can sometimes strand sea monsters outside of the water, making them much easier to deal with briefly, and can also scare eels and kraken into releasing a hero they have a hold on&mdash;a [[scroll of earth]] can also be read to restrict their movements with the land squares made from the resulting boulders. Sea monsters in smaller bodies of water can be easily trapped on land this way, especially with the {{+ of|cone of cold}} and {{+ of|fireball}} spells, leaving them at the hero's mercy with no fear of drowning; [[pet]]s that are strong enough can also attack sea monsters without worrying about drowning. Sea monsters' lack of MR score also leaves them vulnerable to wands, magic and other items in general: putting a sea monster to [[sleep]] in particular can render them very easy targets, and only the jellyfish and electric eel have resistances of any kind.
 Even if you are not forced to engage a sea monster in [[melee]], have escape items handy just in case: if a sea monster successfully swings itself around you, you have one ''guaranteed'' turn to prevent drowning, and should not rely on the eel to miss any further drowning attempts. Common methods include: using teleportation, either by teleporting the sea monster (especially on [[no-teleport level]]s) or teleporting yourself if the level allows it; [[engraving]] a single [[Elbereth]] into the ground with a wand of fire, {{of|wand|lightning|digging}}, or an [[athame]]; or [[scaring]] it with an applicable musical [[instrument]] or other means, which will always work. [[Taming]] will always succeed against sea monsters due to their lack of MR score. If relying on a directional wand or engraving, make sure you are not [[impaired]] to ensure 100% success.

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 ==Common traits==
-All sea monsters are flagged as [[amphibious]] and capable of living and [[hiding]] in [[pool]]s and moats{{refsrc|src/mon.c|811|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|507|nethack=3.6.7}}&mdash;while they can exist and move on land, as can a [[hero]] [[polymorph]]ed into one, they will also become [[scared]] and gradually lose HP with a {{frac|7|8}} chance on each move, which slows down as they lose health and stops at a minimum of 1;{{refsrc|src/mon.c|628|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/allmain.c|468|nethack=3.6.7}} a sea monster stranded this way will try to move into a pool or moat as quickly as possible.{{refsrc|src/mon.c|1329|nethack=3.6.7}} Sea monster corpses [[zapped]] with a [[wand of undead turning]] or the {{+ of|turn undead}} spell will not [[revive]].{{refsrc|src/zap.c|786|nethack=3.6.7}}
+All sea monsters are flagged as [[amphibious]] and capable of living and [[hiding]] in [[pool]]s and moats{{refsrc|src/mon.c|811|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|507|nethack=3.6.7}}&mdash;while they can exist and move on land, as can a [[hero]] [[polymorph]]ed into one, they will also become [[scared]] and gradually lose HP with a {{frac|7|8}} chance on each move, which slows down as they lose health and stops at a minimum of 1;{{refsrc|src/mon.c|628|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/allmain.c|468|nethack=3.6.7}} a sea monster stranded this way will try to move into a pool or moat as quickly as possible.{{refsrc|src/mon.c|1329|nethack=3.6.7}} Sea monster corpses on land that are [[zapped]] with a [[wand of undead turning]] or the {{+ of|turn undead}} spell will not [[revive]].{{refsrc|src/zap.c|786|nethack=3.6.7}}
 As the [[Plane of Water]] is a fully-underwater level, sea monsters can move freely within it, including in and out of air bubbles. Sea monsters cannot hide if they are stuck in [[trap]]s other than [[pit]]s or [[spiked pit]]s.{{refsrc|src/mon.c|3211|nethack=3.6.7}}
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 [[Wands of cold]] and {{of|wand|fire}} can strand sea monsters outside of the water, making them much easier to deal with briefly, and can also scare eels and kraken into releasing a hero they have a hold on&mdash;a [[scroll of earth]] can also be read to restrict their movements with the land squares made from the resulting boulders. Sea monsters in smaller bodies of water can be easily trapped on land this way, especially with the {{+ of|cone of cold}} and {{+ of|fireball}} spells, leaving them at the hero's mercy with no fear of drowning; [[pet]]s that are strong enough can also attack sea monsters without worrying about drowning. Sea monsters' lack of MR score also leaves them vulnerable to wands, magic and other items in general: putting a sea monster to [[sleep]] in particular can render them very easy targets, and only the jellyfish and electric eel have resistances of any kind.
-Even if you are not forced to engage a sea monster in [[melee]], have escape items handy just in case: if a sea monster successfully swings itself around you, you have one ''guaranteed'' turn to prevent drowning, and should not rely on the eel to miss any further drowning attempts. Common methods include: using teleportation, either by teleporting the sea monster (especially on [[no-teleport level]]s) or teleporting yourself if the level allows it; [[engraving]] a single [[Elbereth]] into the ground with a wand of fire, {{of|wand|lightning|digging}}, or an [[athame]]; or [[scaring]] it with an applicable musical [[instrument]] or other means, which will always work. [[Taming]] will also succeed without a chance to miss due to their lack of MR score. If relying on a directional wand or engraving, make sure you are not [[impaired]] to ensure 100% success.
+Even if you are not forced to engage a sea monster in [[melee]], have escape items handy just in case: if a sea monster successfully swings itself around you, you have one ''guaranteed'' turn to prevent drowning, and should not rely on the eel to miss any further drowning attempts. Common methods include: using teleportation, either by teleporting the sea monster (especially on [[no-teleport level]]s) or teleporting yourself if the level allows it; [[engraving]] a single [[Elbereth]] into the ground with a wand of fire, {{of|wand|lightning|digging}}, or an [[athame]]; or [[scaring]] it with an applicable musical [[instrument]] or other means, which will always work. [[Taming]] will always succeed against sea monsters due to their lack of MR score. If relying on a directional wand or engraving, make sure you are not [[impaired]] to ensure 100% success.
 If a hero has a form of levitation that they can reliably remove or otherwise cease in one turn (i.e. the [[Ring of levitation|ring]], the blessed [[Potion of levitation|potion]], or the [[Spellbook of levitation|spell]] at Skilled level, but ''not'' [[Levitation boots|boots]]), ending levitation over land will startle the sea monster into releasing you. If all else fails, avoiding them as much as possible in the first place is a valid strategy.

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 The '''sea monster''' is a [[monster class]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]'', and is represented by the [[semicolon]] glyph ({{white|;}}). Sea monsters are designated internally by the macro '''<tt>S_EEL</tt>'''.{{refsrc|include/monsym.h|71|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}
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 As the [[Plane of Water]] is a fully-underwater level, sea monsters can move freely within it, including in and out of air bubbles. Sea monsters cannot hide if they are stuck in [[trap]]s other than [[pit]]s or [[spiked pit]]s.{{refsrc|src/mon.c|3211|nethack=3.6.7}}
-All sea monsters are [[neutral]] except for the [[chaotic]] kraken]], are all [[animal]]s except for the jellyfish, and are all [[slithy]] except for the kraken again&mdash;with the exception of both named monsters, sea monsters are also [[oviparous]]. Sea monsters have no [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR score]].
+All sea monsters are [[neutral]] except for the [[chaotic]] kraken, all of them are [[animal]]s except for the jellyfish, and all of them are [[slithy]] except for the kraken again&mdash;with the exception of both named monsters, sea monsters are also [[oviparous]]. Sea monsters have no [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR score]].
 Most of the sea monsters except for the jellyfish and kraken attack using bites, and the eels and kraken can also employ [[holding attack]]s that can grapple the hero, [[drowning]] the victim if they land another one while already holding the hero. A hero that kills a sea monster with a wrapping attack while not amphibious or breathless is given bonus [[experience]].{{refsrc|src/exper.c|119|nethack=3.6.7}} A sea monster that attacks a hero in the form of a monster hiding on the [[ceiling]] will not voluntarily swap places with that hero if doing so would move them onto land.{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|433|nethack=3.6.7}}

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 Ranged attacks such as [[wand]]s and spells are the best to use against sea monsters, since a hero can safely keep out of range of any possible eels or kraken. The [[aklys]], [[lance]] and [[polearms]] are also viable in terms of weapons, since they do not require limited resources (i.e. [[energy]] or [[charge]]s), though there are notable drawbacks: a wielded aklys that is [[thrown]] may fail to return; [[pounding]] can be tedious to target without the required [[skill]] in polearms or lances, and a hero may want to spend their skill slots elsewhere in the long term, especially by the point that they begin encountering sea monsters regularly. [[Rock]]s can be used as expendable projectiles, with a [[sling]] being entirely optional, but they can also skip across the water's surface, increasing the chances of them missing.{{refsrc|src/zap.c|3346|nethack=3.6.7}}
-[[Wands of cold]] and {{of|wand|fire}} can strand sea monsters outside of the water, making them much easier to deal with briefly, and can also scare eels and kraken into releasing a hero they have a hold on&mdash;a [[scroll of earth]] can also be read to restrict their movements with the land squares made from the resulting boulders. Sea monsters in smaller bodies of water can be easily trapped on land this way, especially with the [[cone of cold]] and [[fireball]] spells, leaving them at the hero's mercy with no fear of drowning; [[pet]]s that are strong enough can also attack sea monsters without worrying about drowning. Sea monsters' lack of MR score also leaves them vulnerable to wands, magic and other items in general: putting a sea monster to [[sleep]] in particular can render them very easy targets, and only the jellyfish and electric eel have resistances of any kind.
+[[Wands of cold]] and {{of|wand|fire}} can strand sea monsters outside of the water, making them much easier to deal with briefly, and can also scare eels and kraken into releasing a hero they have a hold on&mdash;a [[scroll of earth]] can also be read to restrict their movements with the land squares made from the resulting boulders. Sea monsters in smaller bodies of water can be easily trapped on land this way, especially with the {{+ of|cone of cold}} and {{+ of|fireball}} spells, leaving them at the hero's mercy with no fear of drowning; [[pet]]s that are strong enough can also attack sea monsters without worrying about drowning. Sea monsters' lack of MR score also leaves them vulnerable to wands, magic and other items in general: putting a sea monster to [[sleep]] in particular can render them very easy targets, and only the jellyfish and electric eel have resistances of any kind.
 Even if you are not forced to engage a sea monster in [[melee]], have escape items handy just in case: if a sea monster successfully swings itself around you, you have one ''guaranteed'' turn to prevent drowning, and should not rely on the eel to miss any further drowning attempts. Common methods include: using teleportation, either by teleporting the sea monster (especially on [[no-teleport level]]s) or teleporting yourself if the level allows it; [[engraving]] a single [[Elbereth]] into the ground with a wand of fire, {{of|wand|lightning|digging}}, or an [[athame]]; or [[scaring]] it with an applicable musical [[instrument]] or other means, which will always work. [[Taming]] will also succeed without a chance to miss due to their lack of MR score. If relying on a directional wand or engraving, make sure you are not [[impaired]] to ensure 100% success.

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 * {{green|;}} [[Kraken, the Fiend of Water]]
-Several sea monsters are generated for the Sunless Sea and Paradise Island maps of [[The Sea (dNetHack)|the Sea]] at level creation. Sea monsters make up {{frac|9}} of the monsters randomly generated within [[Elshava]].
+Several sea monsters are generated for the Sunless Sea and Paradise Island maps of [[The Sea (dNetHack)|the Sea]] at level creation. Sea monsters make up {{frac|9}} of the monsters randomly generated on [[Elshava]] within the [[Mithardir Quest|Mithardir variant]] of the [[Chaos Quest (dNetHack)|Chaos Quest]].
 Several [[Ward (dNetHack)|wards and staves]] can repel sea monsters:

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 ===Generation===
-Sea monsters are not randomly generated, and normally-created ones are always hostile.
+Sea monsters are not randomly generated, and normally-created ones are always hostile. They are all valid targets for [[polymorph]] except for the kraken.
 Several watery locations generate sea monsters in some manner at level creation, though not all of them are placed using monster class-based generation: