User:Umbire the Phantom/Monster behavior - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: Replaced content with ":''Moved to monster behavior—all done with this but only for the moment!''"

2026-05-18T09:20:41Z

Replaced content with ":''Moved to monster behavior—all done with this but only for the moment!''"

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Umbire the Phantom at 12:00, 16 December 2025

2025-12-16T12:00:53Z

Umbire the Phantom: /* Specific level generation */

2025-12-16T11:17:58Z

‎Specific level generation

Umbire the Phantom at 11:16, 16 December 2025

2025-12-16T11:16:14Z

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Umbire the Phantom at 08:30, 16 December 2025

2025-12-16T08:30:15Z

Umbire the Phantom: snip

2025-12-15T17:40:41Z

snip

Umbire the Phantom at 16:07, 15 December 2025

2025-12-15T16:07:10Z

Umbire the Phantom: /* Hostile monsters */

2025-12-14T13:17:08Z

‎Hostile monsters

Umbire the Phantom: hmmm

2025-12-14T13:01:39Z

hmmm

Umbire the Phantom at 11:32, 14 December 2025

2025-12-14T11:32:30Z

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 {{tocright}}
 In ''[[NetHack]]'', the '''behavior''' of a [[monster]] that the [[hero]] encounters is influenced by several factors, such as the [[monster attribute]]s and other similar flags that they possess. A monster's behavior may be further influenced by whether or not they are '''peaceful''' or '''hostile''' towards the hero, which is generally determined when that monster is placed by the normal mechanisms of [[monster creation]].{{refsrc|src/makemon.c|2003|nethack=3.6.7|name="peacemind"|comment=<tt>peace_minded()</tt> function}}
 A monster with neither of these flags that is randomly generated under most normal circumstances will be peaceful or hostile towards the hero based on their own [[alignment]], the hero's alignment, the hero's [[alignment record]], and the [[race]]s of both the monster and the hero.
@@ Line 49: / Line 47: @@
 ===Always-peaceful monsters===
-In specific cases, a monster that is considered "always peaceful" can be flagged to generate as hostile during the creation of a new level. These monsters are defined as "always peaceful":
+Some monsters are '''always peaceful''' when created randomly under normal circumstances, and these monsters will have the <tt>'''M2_PEACEFUL'''</tt> flag.{{refsrc|src/makemon.c|2008|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|include/mondata.h|124|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|include/monflag.h|128|nethack=3.6.7}}
 * [[shopkeeper]]
@@ Line 61: / Line 61: @@
 * all [[quest leader]]s
 * all [[quest guardian]]s
 ==Specific level generation==
@@ Line 68: / Line 71: @@
 * Monsters created to populate a [[throne room]] during level creation are always hostile.{{refsrc|src/mkroom.c|256|nethack=3.6.6}}
 ==Figurines==
 {{main|Figurine}}
 A monster generated from a figurine that is [[applied]] or animated with the [[stone to flesh]] spell will be hostile, peaceful or tame with odds dependent on the [[beatitude]] of that figurine&mdash;a blessed figurine is highly likely to produce a tame monster, while an uncursed figurine is highly likely to produce a peaceful monster, and a cursed figurine is highly likely to produce a hostile monster. See the article on figurines for more details.
 ==Peaceful monsters==

@@ Line 63: / Line 63: @@
 ==Specific level generation==
-Part of the process of level creation for specific areas&ndash;including [[special room]]s, [[special level]]s and dungeon [[branch]]es&ndash;is determining whether or not the monsters that are placed will be peaceful or hostile. A monster that is not given a specified peaceful or hostile status will be peaceful or hostile according to the normal rules for that monster.
+Part of the process of level creation for specific areas&ndash;including [[special room]]s, [[special level]]s and dungeon [[branch]]es&ndash;is determining whether or not the monsters that are placed will be peaceful or hostile. This will often produce monsters that are hostile where they might normally peaceful and vice versa.
-The following special rooms have monster behavior that is different from
+The following special rooms set the monsters generated within them during their creation as peaceful or hostile:
 Monsters created to populate a [[throne room]] during level creation are always hostile.{{refsrc|src/mkroom.c|256|nethack=3.6.6}}
 ==Other special cases==

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 Killing a monster that is always peaceful will incur [[murder]] penalties for the hero unless they are chaotic.
-===Schrodinger's Cat===
+===Schroedinger's Cat===
-{{main|Schrodinger's Cat}}
+{{main|Schroedinger's Cat}}
-Schrodinger's Cat is a monster that will always be created as peaceful if it is alive when the [[large box]] containing it is opened.{{refsrc|src/pickup.c|2414|nethack=3.6.6}} This is distinct from the "always peaceful" monster type above.
+Schroedinger's Cat is a monster that will always be created as peaceful if it is alive when the [[large box]] containing it is opened.{{refsrc|src/pickup.c|2414|nethack=3.6.6}} This is distinct from the "always peaceful" monster type above.
 ===Making peacefuls hostile===
@@ Line 129: / Line 129: @@
 ==Grudges==
 {{main|Grudge}}
-Under exceedingly rare conditions, a monster that is ''not'' a pet will deliberately attack another monster&mdash;this is informally referred to as a "grudge", after the Grudge Patch by Nephi that enables this behavior between several monster types.
+Under very rare conditions, a monster that is ''not'' tame will deliberately attack another monster of its own accord, without the influence of [[confusion]]&mdash;this is informally referred to as a "grudge", after the Grudge Patch by Nephi that enables this behavior between several monster types.
-''NetHack'' does have code that enables aggression between non-tame monsters if they are adjacent to each other, though the only monsters subject to this code are the [[purple worm]] and the [[shrieker]]:{{refsrc|src/mon.c|1556|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/mon.c|1562|nethack=3.6.7}} purple worms will attack any shriekers that are adjacent to them.
+While vanilla ''NetHack'' does enable aggression between specific non-tame monsters if they are adjacent to each other, only two monsters are subject to this:{{refsrc|src/mon.c|1556|nethack=3.6.7}} [[purple worm]]s will attack any [[shrieker]]s that are adjacent to them.{{refsrc|src/mon.c|1562|nethack=3.6.7}}
 ==Strategy==

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:40, 15 December 2025
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	In practice, this means that neutral monsters will be peaceful towards a neutral hero {{frac\|2}} (50%) of the time at most, since all neutral monsters have 0 alignment. Additionally, orcs will only sometimes be generated peaceful towards a chaotic orcish hero.		In practice, this means that neutral monsters will be peaceful towards a neutral hero {{frac\|2}} (50%) of the time at most, since all neutral monsters have 0 alignment. Additionally, orcs will only sometimes be generated peaceful towards a chaotic orcish hero.
−
−	~~==Monster behavioral flags==~~
−	~~{{todo\|Shunt off to a different article altogether}}~~
−	There are three different types of monster flags that are defined in <tt>[[monflag.h]]</tt>—the specific monster flags listed and described below can determine how a monster moves (if they move at all), where they are able to move and what they prioritize when moving, among other factors. Monster flags that have their own article will be linked accordingly.
−
−	~~===Flying===~~
−	~~{{main\|Flight}}~~
−	~~Some monsters are capable of flight, which allows them to move above [[pit]]s, [[hole]]s, and terrain such as [[pool]]s or [[lava]].~~
−
−	~~===Swimming===~~
−	~~{{main\|Swimmer}}~~
−	~~Some monsters are swimmers that can move through pools and [[moat]]s of water.~~
−
−	~~===Amorphous===~~
−	~~{{main\|Amorphous}}~~
−	~~Some monsters are amorphous, which allows them to flow under closed [[door]]s.~~
−
−	~~===Collecting items===~~
−	~~Monsters that collect items will have the '''<tt>M2_COLLECT</tt>''' flag. A monster that collects items will pick up objects that they come across, generally focusing on weapons, food and armor.~~
−
−	~~===Wandering===~~
−	Monsters that wander will have the '''<tt>M2_WANDER</tt>''' flag. A monster that '''wanders''' when moving will select a random square to move to on {{frac\|3}} of its turns, regardless of whether it is peaceful or hostile towards the hero.

	==Grudges==		==Grudges==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{for|the article this is ultimately intended to supplant and replace|peaceful}}
 {{tocright}}
-In ''[[NetHack]]'', the '''behavior''' of a [[monster]] that the [[hero]] encounters is influenced by several factors, such as the [[monster attribute]]s and other similar flags that they possess. A monster's behavior may be further influenced by whether or not they are '''peaceful''' or '''hostile''' towards the hero, which is generally determined when that monster is placed by [[normal monster creation]] mechanisms.{{refsrc|src/makemon.c|2003|nethack=3.6.7|name="peacemind"|comment=<tt>peace_minded()</tt> function}}
+In ''[[NetHack]]'', the '''behavior''' of a [[monster]] that the [[hero]] encounters is influenced by several factors, such as the [[monster attribute]]s and other similar flags that they possess. A monster's behavior may be further influenced by whether or not they are '''peaceful''' or '''hostile''' towards the hero, which is generally determined when that monster is placed by the normal mechanisms of [[monster creation]].{{refsrc|src/makemon.c|2003|nethack=3.6.7|name="peacemind"|comment=<tt>peace_minded()</tt> function}}
 ==Peaceful monsters==
@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 ===Always-peaceful monsters===
-Some monsters are '''always peaceful''' when created on an exisrandomly under normal circumstances, and these monsters will have the <tt>'''M2_PEACEFUL'''</tt> flag.{{refsrc|src/makemon.c|2008|nethack=3.6.7}} In specific cases, a monster that is considered "always peaceful" can be flagged to generate as hostile during the creation of a new level. These monsters are defined as "always peaceful":
+Some monsters are '''always peaceful''' when created randomly on an existing level under normal circumstances, and these monsters will have the <tt>'''M2_PEACEFUL'''</tt> flag.{{refsrc|src/makemon.c|2008|nethack=3.6.7}} In specific cases, a monster that is considered "always peaceful" can be flagged to generate as hostile during the creation of a new level. These monsters are defined as "always peaceful":
 * [[shopkeeper]]
@@ Line 128: / Line 128: @@
 ==Monster behavioral flags==
 There are three different types of monster flags that are defined in <tt>[[monflag.h]]</tt>&mdash;the specific monster flags listed and described below can determine how a monster moves (if they move at all), where they are able to move and what they prioritize when moving, among other factors. Monster flags that have their own article will be linked accordingly.

@@ Line 66: / Line 66: @@
 * Untrapping a hostile monster that is not [[mindless]] from a [[pit]] [[trap]] or a [[spiked pit]] has a [[luck]]-based chance of pacifying it.
 * Hostile [[domestic animal]]s can be pacified by throwing them food that they will not normally eat&mdash;this constitutes fruits and vegetables for [[kitten]]s, [[little dog]]s and their [[growth stage]]s, and non-meat "people food" for [[ponies]] and their growth stages.
-* A monster that cannot be tamed by a [[scroll of taming]] and is not [[The Wizard of Yendor]], [[Medusa]] or a [[quest nemesis]] will become peaceful&mdash;this consists of all [[human (monster attribute)|humans]] and [[covetous]] monsters, and includes all non-unique [[major demon]]s ''unless'' the hero is currently [[polymorph]]ed into a demon themselves.
+* A monster that cannot be tamed by a [[scroll of taming]] and is not [[The Wizard of Yendor]], [[Medusa]] or a [[quest nemesis]] will become peaceful&mdash;this consists of all [[Human (monster attribute)|humans]] and [[covetous]] monsters, and includes all non-unique [[major demon]]s ''unless'' the hero is currently [[polymorph]]ed into a demon themselves.
 * Applying a [[wooden flute]] or an uncharged [[magic flute]] can pacify [[Snake (monster class)|snakes]] dependent on the hero's [[dexterity]] and [[experience level]].

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 ==Peaceful monsters==
 A peaceful monster will not attack the hero, and simply moves around their current area somewhat randomly.
 ===Moving peaceful monsters===
@@ Line 28: / Line 26: @@
 Killing a monster that is always peaceful will incur [[murder]] penalties for the hero unless they are chaotic.
 ===Making peacefuls hostile===

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 Some monsters will always be peaceful when created under certain circumstances, which is distinct from being an "always peaceful" monster type (explained in {{sa|Always-peaceful monsters|that section below}}): one example is [[Schroedinger's Cat]], who will always be peaceful if they are alive when the [[large box]] containing it is opened.{{refsrc|src/pickup.c|2414|nethack=3.6.6}}
 A hero that is ''not'' wielding a [[bloodthirsty]] weapon (i.e. [[Stormbringer]]) and moves into a peaceful monster will be given a 'yes/no' message prompt to confirm if they want to attack.{{refsrc|src/uhitm.c|344|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment=<tt>safepet</tt> check}} Safe-moving into a monster will simply print a message and use up the hero's turn. Wielding Stormbringer will ignore this prompt and safe-moving and attack any monster that the hero moves into, regardless of whether or not they are hostile (including during [[travel]]).
 ===Always-peaceful monsters===
@@ Line 35: / Line 38: @@
 * Hitting a peaceful monster with a [[spell]], a [[zapped]] [[wand]], or a [[thrown]] item.
-A hero that makes a peaceful monster hostile in one of these ways will incur a -1 penalty to their [[alignment record]], and depending on the circumstances, other nearby peaceful monsters that witness this will also become hostile and may additionally become [[scared]]&mdash;the attacked monster may react in a way that creates [[noise]] (e.g. by screaming) and awakens nearby [[sleeping]] monsters.
+A hero that makes a peaceful monster hostile in one of these ways will incur a -1 penalty to their [[alignment record]], and the attacked monster may scream or otherwise react in a way that creates [[noise]] and awakens nearby [[sleeping]] monsters. Depending on the circumstances, other nearby peaceful monsters that witness this will also become hostile and may additionally become [[scared]]:
 In addition, certain peaceful monsters also become hostile under specific conditions, while others have special behavior when they are made hostile:
@@ Line 41: / Line 50: @@
 * [[Shopkeeper]]s become hostile if the hero leaves their shop without paying off all their items and debts. [[Watchmen]] and [[watch captain]]s on the same level will also become hostile.
 * Attacking a watchman or watch captain will cause all other watch members on the level to become hostile.
 ==Hostile monsters==
 A hostile monster will generally pursue and attack the hero if they are given an opportunity. Not all hostile monsters will constantly advance towards the hero, dependent on their other behaviors, and some hostile monsters may also be unable to actively attack the hero as well.
 ===Always-hostile monsters===
@@ Line 62: / Line 71: @@
 Pets are monsters that are loyal to the hero and will not normally attack them unless they are [[confused]] or subject to [[conflict]]. A pet whose tameness reaches 0 will become peaceful or hostile depending on the circumstances, as detailed in the article on tameness&mdash;the article also details how much [[pet abuse]] is required for a pet to become hostile.
-Pets will attack both peaceful and hostile monsters if they are strong enough to, and the hero is not held responsible for monsters that the pet kills.
+Pets will attack peaceful and hostile monsters if they are strong enough to, and the hero is not held responsible for any monsters that a pet kills.
 ==Figurines==
@@ Line 98: / Line 107: @@
 |}
-Note that all human monsters the hero normally encounters in practice will be either "always peaceful" or "always hostile".
+Note that all human monsters the hero normally encounters in practice will be either "always peaceful" or "always hostile"&mdash;this above information is still applicable for cases such as [[reverse genocide]] that is performed while the hero is [[confused]], which will create [[player monster]]s of their role that will be peaceful or hostile based on those rules.
 For monsters that are not any of the above races, whether or not they are hostile or peaceful is determined by the following:
@@ Line 112: / Line 121: @@
 * Monsters created by the [[summon insects]] monster spell are always hostile.{{refsrc|src/mcastu.c|605|nethack=3.6.6}}
 * A [[djinni]] generated from a [[magic lamp]] or [[smoky potion]] has a chance of granting a wish, disappearing, or remaining behind depending on the item's beatitude{{refsrc|src/apply.c|1484|nethack=3.6.7|comment=<tt>dorub</tt> function, calls <tt>djinni_from_bottle</tt>}}{{refsrc|src/potion.c|2321|nethack=3.6.7|comment=<tt>djinni_from_bottle()</tt> function}}&mdash;if the djinni does not remain behind as a [[tame]] monster and gives a message about being disturbed, it is then subjected to normal odds of being peaceful or hostile as described in the bullet point below, i.e. they may be peaceful for a neutral hero.
-* If none of the above applies for the monster, then they will be peaceful with a probability of <math>\frac{(15+AR)(1+MA)}{(16+AR)(2+MA)}</math> (where <math>AR</math> is the player's alignment record and <math>MA</math> is the absolute value of the monster's alignment) if the hero is of the same alignment and has an alignment record above -14, and will otherwise be hostile.{{refsrc|src/makemon.c|2039|nethack=3.6.7|comment=per comment above, chance of being hostile is greater if the hero's alignment record is bad or or the monster is not strongly aligned}} This means that neutral monsters will be peaceful towards a neutral hero {{frac|2}} (50%) of the time at most, since all neutral monsters have 0 alignment.
+* If none of the above applies for the monster, then they will be peaceful with a probability of <math>\frac{(15+AR)(1+MA)}{(16+AR)(2+MA)}</math> (where <math>AR</math> is the player's alignment record and <math>MA</math> is the absolute value of the monster's alignment) if the hero is of the same alignment and has an alignment record above -14, and will otherwise be hostile.{{refsrc|src/makemon.c|2039|nethack=3.6.7|comment=per comment above, chance of being hostile is greater if the hero's alignment record is bad or or the monster is not strongly aligned}}
 ==Monster behavioral flags==
@@ Line 144: / Line 155: @@
 The penalty for attacking peaceful monsters is manageable for late-game characters, but dangerous for characters with low levels and/or low alignment.
-Before casting spells or [[firing]] missiles, it is sometimes advisable to check the status of a monster with the {{kbd|/}} or the {{kbd|;}} key. This is only recommended for some monsters; for example, [[Orc (monster class)|orcs]] will often be peaceful towards orcish player characters, and so should be checked, while others, such as [[rothe]]s, are always generated hostile. If wielding Stormbringer, it is dangerous to blunder into a monster such as an [[aligned priest]] or [[shopkeeper]], so it is advisable to wield a different weapon while moving in an area with peaceful monsters.
+Before casting spells or [[firing]] missiles, it is generally advisable to check the status of a monster with the {{kbd|/}} or the {{kbd|;}} key. This is only recommended for some monsters; for example, [[Orc (monster class)|orcs]] will often be peaceful towards orcish player characters, and so should be checked, while others, such as [[rothe]]s, are always generated hostile. If wielding Stormbringer, it is dangerous to blunder into a monster such as an [[aligned priest]] or [[shopkeeper]], so it is advisable to wield a different weapon while moving in an area with peaceful monsters.
 ==References==