Winter wolf - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: dnh tweaks

2026-05-25T09:19:35Z

dnh tweaks

Umbire the Phantom: variants pass, tick up version, word choice

2026-05-24T23:20:16Z

variants pass, tick up version, word choice

Umbire the Phantom: history stuff

2026-05-24T22:08:23Z

history stuff

Umbire the Phantom: start on nh5 updates

2026-05-24T21:45:08Z

start on nh5 updates

Ray Chason: Update alignment

2026-05-14T03:00:44Z

Update alignment

Ray Chason: Include the female tile

2026-05-10T17:16:25Z

Include the female tile

Umbire the Phantom: /* Variants */ snip

2025-12-18T19:30:23Z

‎Variants: snip

Umbire the Phantom: cite vlad's tower

2025-12-18T15:02:11Z

cite vlad's tower

Umbire the Phantom: cite eat.c

2025-12-18T14:10:32Z

cite eat.c

Umbire the Phantom: properly send this off since I fell asleep last night

2025-12-18T14:09:26Z

properly send this off since I fell asleep last night

Show changes

@@ Line 77: / Line 77: @@
 ===dNetHack===
-In [[dNetHack]], [[notdNetHack]] and [[notnotdNetHack]], winter wolves are neutral and can track the hero and other targets through normal vision and [[Scent (vision)|scent]]. Eating winter wolf corpses will cause damage to a hero unless they have a source of cold resistance, and monsters without cold resistance will avoid eating winter wolf corpses&mdash;doing so is not counted as cannibalism for heroes that are turned into a werewolf via lycanthropy.
+In [[dNetHack]], [[notdNetHack]] and [[notnotdNetHack]], winter wolves are neutral and can track the hero and other targets through normal vision and [[Scent (vision)|scent]]. Winter wolf corpses and [[Potion of blood (dNetHack)|blood]] cannot be consumed without taking cold damage, unless the hero or monster consuming it has cold resistance&mdash;doing so is not counted as cannibalism for heroes that are turned into a werewolf via lycanthropy.
 Winter wolves can be warded by a [[User:Chris/dNetHack/Toustefna|Toustefna]] [[stave]] that is carved into a [[wooden]] weapon and placed on the hero's square, and that weapon will also [[Warned of monster type|warn of winter wolves and other canines]] while wielded.

@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
 The winter wolf first appears in [[NetHack 3.0.0]].
-From NetHack 3.0.0 to [[NetHack 3.6.0]], including variants based on these versions, werewolves calling for help have a {{frac|5}} chance of generating an allied winter wolf. This chance is reduced to {{frac|10}} in [[NetHack 3.6.1]] via {{commit|1f4574b6c8710492de2cb366f9e420b636b0365b}}, which grants werewolves the ability to summon allied wargs with the same chance, and also makes it cannibalism to eat winter wolves while the hero has lycanthropy from a werewolf.{{refsrc|src/were.c|154-L159|nethack=3.6.1}}{{refsrc|src/eat.c|657-L659|nethack=3.6.1}}{{refsrc|src/were.c|83-L87|nethack=3.6.1}}
+From NetHack 3.0.0 to [[NetHack 3.6.0]], including some variants based on these versions, werewolves calling for help have a {{frac|5}} chance of generating an allied winter wolf. This chance is reduced to {{frac|10}} in [[NetHack 3.6.1]] via {{commit|1f4574b6c8710492de2cb366f9e420b636b0365b}}, which grants werewolves the ability to summon allied wargs with the same chance, and also makes it cannibalism to eat winter wolves while the hero has lycanthropy from a werewolf.{{refsrc|src/were.c|154-L159|nethack=3.6.1}}{{refsrc|src/eat.c|657-L659|nethack=3.6.1}}{{refsrc|src/were.c|83-L87|nethack=3.6.1}}
-From NetHack 3.0.0 to NetHack 3.6.7, including variants based on these versions, winter wolves are neutral while their cubs are chaotic with an alignment value of -5, and they share tiles between genders. Both monsters are given their current alignment in [[NetHack 5.0.0]] via {{commit|837da48621b30ce80e195c253a1e35c2aa774e0d}}.<!--find commit for tiles changes whenever we get a chance-->
+From NetHack 3.0.0 to NetHack 3.6.7, including some variants based on these versions, winter wolves are neutral while their cubs are chaotic with an alignment value of -5, and they share tiles between genders. Both monsters are given their current alignment in [[NetHack 5.0.0]] via {{commit|837da48621b30ce80e195c253a1e35c2aa774e0d}}.<!--find commit for tiles changes whenever we get a chance-->
 ==Origin==
@@ Line 61: / Line 61: @@
 ==Variants==
-''NetHack'' [[variant]]s based on [[NetHack 3.4.3]] and earlier versions may not count eating winter wolves as cannibalism for heroes given lycanthropy by a werewolf like later versions do.
+''NetHack'' [[variant]]s created prior to NetHack 5.0.0 may retain the winter wolf's initial alignment, and may or may not count eating winter wolves as cannibalism for heroes given lycanthropy by a werewolf. They may also adjust the odds of werewolves summoning winter wolves in order to accommodate the chance of summoning wargs as well.
 ===SLASH'EM===
-In [[SLASH'EM]], winter wolves appear among the random {{white|d}} that are part of the second quest monster class for [[Yeomen]] and make up {{frac|6|175}} of the monsters randomly generated on the [[Yeoman quest]].
+In [[SLASH'EM]], winter wolves are neutral, and eating winter wolves is not considered cannibalism for heroes given lycanthropy by a werewolf (as in [[NetHack 3.4.3]] and prior contemporary versions). Werewolves have a {{frac|5}} chance of summoning a winter wolf per summoned monster.{{refsrc|were.c|134|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2}}
 ===dNetHack===
-In [[dNetHack]], [[notdNetHack]] and [[notnotdNetHack]], winter wolves can be warded by a [[User:Chris/dNetHack/Toustefna|Toustefna]] [[stave]] that is carved into a [[wood]] weapon placed on the hero's square.
+In [[dNetHack]], [[notdNetHack]] and [[notnotdNetHack]], winter wolves are neutral and can track the hero and other targets through normal vision and [[Scent (vision)|scent]]. Eating winter wolf corpses will cause damage to a hero unless they have a source of cold resistance, and monsters without cold resistance will avoid eating winter wolf corpses&mdash;doing so is not counted as cannibalism for heroes that are turned into a werewolf via lycanthropy.
-Winter wolves appear among the {{white|d}} that make up {{frac|10}} of monsters randomly generated in the [[Windowless Tower]] branch. A winter wolf is generated within a niche on the second floor during level creation, as with Vlad's Tower in ''NetHack''.
+Winter wolves can be warded by a [[User:Chris/dNetHack/Toustefna|Toustefna]] [[stave]] that is carved into a [[wooden]] weapon and placed on the hero's square, and that weapon will also [[Warned of monster type|warn of winter wolves and other canines]] while wielded.
-Winter wolves make up {{frac|5}} (20%) of the monsters randomly generated on the Water Temple level of the [[Chaos Temple Quest]].
+Winter wolves can appear among the {{white|d}} that make up {{frac|10}} of monsters randomly generated in the [[Windowless Tower]] branch. A winter wolf is generated within a niche on the second floor during level creation, as with Vlad's Tower in ''NetHack''.
 Winter wolves can appear as [[minion]]s of [[Skadi]].
 ===SpliceHack===
-In older versions of [[SpliceHack]], it is possible to use the defunct [[cooking]] feature to turn a winter wolf corpse into a regular [[wolf]] corpse.
+In [[SpliceHack]], winter wolves are given a third stage of growth in the [[winter wolf pup]], which can grow up into a winter wolf cub and then a winter wolf&mdash;the winter wolf is the only growth stage to be neutral.
 ===EvilHack===
-In [[EvilHack]], winter wolves appear among the random {{white|d}} that are part of the first quest monster class for [[Infidel]]s and make up {{frac|24|175}} of the monsters randomly generated on the [[Infidel quest]].
+In [[EvilHack]], winter wolves and their cubs are both neutral and considered woodland creatures. Werewolves have a {{frac|10}} chance of summoning a winter wolf per summoned monster, and eating them and their cubs is counted as cannibalism for heroes given lycanthropy by a werewolf. Winter wolves can be randomly generated in the [[Ice Queen's Realm]], and can be summoned by a monster casting the [[summon nasties]] [[monster spell]] while in the branch.
 ===SlashTHEM===
-In [[SlashTHEM]], in addition to SLASH'EM details, winter wolves appear among the random {{white|d}} that are part of the first quest monster class for [[Ninja (role)|Ninjas]] and make up {{frac|24|175}} of the monsters randomly generated on the [[Ninja quest]].
+In [[SlashTHEM]], in addition to SLASH'EM details, winter wolves can appear among the random {{white|d}} that are part of the first quest monster class for [[Ninja (role)|Ninjas]] and make up {{frac|24|175}} of the monsters randomly generated on the [[Ninja quest]].
 ===Hack'EM===
-In [[Hack'EM]], winter wolves appear among the random {{white|d}} that are part of the second quest monster class for [[Yeomen/Hack'EM|Yeomen]] and make up {{frac|6|175}} of the monsters randomly generated on the Yeoman quest, as they do in SLASH'EM. Similarly, winter wolves also appear among the random {{white|d}} that are part of the first quest monster class for Infidels and make up {{frac|24|175}} of the monsters randomly generated on the Infidel quest, as in EvilHack.
+In [[Hack'EM]], winter wolves are neutral. Werewolves and [[Nosferatu (Hack'EM)|nosferatu]] have a {{frac|10}} chance of summoning a winter wolf per summoned monster, and eating them is counted as cannibalism for heroes given lycanthropy by a werewolf.
 ==References==
 <references/>
-{{nethack-367}}
+{{nethack-500}}
 [[Category:Monsters]]

@@ Line 45: / Line 45: @@
 ==History==
-The winter wolf first appears in [[NetHack 3.0.0]]. From this version to [[NetHack 3.6.0]], including variants based on these versions, werewolves calling for help have a {{frac|5}} chance of generating an allied winter wolf. This chance is reduced to {{frac|10}} in [[NetHack 3.6.1]] via {{commit|1f4574b6c8710492de2cb366f9e420b636b0365b}}, which grants werewolves the ability to summon allied wargs with the same chance, and also makes it cannibalism to eat winter wolves while the hero has lycanthropy from a werewolf.{{refsrc|src/were.c|154-L159|nethack=3.6.1}}{{refsrc|src/eat.c|657-L659|nethack=3.6.1}}{{refsrc|src/were.c|83-L87|nethack=3.6.1}}<!--
+The winter wolf first appears in [[NetHack 3.0.0]].
-{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Per {{commit|837da48621b30ce80e195c253a1e35c2aa774e0d}}, the winter wolf is chaotic.}}
+From NetHack 3.0.0 to [[NetHack 3.6.0]], including variants based on these versions, werewolves calling for help have a {{frac|5}} chance of generating an allied winter wolf. This chance is reduced to {{frac|10}} in [[NetHack 3.6.1]] via {{commit|1f4574b6c8710492de2cb366f9e420b636b0365b}}, which grants werewolves the ability to summon allied wargs with the same chance, and also makes it cannibalism to eat winter wolves while the hero has lycanthropy from a werewolf.{{refsrc|src/were.c|154-L159|nethack=3.6.1}}{{refsrc|src/eat.c|657-L659|nethack=3.6.1}}{{refsrc|src/were.c|83-L87|nethack=3.6.1}}
-{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Per {{commit|b98a70e3ecaa4cbb5eb18c99de61cf84a2b52213}}, [[dwarvish cloak]]s protect items in open inventory from cold damage {{frac|9|10}} of the time, making encounters with hostiles such as winter wolves more bearable.
+From NetHack 3.0.0 to NetHack 3.6.7, including variants based on these versions, winter wolves are neutral while their cubs are chaotic with an alignment value of -5, and they share tiles between genders. Both monsters are given their current alignment in [[NetHack 5.0.0]] via {{commit|837da48621b30ce80e195c253a1e35c2aa774e0d}}.<!--find commit for tiles changes whenever we get a chance-->
 ==Origin==

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
   |size=Large
   |resistances=[[cold resistance]]
-  |resistances conveyed=[[cold resistance]] (47%)
+  |resistances conveyed=[[cold resistance]] (~46%)
   |attributes={{attributes|A winter wolf|nohell=1|animal=1|nohands=1|carnivore=1|hostile=1|strong=1}}
-  |reference=[https://github.com/NetHack/NetHack/blob/NetHack-3.6.7_Released/src/monst.c#L270 NetHack 3.6.7 - src/monst.c, line 270]
+  |reference=[https://github.com/NetHack/NetHack/blob/NetHack-5.0.0_Released/include/monsters.h#L290 NetHack 5.0.0 - include/monsters.h, line 290]
 }}
-A '''winter wolf''', {{monsym|winter wolf}}, is a is a type of [[monster]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]''. The winter wolf is a large, [[strong]] and [[carnivorous]] [[canine]] [[animal]] that has an affinity to [[cold]] like [[Winter wolf cub|its cubs]]. [[Eating]] winter wolves is considered [[cannibalism]] for a [[hero]] that has [[lycanthropy]] from a [[werewolf]].{{refsrc|src/eat.c|661-L663|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/were.c|83-L87|nethack=3.6.7}}
+A '''winter wolf''', {{monsym|winter wolf}}, is a is a type of [[monster]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]''. The winter wolf is a large, [[strong]] and [[carnivorous]] [[canine]] [[animal]] that has an affinity to [[cold]] like [[Winter wolf cub|its cubs]], and is [[chaotic]] where their cubs are neutral. Female winter wolves in the default [[tileset]] have shorter tails than the males. Winter wolves are considered "[[children of the night]]" for the purpose of [[chatting]] to vampires in their humanoid form.{{refsrc|src/sounds.c|751|nethack=5.0.0}}
-A winter wolf has a [[bite attack]], as well as a frost [[breath weapon]] that can freeze and destroy [[potion]]s in the open inventory of a [[hero]] or monster hit by the blast (unless they have [[reflection]]). Winter wolves possess [[cold resistance]].
+A winter wolf has a normal [[bite attack]], as well as a frost [[breath weapon]] that can freeze and destroy [[potion]]s in the open inventory of those hit by the blast depending on the damage sustained&mdash;[[reflection]] will deflect the [[ray]] without any damage. Winter wolves possess [[cold resistance]].
-[[Eating]] a winter wolf [[corpse]] or [[tin]] has a {{frac|7|15}} chance of granting cold resistance.
+[[Eating]] a winter wolf [[corpse]] or [[tin]] has a {{frac|7|15}} chance (~46%) of granting cold resistance to a hero or monster, as does [[digesting]] a live winter wolf. Eating winter wolves is considered [[cannibalism]] for a [[hero]] that has [[lycanthropy]] from a [[werewolf]].{{refsrc|src/eat.c|770-L777|nethack=5.0.0}}{{refsrc|src/were.c|83-L88|nethack=5.0.0}}
 ==Generation==
 Randomly generated winter wolves are always created hostile, and can appear in small [[group]]s. They will not randomly generate in [[Gehennom]]. A winter wolf cub can [[grow up]] into a winter wolf.
-Werewolves that call for help and summon hostile monsters have a {{frac|10}} chance of generating a winter wolf per summoned monster{{refsrc|src/were.c|156|nethack=3.6.7}}&mdash;a hero that contracts lycanthropy from a werewolf can spend 10 [[power]] to summon tame winter wolves with the same odds by using the [[Monster (command)|#monster]] [[extended command]].
+Werewolves that call for help and summon hostile monsters have a {{frac|10}} chance of generating a winter wolf per summoned monster{{refsrc|src/were.c|172|nethack=5.0.0}}&mdash;a hero that contracts lycanthropy from a werewolf can spend 10 [[power]] to summon tame winter wolves with the same odds by using the [[Monster (command)|#monster]] [[extended command]].
-Winter wolves appear among the random {{white|d}} that are part of the first [[quest]] monster class for [[Samurai]] and make up {{frac|24|175}} of the monsters randomly generated on the [[Samurai quest]].
+Winter wolves can appear among the random {{white|d}} that are part of the first [[quest]] monster class for [[Samurai]] and make up {{frac|24|175}} of the monsters randomly generated on the [[Samurai quest]].
-A winter wolf is generated in one of the niches on the middle floor of [[Vlad's Tower]] during level creation.{{refsrc|dat/tower.des|76|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|dat/tower.des|87|nethack=3.6.7}}
+A winter wolf is generated in one of the niches on the middle floor of [[Vlad's Tower]] during level creation.{{refsrc|dat/tower2.lua|21-L24|nethack=5.0.0}}{{refsrc|dat/tower2.lua|34|nethack=5.0.0}}
 ==Strategy==
 Groups of winter wolves are even more unwelcome to deal with in the early game compared to their young: they have the same [[AC]] and movement speed along with stronger attacks, and cannot be seen via [[infravision]]. While they are not normally generated until quite some way into the dungeon, werewolves can generate much earlier than winter wolves or their cubs, and may summon winter wolves when calling for help. Winter wolves also have a [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR score]] of 20, making [[wand]]s and [[spell]]s somewhat less reliable against them. A werewolf summoning one or more winter wolves can easily occur before the hero has either cold resistance and/or a [[container]] to stash potions in, and can overwhelm them in short order unless they can keep the werewolf out of melee range.
-As with winter wolf cubs, a [[wand of fire]] and other sources of [[Fire (element)|fire]] damage are helpful against winter wolves, and wands and spells that can slow down or immobilize the wolves may still be worthwhile despite their 20 MR score. [[Valkyrie]]s start the game with cold resistance, giving them one less source of HP damage to worry about, but should still handle werewolves and winter wolf packs with care. Winter wolves respect [[Elbereth]], but will use their breath attacks while fleeing and are harder to scare. An early source of reflection (e.g. [[Amulet of reflection|the amulet]] from [[Sokoban]]) can provide a vital edge, and their presence may be a factor in favor of choosing [[silver dragon scale mail]] [[GDSM versus SDSM|over gray dragon scale mail]] for an early [[wish]].
+As with winter wolf cubs, an early source of cold resistance makes winter wolves easier to fight: an extrinsic source of cold resistance will protect each item in the open inventory from freezing and shattering {{frac|99|100}} of the time, with a separate roll for each item that would be destroyed. An early source of reflection (e.g. [[Amulet of reflection|the amulet]] from [[Sokoban]]) can also provide a vital edge, and their presence may be a factor in favor of choosing [[silver dragon scale mail]] [[GDSM versus SDSM|over gray dragon scale mail]] for an early [[wish]]. [[Valkyrie]]s start the game with cold resistance, giving them one less source of HP damage to worry about, but should still handle werewolves and winter wolf packs with care.
-Heroes that can kill winter wolves can eat their corpses for a source of cold resistance if they are not observing [[vegetarian]] or [[foodless]] [[conduct]]s, and at 300 nutrition each they make a decently filling meal. Lycanthropy from a werewolf may also be tempting to an early hero in order to obtain a winter wolf pet, which can become strong enough to potentially take out the [[watch]] and even the [[aligned priest]] in [[Minetown]]&mdash;remember that werewolf corpses are poisonous, and eating their corpse or tin is also cannibalism for [[Human (starting race)|human]] heroes that are not [[Cavepeople]].
+Heroes that can kill winter wolves can eat their corpses for a source of cold resistance if they are not observing [[vegetarian]] or [[foodless]] [[conduct]]s, and can also feed them to carnivorous pets for the intrinsic&mdash;at 300 [[nutrition]] each, they also make a decently filling meal. Lycanthropy from a werewolf may also be tempting to an early hero in order to obtain a winter wolf pet, which can become strong enough to potentially take out the [[watch]] and even the [[aligned priest]] in [[Minetown]]&mdash;remember that werewolf corpses are poisonous, and eating their corpse or tin is also cannibalism for [[Human (starting race)|human]] heroes that are not [[Cave Dweller]]s.
 {{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Per {{commit|b98a70e3ecaa4cbb5eb18c99de61cf84a2b52213}}, [[dwarvish cloak]]s protect items in open inventory from cold damage {{frac|9|10}} of the time, making encounters with hostiles such as winter wolves more bearable.
@@ Line 50: / Line 53: @@
 Per {{commit|9942b65df78dd55a7806ec}}, extrinsic cold resistance protects items in open inventory from freezing and shattering {{frac|99|100}} of the time, with a separate roll for each item that would be destroyed.
-Per {{commit|8d2407f1f21cc60ac99e08f00233975b32321eef}}, pets that eat corpses can gain intrinsics from them, allowing them to become cold-resistant by eating a winter wolf's corpse.}}
+Per {{commit|8d2407f1f21cc60ac99e08f00233975b32321eef}}, pets that eat corpses can gain intrinsics from them, allowing them to become cold-resistant by eating a winter wolf's corpse.}}-->
 ==Origin==
@@ Line 59: / Line 59: @@
 ==Messages==
-{{for|messages specific to communicating with tame or peaceful vampires as a wolf|Vampire (monster class)#Messages}}
+Messages associated with winter wolves and their cubs can be found on other articles:
-{{for|messages from chatting to wolves|Canine#Messages}}
 ==Variants==

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
   |AC=4
   |MR=20
-  |align=0
+  |align=-5
   |frequency=1
   |genocidable=Yes

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{monster
   |name=winter wolf
   |difficulty=9
   |level=7

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
   |reference=[https://github.com/NetHack/NetHack/blob/NetHack-3.6.7_Released/src/monst.c#L270 NetHack 3.6.7 - src/monst.c, line 270]
 }}
-A '''winter wolf''', {{monsym|winter wolf}}, is a is a type of [[monster]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]''. The winter wolf is a large, [[strong]] and [[carnivorous]] [[canine]] [[animal]] that has an affinity to [[cold]] like [[Winter wolf cub|its cubs]]. [[Eating]] winter wolves is considered [[cannibalism]] for a [[hero]] that has [[lycanthropy]] from a [[werewolf]].{{refsrc|src/were.c|83-L87|nethack=3.6.7}}
+A '''winter wolf''', {{monsym|winter wolf}}, is a is a type of [[monster]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]''. The winter wolf is a large, [[strong]] and [[carnivorous]] [[canine]] [[animal]] that has an affinity to [[cold]] like [[Winter wolf cub|its cubs]]. [[Eating]] winter wolves is considered [[cannibalism]] for a [[hero]] that has [[lycanthropy]] from a [[werewolf]].{{refsrc|src/eat.c|661-L663|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/were.c|83-L87|nethack=3.6.7}}
 A winter wolf has a [[bite attack]], as well as a frost [[breath weapon]] that can freeze and destroy [[potion]]s in the open inventory of a [[hero]] or monster that is hit by the blast (unless they have [[reflection]]). Winter wolves possess [[cold resistance]].