Breathless
Breathlessness is a property in NetHack that makes a monster amphibious, allowing them to travel underwater.
The only item that grants the property is the amulet of magical breathing - various monsters also have the property intrinsically, which is governed by breathless(ptr) in the code.[1]
Contents
Description
While breathless, you can breathe while underwater without drowning by any means, though your inventory will be subject to water damage as usual - water squares become "safe" for purposes of teleportation. You are also protected from the effects of sleeping gas traps and the engulfing attacks of fog clouds;[2] poison clouds will not damage you regardless of poison resistance and are not a major trouble for prayer, though they can still blind you.[3][4] Protection from sleeping gas and poison clouds also applies to breathless monsters.[5][6][7]
You cannot choke from eating too much food while breathless: you will always "vomit voluminously" instead and lose 1000 nutrition, though you still abuse constitution.[8] Breathlessness protects from the effect of eating an amulet of strangulation, but does not protect from a worn amulet of strangulation unless the player is also mindless, since the amulet is also crushing your neck.
The 1000 experience point-bonus for killing sea monsters with drowning attacks does not apply while you are amphibious, including from breathlessness.[9]
List of breathless monsters
The following monsters are breathless:
- All undead: LMVWZ
- All jmvyFP'
- All e, except floating eyes
- b acid blob
- g gargoyle
- g winged gargoyle
- E earth elemental
- X xorn
- the @ Wizard of Yendor
- @ Charon (deferred)
- & mail daemon
Messages
- You are laden with moisture and find it mildly uncomfortable.
- You are breathless and engulfed by a fog cloud.
- You sink like a rock. But you aren't drowning. You touch bottom.
- You fell into the water while breathless.
- You choke, but recover your composure.
- You were saved from choking by breathlessness.
- You stuff yourself and then vomit voluminously.
- You were saved from overeating by breathlessness.
Variants
dNetHack
In dNetHack, the spirit Astaroth confers breathlessness while bound.
References
- ↑ include/mondata.h in NetHack 3.6.7, line 37
- ↑ src/trap.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1109: sleeping gas traps against you
- ↑ src/region.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 972: you and poison clouds
- ↑ src/region.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1081: dangerous locations and prayer
- ↑ src/trap.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1619: sleeping gas traps against your steed
- ↑ src/trap.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 2312: sleeping gas traps against other monsters
- ↑ src/region.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 995: monsters and poison clouds
- ↑ src/eat.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 252
- ↑ src/exper.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 119
