Star vampire
V star vampire | |
---|---|
Difficulty | 28 |
Attacks |
Tentacles 2d6, Tentacles 2d6 drain life, Tentacles 2d6, Tentacles 2d6 drain life, Tentacles 2d6, Tentacles 2d6 drain life |
Base level | 18 |
Base experience | 750 |
Speed | 18 |
Base AC | -5 |
Base MR | 60 |
Alignment | -5 (chaotic) |
Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
Genocidable | Yes |
Weight | 1450 |
Nutritional value | 400 |
Size | Large |
Resistances | sleep, poison, cold |
Resistances conveyed | None |
A star vampire:
| |
Reference | SLASH'EM_0.0.7E7F2/monst.c#line3232 |
A star vampire is a yet another Lovecraftian monster in SLASH'EM. It possesses six tentacle attacks, three of which can drain life. Star vampires are always invisible.
Oddly enough, star vampires are not actually undead, and thus are not immune to drain life, as proper vampires are.
Messages
The star vampire is the only monster besides the (master) mind flayer to have a tentacle attack. The message one sees when attacked is "The star vampire's tentacles suck you!" One should note that although this is the same message as the mind flayer, the star vampire does not eat your brain; its attacks merely do physical damage and possibly level drain. One should also note that, unlike the mind flayer, a ring of free action does not protect you against the star vampire's attacks, like it does protect against mind flayer attacks in SLASH'EM.
Strategy
Due to their speed and high number of attacks, star vampires can dish out incredible amounts of physical damage (and battle spam). Because of this, one should always seek to destroy them alone if possible, and if surrounded, keep in mind they do respect Elbereth. Magic cancellation or drain resistance is a must to protect against their draining attacks, although this should not be a problem by the time one encounters them.
Be mindful of fighting petrifying monsters around star vampires. They will cause the game to spam you with anywhere from six to nine messages per turn, depending on your speed, making it quite easy to miss the vital "You are slowing down" and "Your limbs are stiffening" messages.
If you have polymorph control, star vampires make excellent polymorph forms for the same reason they are fearsome opponents. Their high base level, flight, speed, regeneration, flying, unbreathing, and ability to wear most kinds of armor, not to mention their powerful attacks, make them a highly desirable polymorph target. Note that you will not be able to get magic resistance from a cloak or dragon scale mail as a star vampire, so take appropriate precautions or ensure you have another source (Magicbane, a quest artifact, etc.)
Encyclopedia Entry
A creature from beyond the stars. Invisible, it floats along
until it finds something to feed upon and then draws its
life energy and blood into itself. It is said that they
become briefly visible just after they have eaten and that
this is such a terrible sight it can drive a mortal insane.