Tiger

From NetHackWiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

A tiger, f, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. It is a large, quadrupedal feline that is carnivorous and can be seen via infravision like all felines, and is the most powerful of the monster class.

A tiger has two claw attacks and a moderately powerful bite.

Eating certain types of food while hallucinating and polymorphed into a tiger results in YAFM.[1]

Generation

Randomly generated tigers are always created hostile.

Strategy

Tigers move at the same speed as an unhasted, unburdened hero - this makes them somewhat easier to avoid compared to the faster felines, and its lack of MR score renders it very vulnerable to magic. Its attacks can still be dangerous to an unprepared adventurer, but a moderately armored and/or well equipped one can dispatch it without much trouble.

History

The tiger first appears in NetHack 3.0.6.

Origin

The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus Panthera - it is most recognisable by its dark vertical stripes on orange-brown fur with a white underside. Tigers are apex predators that primarily prey on ungulates such as deer and wild boar; they are territorial and generally solitary, but social predators. The tiger was first scientifically described in 1758, and is among the most recognizable and popular of the world's megafauna; it is the national animal of India, Bangladesh, Malaysia and South Korea.

Tigers were once widespread over much of Asia's landmass some centuries ago; today, the tiger is an endangered species due to habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation, poaching, and human–wildlife conflict. Its habitat range stretches from Siberian temperate forests to subtropical and tropical forests on the Indian subcontinent, Indochina and Sumatra. Tigers featured prominently in the ancient mythology and folklore of cultures throughout its historic range, with many symbolic depictions continuing to the modern day.

The YAFM displayed when eating meaty food while hallucinating and polymorphed into a tiger is based on the motto for the Frosted Flakes cereal brand, whose mascot is Tony the Tiger.

Messages

This <foo> is gr-r-reat!
You were hallucinating while polymorphed into a tiger and ate meat (such as a corpse).[1]

Variants

Some variants change the tiger's glyph to keep it distinct from other feline monsters that they introduce.

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, tigers can generate in real zoos.[2]

Weretigers summoning help have a 15 chance of generating a hostile tiger on each applicable square[3]—a hero that gets lycanthropy from a weretiger can summon tigers as pets with the same probability by using the #monster extended command, which costs 10 power.

UnNetHack

In UnNetHack, the tiger is the first quest monster for Cavepeople, and makes up 96175 (55%) of the monsters randomly generated on the Caveman quest. Tigers also appear among the random f that are part of the second quest monster class for the Caveman quest and make up 6175 (3%) of the monsters randomly generated there.

dNetHack

In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, the tiger's glyph is changed to f, and its level and difficulty are increased.

xNetHack

In xNetHack, tigers have a 1100 chance of dropping a tiger eye ring upon death.

SlashTHEM

In SlashTHEM, in addition to SLASH'EM details, Gladiators can obtain gold by killing tigers.

As in UnNetHack, the tiger is the first quest monster for Cavepeople, and makes up 96175 (55%) of the monsters randomly generated on the Caveman quest. Tigers also appear among the random f that are part of the second quest monster class for the Caveman quest and make up 6175 (3%) of the monsters randomly generated there. Additionally, tigers appear among the random f that are part of the first quest monster class for Zookeepers and make up 24175 (14%) of the monsters randomly generated on the Zookeeper quest.

Hack'EM

In Hack'EM, in addition to SLASH'EM details, the tiger's glyph is changed to f, and they have a 1100 chance of dropping a tiger eye ring upon death as in xNetHack.

Encyclopedia entry

1. A well-known tropical predator (_Felis tigris_): a feline. It has a yellowish skin with darker spots or stripes. 2. Figurative: _a paper tiger_, something that is meant to scare, but has no really scaring effect whatsoever, (after a statement by Mao Ze Dong, August 1946).
[ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ]

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

[ The Tyger, by William Blake ]

References