Asphynx
S asphynx 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 11 |
| Attacks | |
| Base level | 8 |
| Base experience | 200 |
| Speed | 15 |
| Base AC | 3 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 100 |
| Nutritional value | 80 |
| Size | Small |
| Resistances | poison, petrification |
| Resistances conveyed |
poison (53%) |
|
A asphynx:
| |
| Reference | SLASH'EM_0.0.7E7F2/monst.c#line3119 |
An asphynx, S, is a type of monster that appears in SLASH'EM, SlashTHEM and Hack'EM. It is a small oviparous snake that has a bite and a passive attack capable of inducing delayed stoning, similar to the cockatrice. Asphynxes have poison resistance and stoning resistance, and are also capable of swimming and hiding under items like most other snakes.
Making bare skin contact with a live asphynx or its corpse will immediately turn you or whoever touches it to stone, unless they have stoning resistance. Eating or being hit by an asphynx egg will inflict delayed stoning on you and instantly stone monsters unless you or they are immune. The corpse or tin of an asphynx is poisonous and will also turn you to stone, but if eaten with stoning resistance, it has a 53% chance to convey poison resistance.
Generation
Asphynxes will not be randomly generated in Gehennom.
A tin of asphynx meat has a 1⁄2 of being generated within the Chamber of Gluttony in the Lawful Quest. In SlashTHEM, this also applies to the Undertaker quest, whose goal level is a copy of the Lawful Quest.
Strategy
The asphynx is far more dangerous than a cockatrice despite appearing far later in the game - their ability to hide under objects make it possible for them to catch you off guard, and their better AC requires more care when walking through areas where they can appear. By the time you begin encountering asphynxes, you will ideally have obtained a source of speed, a pair of gloves, a high to-hit (e.g. via high/maximum Luck), and/or some lizard corpses or other means of curing petrification.
Like the cockatrice, asphynx corpses and eggs can be used as improvised weapons to instantly defeat monsters without stoning resistance, though naturally they can also be used against you. However, the corpse is slightly heavier than that of a cockatrice and is somewhat rarer to obtain, making it a bit less ideal. The presence of the asphynx and basilisk also means that you cannot reliably prevent most stoning deaths by using a blessed scroll of genocide on c.
As a polyform
Among monsters that can turn other monsters to stone, the asphynx is most ideal for laying eggs to obtain pets that can quickly kill non-resistant monsters, or else use the eggs to do so yourself if you can deal with the associated Luck penalty. Unfortunately, despite its speed, the small size and lack of hands severely limit its applications elsewhere: basilisks are strong and large, making them more capable of travel at consistent speeds due to higher carrying capacity and are likely preferable for emergency situations, while low-level doppelgangers may also prefer the chickatrice due to it being the first such form they can reliably access (by reaching experience level 4).
As a pet
Pet asphynxes are decently fast and can stone non-resistant monsters, but will frequently attempt to hide under nearby items, making keeping track of them annoying if you do not have a magic whistle.
Origin
The Asphinx originates from the Shannara series of high fantasy novels written by Terry Brooks, where it is a type of magical serpent that turns to stone after biting its victim, who is also slowly turned to stone by its venom. Several Asphinxes make an appearance in two of the books, and were believed to have been banished from the setting by The Forbidding - a powerful, world-encompassing enchantment used to trap the destructive Demons in a timeless, dark limbo. The encyclopedia entry comes from an in-universe bestiary that states they are related to the cockatrice and basilisk, which is mirrored in some variants of NetHack.
Encyclopedia Entry
This small, inoffensive-looking snake shares the feared power
of petrification with its distant relatives the cockatrice and
basilisk. Just one touch from its blunt snout can render one
motionless for all eternity.
