Difference between revisions of "Dragon"
m (→FIQHack: Typo) |
(Starting massive overhaul. Turning this into a proper monster class article - I feel there's more than enough differences between each type of adult dragon to warrant giving each its own article (and the scale situation is different in variants).) |
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{{monster | {{monster | ||
| − | |name=dragon | + | |name=dragon |symbol={{monsym|gray_dragon}}{{monsym|silver_dragon}}{{monsym|shimmering_dragon}}{{monsym|red_dragon}}{{monsym|white_dragon}}{{monsym|orange_dragon}}{{monsym|black_dragon}}{{monsym|blue_dragon}}{{monsym|green_dragon}}{{monsym|yellow_dragon}} |
| − | |||
|tile=[[Image:Dragons.png|Adult dragons]] | |tile=[[Image:Dragons.png|Adult dragons]] | ||
|difficulty=20 | |difficulty=20 | ||
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-6 ''(black)'' | -6 ''(black)'' | ||
| − | -5 ''( | + | -5 ''(wonhite)'' |
-4 ''(red)'' | -4 ''(red)'' | ||
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}} | }} | ||
| − | The ''' | + | The '''dragon''', represented by the overall glyph {{white|D}}, is a [[monster class|class]] of very powerful mid-game [[monster]] in ''[[NetHack]]''. Dragons are coveted for the [[dragon scales]] they sometimes drop, |
| − | + | Members of the dragon monster class include: | |
| − | + | * {{monsymlink|gray dragon}} | |
| + | * {{monsymlink|silver dragon}} | ||
| + | * {{monsymlink|red dragon}} | ||
| + | * {{monsymlink|white dragon}} | ||
| + | * {{monsymlink|orange dragon}} | ||
| + | * {{monsymlink|black dragon}} | ||
| + | * {{monsymlink|blue dragon}} | ||
| + | * {{monsymlink|green dragon}} | ||
| + | * {{monsymlink|yellow dragon}} | ||
| + | * [[Baby dragon]]s | ||
| + | ** {{monsymlink|baby gray dragon}} | ||
| + | ** {{monsymlink|baby silver dragon}} | ||
| + | ** {{monsymlink|baby red dragon}} | ||
| + | ** {{monsymlink|baby white dragon}} | ||
| + | ** {{monsymlink|baby orange dragon}} | ||
| + | ** {{monsymlink|baby black dragon}} | ||
| + | ** {{monsymlink|baby blue dragon}} | ||
| + | ** {{monsymlink|baby green dragon}} | ||
| + | ** {{monsymlink|baby yellow dragon}} | ||
| + | * [[Unique monster]]s | ||
| + | ** {{monsymlink|Chromatic Dragon}} | ||
| + | ** {{monsymlink|Ixoth}} | ||
| − | + | [[Deferred feature|Deferred monsters]] in the dragon class are: | |
| − | + | ** {{monsymlink|shimmering dragon}} | |
| + | ** {{monsymlink|baby shimmering dragon}} | ||
| − | == | + | ==Common characteristics== |
| + | All dragons are carnivorous monsters that are thick-skinned, capable of [[flight]], and are eligible [[steed]]s. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Dragons are [[intelligent]] and [[gold lover|can pick up gold]] and gems, but lack hands and thus cannot use any items they come across or happen to be carrying somehow (e.g., after transformation via [[polymorph trap]]). | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Adult dragons=== | ||
| + | All adult dragons are either lawful or chaotic. They are [[strong]], gigantic, oviparous, can [[see invisible]], and have the <code>[[M2_NASTY]]</code> flag; an associated bit of code in trap.c allows them to instantly tear through webs where their baby forms cannot.{{refsrc|trap.c|2039|comment=extra_nasty() discerns adult dragons from baby dragons to let them tear through webs}} In addition to [[zorkmids|gold]] and gems, dragons will pick up magical items such as [[wand]]s and [[scroll]]s, but can not use them due to a lack of hands and inability to speak. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Baby dragons=== | ||
| + | All baby dragons are of neutral alignment. They are strong and huge, but lack the adult dragon's ability to use breath weapons, tear through webs, and see invisible. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Elements=== | ||
| + | Each adult dragon has a specific element-and-resistance set of characteristic associated with it, including a [[breath]] attack. Eating a given dragon's [[corpse]] can give you the associated [[intrinsics]] if possible, while the scales (and any mail made from them) will grant the extrinsic characteristic. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Generation=== | ||
| + | Baby dragons, like all baby monsters, are only randomly generated on levels that are eligible for baby monsters, i.e., the neutral-biased [[Oracle]] and [[Sokoban]] levels; they can also be created by hatching dragon [[egg]]s. Adult dragons are generally not generated by normal random [[monster creation]] until the player reaches rather deep dungeon levels; the special levels they appear in are often at similar depths. All dragons generated randomly or at level creation will always be hostile. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Adult dragons are considered [[throne room]] monsters, and can appear when such rooms are created or a [[throne]] is [[loot]]ed as early as dungeon level 15.{{reffunc|mkroom.c|courtmon}} Adult dragons are all eligible for creation via the [[summon nasties]] spell. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Four adult dragons are generated around the [[moat]] of [[Fort Ludios]] upon its creation, with one random dragon placed at each cardinal direction. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Many adult dragons appear on the [[Healer quest]] - five random dragons generated upon creation for the home, locate and goal levels, and four random dragons are generated in the filler levels between these. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The fourth variant of [[Medusa's Island]] has a yellow dragon generated asleep behind [[Medusa]]'s dwelling; she nests on 1-3 baby yellow dragon eggs, and there may be up to two live babies sleeping next to her. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Four adult dragons are guaranteed to appear in the [[Castle]], with two random dragons occupying the alcoves between the storerooms. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Quest nemeses=== | ||
| + | Two dragons serve as [[quest nemeses]] in the game; the {{monsymlink|Chromatic Dragon}}, the [[Caveman]] [[quest nemesis]], and {{monsymlink|Ixoth}}, the [[Knight]] quest nemesis. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Ixoth is a powerful red dragon and thus possesses the standard fire breath alongside many other abilities - eating him conveys [[fire resistance]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The Chromatic Dragon is a special kind of dragon - she possesses the breath weapon of every single dragon in the game, and eating her corpse conveys a random resistance from the ones availble via adult dragon meat. Her corpse is poisonous to eat, however. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Death drops=== | ||
| + | Dragons will always leave a [[corpse]] if killed in a way that leaves it intact, and adults have a 1 in 3 chance of also dropping their scales (1 in 20 if the dragon was [[revive]]d); baby dragons do not drop scales, nor do their corpses grant intrinsics. Adult dragon corpses that grant intrinsics are guaranteed to do so. | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | ==Elemental affinities== | ||
{| class="prettytable striped" | {| class="prettytable striped" | ||
!Dragon | !Dragon | ||
| Line 117: | Line 176: | ||
==Red dragon== | ==Red dragon== | ||
There is a guaranteed '''red dragon''' on the [[Plane of Fire]]. This is the only place in the game where a specific color dragon is generated, not counting [[Ixoth]], the [[Knight]] [[quest nemesis]]. | There is a guaranteed '''red dragon''' on the [[Plane of Fire]]. This is the only place in the game where a specific color dragon is generated, not counting [[Ixoth]], the [[Knight]] [[quest nemesis]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Deferred dragons== | ||
| + | The shimmering dragon, whose scales grant [[displacement]], appears in the code along with its baby form, but is commented out by default - monster displacement has [[deferred features|not yet been implemented]] in vanilla ''NetHack''. However, variants make used of them, such as [[shimmering dragon (SLASH'EM)|SLASH'EM]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | {{upcoming|3.7.0|Displacer beasts have been successfully added to the latest in-development version, indicating that monster displacement is now possible.}} | ||
==Fighting dragons== | ==Fighting dragons== | ||
| Line 122: | Line 186: | ||
Dragons are considered [[kebabable]], able to be skewered, and you receive a +2 [[to-hit]] bonus when using a weapon that uses the [[spear]] or [[javelin]] skills. | Dragons are considered [[kebabable]], able to be skewered, and you receive a +2 [[to-hit]] bonus when using a weapon that uses the [[spear]] or [[javelin]] skills. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Dragon corpses are [[choke|very filling]], so using a [[tinning kit]] is usually a good idea. Be aware that tinning still won't work on half eaten corpses and, at least for lawfuls, eating after being satiated abuses your wisdom. | ||
==As pets== | ==As pets== | ||
| Line 231: | Line 297: | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
| − | {{nethack- | + | {{nethack-366}} |
[[Category:Monsters]] | [[Category:Monsters]] | ||
[[Category:Monster classes]] | [[Category:Monster classes]] | ||
Revision as of 06:47, 3 May 2021
DDDDDDDDDD dragon 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 20 |
| Attacks |
Breath (see article), bite 3d8, claw 1d4, claw 1d4 |
| Base level | 15 |
| Base experience | 460 |
| Speed | 9 |
| Base AC | -1 |
| Base MR | 20 |
| Alignment | -7 (blue)
-6 (black) -5 (wonhite) -4 (red) 4 (gray, silver) 5 (orange) 6 (green) 7 (yellow) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 4500 |
| Nutritional value | 1500 |
| Size | Gigantic |
| Resistances | (see article) |
| Resistances conveyed |
(see article) |
|
A dragon:
A red dragon also:
A green dragon also:
A yellow dragon also:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line1161 |
The dragon, represented by the overall glyph D, is a class of very powerful mid-game monster in NetHack. Dragons are coveted for the dragon scales they sometimes drop,
Members of the dragon monster class include:
- D gray dragon
- D silver dragon
- D red dragon
- D white dragon
- D orange dragon
- D black dragon
- D blue dragon
- D green dragon
- D yellow dragon
- Baby dragons
- Unique monsters
Deferred monsters in the dragon class are:
Contents
Common characteristics
All dragons are carnivorous monsters that are thick-skinned, capable of flight, and are eligible steeds.
Dragons are intelligent and can pick up gold and gems, but lack hands and thus cannot use any items they come across or happen to be carrying somehow (e.g., after transformation via polymorph trap).
Adult dragons
All adult dragons are either lawful or chaotic. They are strong, gigantic, oviparous, can see invisible, and have the M2_NASTY flag; an associated bit of code in trap.c allows them to instantly tear through webs where their baby forms cannot.[1] In addition to gold and gems, dragons will pick up magical items such as wands and scrolls, but can not use them due to a lack of hands and inability to speak.
Baby dragons
All baby dragons are of neutral alignment. They are strong and huge, but lack the adult dragon's ability to use breath weapons, tear through webs, and see invisible.
Elements
Each adult dragon has a specific element-and-resistance set of characteristic associated with it, including a breath attack. Eating a given dragon's corpse can give you the associated intrinsics if possible, while the scales (and any mail made from them) will grant the extrinsic characteristic.
Generation
Baby dragons, like all baby monsters, are only randomly generated on levels that are eligible for baby monsters, i.e., the neutral-biased Oracle and Sokoban levels; they can also be created by hatching dragon eggs. Adult dragons are generally not generated by normal random monster creation until the player reaches rather deep dungeon levels; the special levels they appear in are often at similar depths. All dragons generated randomly or at level creation will always be hostile.
Adult dragons are considered throne room monsters, and can appear when such rooms are created or a throne is looted as early as dungeon level 15.[2] Adult dragons are all eligible for creation via the summon nasties spell.
Four adult dragons are generated around the moat of Fort Ludios upon its creation, with one random dragon placed at each cardinal direction.
Many adult dragons appear on the Healer quest - five random dragons generated upon creation for the home, locate and goal levels, and four random dragons are generated in the filler levels between these.
The fourth variant of Medusa's Island has a yellow dragon generated asleep behind Medusa's dwelling; she nests on 1-3 baby yellow dragon eggs, and there may be up to two live babies sleeping next to her.
Four adult dragons are guaranteed to appear in the Castle, with two random dragons occupying the alcoves between the storerooms.
Quest nemeses
Two dragons serve as quest nemeses in the game; the D Chromatic Dragon, the Caveman quest nemesis, and D Ixoth, the Knight quest nemesis.
Ixoth is a powerful red dragon and thus possesses the standard fire breath alongside many other abilities - eating him conveys fire resistance.
The Chromatic Dragon is a special kind of dragon - she possesses the breath weapon of every single dragon in the game, and eating her corpse conveys a random resistance from the ones availble via adult dragon meat. Her corpse is poisonous to eat, however.
Death drops
Dragons will always leave a corpse if killed in a way that leaves it intact, and adults have a 1 in 3 chance of also dropping their scales (1 in 20 if the dragon was revived); baby dragons do not drop scales, nor do their corpses grant intrinsics. Adult dragon corpses that grant intrinsics are guaranteed to do so.
Elemental affinities
| Dragon | Breath (4d6 unless otherwise noted) | Intrinsics/scales | Corpse conveys... |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | disintegration | disintegration resistance | same (100%) |
| Blue | lightning | shock resistance | same (100%) |
| Gray | magic missile | magic resistance | nothing (magic resistance cannot be gained intrinsically) |
| Green | poison | poison resistance | same (100%) |
| Orange | sleep, 4d25 turns | sleep resistance | same (100%) |
| Red | fire 6d6 | fire resistance | same (100%) |
| Silver | cold | reflection and cold resistance; only reflection is provided by scales | nothing (reflection cannot be gained intrinsically) |
| White | cold | cold resistance | same (100%) |
| Yellow | acid | acid resistance and petrification resistance; only acid resistance is provided by scales | nothing (neither resistance can be gained intrinsically) |
Black dragon
A black dragon is the only source of disintegration resistance in the game; this might make acquiring disintegration resistance tricky were it not for that reflection is already a reliable defense against the black dragon's disintegration blasts. (The only other disintegration cause is a wide-angle disintegration beam from an angry god, which can be survived only by being resistant, or avoided by being sensible regarding religion.)
Disintegration resistance will protect both you and your armor. If a dragon's blast of disintegration hits you (or a monster), and you (or it) are neither resistant nor reflecting, it will destroy:[3][4]
- a shield if worn, otherwise:
- body armor if worn (plus any cloak), otherwise:
- an amulet of life saving if worn;[5] otherwise:
- you (or the monster victim), as the case may be.
The rebound can still kill you (or a monster) if your gear saved you from the direct hit.
Gray dragon
A gray dragon (or baby gray dragon) is often the eventual result of repeatedly displacing your pet onto a polymorph trap, because it is magic resistant, and hence will polymorph no further. However, it can still polymorph if it eats a chameleon or doppelganger corpse.
Red dragon
There is a guaranteed red dragon on the Plane of Fire. This is the only place in the game where a specific color dragon is generated, not counting Ixoth, the Knight quest nemesis.
Deferred dragons
The shimmering dragon, whose scales grant displacement, appears in the code along with its baby form, but is commented out by default - monster displacement has not yet been implemented in vanilla NetHack. However, variants make used of them, such as SLASH'EM.
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.
Displacer beasts have been successfully added to the latest in-development version, indicating that monster displacement is now possible.Fighting dragons
Dragons will use their breath weapons only at range (i.e. more than one square from the character), meaning that if you can get close to within melee distance, you can avoid the dangerous attacks in favour of the relative "safety" of their physical melee attacks. This is useful for characters without magic cancellation, magic resistance, or reflection to avoid or negate their elemental fire, cold, lightning, poison, or disintegration beams.
Dragons are considered kebabable, able to be skewered, and you receive a +2 to-hit bonus when using a weapon that uses the spear or javelin skills.
Dragon corpses are very filling, so using a tinning kit is usually a good idea. Be aware that tinning still won't work on half eaten corpses and, at least for lawfuls, eating after being satiated abuses your wisdom.
As pets
Dragons are excellent pets in the early game if you ever get one. The easiest way to get a dragon pet is through a dragon egg; the egg may be obtained by polymorphing into any of the dragons and then sitting if your character is female. If you repeatedly displace your pet onto a polymorph trap you will often end up with a gray dragon, since they are magic-resistant and will not polymorph further.
The most recommendable colors for dragons are silver and gray; they are immune to death rays and silver ones also immune to disintegration, while gray ones are immune to polymorph traps. Yellow is a good option too due to stoning-resistance.
Pet dragons can be used as steeds with the advantages of flight, fighting strength, and carnivorousness, which makes them easy to feed. However, they are quite slow and will spend most of their time either catching up with you or eating corpses unless you make them fast (eg by zapping a wand of speed monster at them).
Baby dragons
DDDDDDDDDD baby dragon 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 13 |
| Attacks |
Bite 2d6 |
| Base level | 12 |
| Base experience | 200 |
| Speed | 9 |
| Base AC | 2 |
| Base MR | 10 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 0 (Not randomly generated) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 1500 |
| Nutritional value | 500 |
| Size | Huge |
| Resistances | (see article) |
| Resistances conveyed |
None |
|
A baby dragon:
A baby red dragon also:
A baby green dragon also:
A baby yellow dragon also:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line1085 |
Baby dragons generally possess the resistances of their adult forms. However, baby silver dragons do not possess reflection.[6] They grant no intrinsics when eaten, they do not drop scales, and they do not have breath attacks.
However, one can still use tame baby dragons to obtain scales and/or resistances. Pet baby dragons will eventually grow up into their adult forms, which can then be killed (possibly via conflict or by rendering them non-tame through abuse) for their scales and intrinsics. Obtaining pet baby dragons can be accomplished via controlled polymorph for a female character fairly easily: all dragons are oviparous, and baby dragons coming from laid eggs will be tame. A male character can use an amulet of change to swap genders, or he can repeatedly polymorph into a dragon using the spell or the ring until he changes sex.[7]
Variants
UnNetHack
Dragons have been substantially modified in UnNetHack. All dragons have been given new names and have their breaths, resistances, and colors randomized, with the exception of chromatic dragons, which possess all resistances (except for magic resistance) and all breaths. As a result, it is impossible to predict breath type based on name or color.
This randomization happens at the start of the game, but all dragons of the same name or color within a game are of the same type - identify one, and you identify all of that type; dragons are auto-identified upon witnessing their breath attack. In addition, a new type of breath attack has been added - a lava breath that does heavy fire damage and melts walls instead of bouncing.
Glowing dragon scales and scale mail function as an infinite light source, in addition to providing the resistance that glowing dragons possess in that individual game. Chromatic dragon scales and scale mail provide all resistances (including reflection) except magic resistance.
The following are the names given to random dragons in Unnethack:
- leviathan
- tatzelworm
- lindworm
- guivre
- sarkany
- amphitere
- wyvern
- draken
- sirrush
- glowing dragon
SLASH'EM
SLASH'EM adds two new dragons, the formerly deferred shimmering dragon D and the deep dragon D, whose scales give displacement and drain resistance, respectively. The hydra and wyvern also use the D glyph.
FIQHack
FIQHack dragons are significantly faster (speed 20 instead of 9), and their claw attacks are 1d8 instead of 1d4. In addition, they have special AI that allows them to use their breath weapon in melee range, and they will try to move more intelligently in general: they will keep you in their line of fire when possible, or move out of that line when they can't use their breath, and will flee to preserve survival.
FIQHack also includes the deferred shimmering dragons from vanilla, which have innate displacement and stunning breath, and whose scales confer displacement when worn.
Dragon breaths operate as skilled ray-type wands: there is a chance per breath attack that it will bypass reflection. Disintegration breath never does this.
SpliceHack
SpliceHack added not only the shimmering dragon, but a number of other dragons, including more-potent elder dragons. SpliceHack dragons also have better capabilities in some other regards.
History
Hack 1.0 has a dragon that does not have an explicit color. This early dragon breathes fire and its corpse confers fire resistance, making it equivalent to the modern red dragon. Back then, it was the only way to get intrinsic fire resistance, so it was quite likely that the player wouldn't have acquired it yet by the time they would see dragons. This, combined with the lack of reflection and that in earlier versions of NetHack, dragons were allowed to use their breath attack in melee (on top of their normal melee attacks), made them significantly more dangerous.
NetHack 2.3e introduces all of the modern dragon types except silver. The corpse is still just a "dead dragon", without reference to the color, and eating it always confers fire resistance, regardless of the type of dragon. Black dragon breath causes instadeath, and there is no reflection, disintegration resistance, or amulet of life saving, making genocide tempting - but fire resistance is necessary to enter Hell, and there's no way to genocide only black dragons.
NetHack 3.0.0 introduces baby dragons, makes the corpses separate, and also introduces dragon scale mail. Dragon scale mail is obtained by polymorphing a dragon corpse. Reflection is now available and black dragon breath is toned down a bit. It also becomes possible to genocide only black dragons.
NetHack 3.1.0 introduces dragon scales and with them the modern method of obtaining dragon scale mail. This version also adds the Quests and with them the Chromatic Dragon and Ixoth. Fire resistance is not necessary to enter Gehennom.
NetHack 3.3.0 adds the silver dragon and corresponding scales.
Encyclopedia entry
In the West the dragon was the natural enemy of man. Although
preferring to live in bleak and desolate regions, whenever it
was seen among men it left in its wake a trail of destruction
and disease. Yet any attempt to slay this beast was a perilous
undertaking. For the dragon's assailant had to contend
not only with clouds of sulphurous fumes pouring from its fire
breathing nostrils, but also with the thrashings of its tail,
the most deadly part of its serpent-like body.
"One whom the dragons will speak with," he said, "that is a
dragonlord, or at least that is the center of the matter. It's
not a trick of mastering the dragons, as most people think.
Dragons have no masters. The question is always the same, with
a dragon: will he talk to you or will he eat you? If you can
count upon his doing the former, and not doing the latter, why
then you're a dragonlord."
References
- ↑ trap.c in NetHack 3.4.3, line 2039: extra_nasty() discerns adult dragons from baby dragons to let them tear through webs
- ↑ courtmon in mkroom.c
- ↑ zap.c in NetHack 3.6.1, line 3686
- ↑ zap.c in NetHack 3.6.1, line 3542
- ↑ Corner case: an amulet of life saving is never destroyed by the blast, but it does not die instead of an undead or non-living monster. This case can only arise if a living monster wearing an amulet has been polymorphed.
- ↑ muse.c in NetHack 3.6.1, line 2141
- ↑ polyself.c in NetHack 3.4.3, line 488
