Difference between revisions of "Earth elemental"

From NetHackWiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(next in line)
(Tag: Removed redirect)
(strat expansion, type)
Line 32: Line 32:
  
 
==Strategy==
 
==Strategy==
Individually, earth elementals are slow and hard-hitting monsters that can be dealt with relatively easily at the point you encounter them, though their phasing can make them quite annoying. Large groups of earth elementals can be quite dangerous, since their phasing allows them to surround you quite easily and cut off some of the usual escape routes.
+
Individually, earth elementals are slow and hard-hitting monsters that can be dealt with relatively easily at the point you encounter them, though their phasing can make them quite annoying. Large groups of earth elementals can be quite dangerous, since their phasing allows them to surround you quite easily and cut off some of the usual escape routes - this is a particular hazard on the Monk quest, where they can move effortlessly through the [[boulder]] forts some Monks employ as a defense against [[Master Kaen]].
  
 
===As a polymorph form===
 
===As a polymorph form===
Earth elementals are sometimes used as a polyself form for travel purposes - while they move at half the base speed of a normal character, they are one of the few monsters capable of phasing, which especially allows movement through walls that are otherwise undiggable.
+
Earth elementals are sometimes used as a polyself form for travel purposes - while they move at half the base speed of a normal character, they are one of only two monsters capable of phasing normally (with the other being the [[xorn]]), and there are fewer areas with unphaseable walls than undiggable ones. In this regard, the earth elemental is an inferior polyform to the xorn, since it cannot wear any armor while xorns can at least wear non-torso armor; one of their few advantages is that they cannot be genocided, which keeps phasing attainable in the rare ccases where xorns are wiped out (e.g., by a [[Wizard]] attempting to farm [[wraith]]s on the [[Wizard quest]]).
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
Line 42: Line 42:
 
==Variants==
 
==Variants==
 
===SLASH'EM===
 
===SLASH'EM===
In [[SLASH'EM]], at least one earth elemental is generated within the Cloud Bank of the [[Lawful Quest]] at level creation, with a {{frac|3|5}] chance of a second one being placed nearby.
+
In [[SLASH'EM]], at least one earth elemental is generated within the Cloud Bank of the [[Lawful Quest]] at level creation, with a {{frac|3|5}} chance of a second one being placed nearby.
  
 
===SlashTHEM===
 
===SlashTHEM===

Revision as of 22:11, 3 December 2023

An earth elemental, E, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. It is a strong, thick-skinned elemental that is capable of phasing through walls. An earth elemental has a single claw attack, and possesses poison resistance, fire resistance, cold resistance, and stoning resistance.

Generation

Randomly generated earth elementals may be peaceful towards neutral characters. Earth elementals generated on the Plane of Earth will have three times as many hit points.[1][2][3]

In addition to random generation, an earth elemental may also be generated as a minion of a neutral god.

Twenty-seven hostile air elementals are generated across the various caverns on the Plane of Earth at level creation.[4]

Earth elementals are not a valid target for genocide. An earth elemental does not leave a corpse upon death.

Strategy

Individually, earth elementals are slow and hard-hitting monsters that can be dealt with relatively easily at the point you encounter them, though their phasing can make them quite annoying. Large groups of earth elementals can be quite dangerous, since their phasing allows them to surround you quite easily and cut off some of the usual escape routes - this is a particular hazard on the Monk quest, where they can move effortlessly through the boulder forts some Monks employ as a defense against Master Kaen.

As a polymorph form

Earth elementals are sometimes used as a polyself form for travel purposes - while they move at half the base speed of a normal character, they are one of only two monsters capable of phasing normally (with the other being the xorn), and there are fewer areas with unphaseable walls than undiggable ones. In this regard, the earth elemental is an inferior polyform to the xorn, since it cannot wear any armor while xorns can at least wear non-torso armor; one of their few advantages is that they cannot be genocided, which keeps phasing attainable in the rare ccases where xorns are wiped out (e.g., by a Wizard attempting to farm wraiths on the Wizard quest).

History

The earth elemental first appears in NetHack 3.0.0.

Variants

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, at least one earth elemental is generated within the Cloud Bank of the Lawful Quest at level creation, with a 35 chance of a second one being placed nearby.

SlashTHEM

In addition to SLASH'EM details, SlashTHEM adds the greater earth elemental, though earth elementals cannot grow up into them.

References

  1. src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 43: elementals and home planes
  2. src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1012: max HP for elementals on home planes
  3. src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1825: max HP gain for elementals on home planes
  4. dat/endgame.des in NetHack 3.6.7, line 57