Giant eel
; giant eel 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 7 |
| Attacks |
Bite 3d6, drowning |
| Base level | 5 |
| Base experience | 1075 |
| Speed | 9 |
| Base AC | -1 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 0 (Not randomly generated) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 200 |
| Nutritional value | 250 |
| Size | Huge |
| Resistances | None |
| Resistances conveyed |
None |
|
A giant eel:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line2822 |
A giant eel, ;, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. It is an oviparous sea monster with a bite attack and a touch attack that is a potential drowning instadeath if you are near any pool of water.
Generation
Giant eels are not randomly generated, but are commonly generated in swamps. Normally-placed giant eels are always generated hostile, and will be asleep 4⁄5 of the time unless you have the Amulet of Yendor.[1]
Giant eels also populate several moats and other watery areas in several parts of the dungeon at level creation:
- Three giant eels are placed in the moat of the Archeologist quest home level.[2]
- Three giant eels are placed in the river of the Barbarian quest home level.[3]
- One giant eel is placed in the river of the Tourist quest home level.[4]
- Three giant eels are placed in the large pond of the Wizard quest home level.[5]
- Three of four maps for Medusa's Island contain giant eels in the sea: the first version has three giant eels, and the third and fourth versions have two giant eels each.[6][7][8]
- Four giant eels are placed in the moat of the Castle.[9]
- Two giant eels are placed in the moat at the bottom level of the Wizard's Tower, and four more are placed in the moat of the topmost level.[10][11]
Strategy
Giant eels are the first monsters most players encounter that can drown them, providing a rude awakening for the unprepared.
History
The giant eel appears in Hack for PDP-11, a variant of Jay Fenlason's Hack - while not included in the initial bestiary for Hack 1.0, it does appear in Hack 1.0.2, which credits PDP-11 Hack's creators Michiel Huisjes and Fred de Wilde for inspiring both the monster and the swamp special room.
Encyclopedia entry
The behaviour of eels in fresh water extends the air of
mystery surrounding them. They move freely into muddy, silty
bottoms of lakes, lying buried in the daylight hours in summer.
[...] Eels are voracious carnivores, feeding mainly at
night and consuming a wide variety of fishes and invertebrate
creatures. Contrary to earlier thinking, eels seek living
rather than dead creatures and are not habitual eaters of
carrion.
References
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1320
- ↑ dat/Arch.des in NetHack 3.6.7, line 86-L89
- ↑ dat/Barb.des in NetHack 3.6.7, line 86-L89
- ↑ dat/Tourist.des in NetHack 3.6.7, line 116
- ↑ dat/Tourist.des in NetHack 3.6.7, line 75-L77
- ↑ dat/medusa.des in NetHack 3.6.7, line 89-L91
- ↑ dat/medusa.des in NetHack 3.6.7, line 301-L302
- ↑ dat/medusa.des in NetHack 3.6.7, line 406-L407
- ↑ dat/castle.des in NetHack 3.6.7, line 178-L181
- ↑ dat/yendor.des in NetHack 3.6.7, line 54
- ↑ dat/yendor.des in NetHack 3.6.7, line 195
