Grid bug
x grid bug 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 1 |
| Attacks |
Bite d1 shock |
| Base level | 0 |
| Base experience | 4 |
| Speed | 12 |
| Base AC | 9 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | Uncommon |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 15 |
| Nutritional value | 10 |
| Size | Tiny |
| Resistances | Shock, Poison |
| Resistances conveyed |
None |
|
A grid bug:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line1021 |
Grid bugs are one of the weakest monsters. They are nothing to worry about once you pass level 2. They usually deal no damage at all, unless they manage to zap you as well ("You get zapped!"), and even then the damage is very small, thus the only real damage is when they have you cornered (for example in a corridor) next to a more powerful monster. They never leave corpses.
Grid bugs are unique in that they cannot move or attack diagonally. Their electric attack does not break your rings and wands unless they are higher level than zero.
The concept of grid bugs came from the 1982 Disney film, Tron.
Encyclopedia entry
(begin quote)
These electronically based creatures are not native to this universe. They appear to come from a world whose laws of motion are radically different from ours.
Tron looked to his mate and pilot. "I'm going to check on the beam connection, Yori. You two can keep a watch out for grid bugs." Tron paced forward along the slender catwalk that still seemed awfully insubstantial to Flynn, though he knew it to be amazingly sturdy. He gazed after Tron, asking himself what in the world a grid bug was, and hoping that the beam connection -- to which he'd given no thought whatsoever until this moment -- was healthy and sound." -- "Tron", novel by Brian Daley, story by Steven Lisberger
(end quote)
