King cobra

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A king cobra, S, is a type of monster that appears in SLASH'EM, SlashTHEM and Hack'EM. It is a snake that can swim and hide under items like most other snakes.

A king cobra has two poisonous bite attacks, and possesses poison resistance.

A king cobra corpse is poisonous to eat, but eating a king cobra corpse or tin has a 35 chance of conveying poison resistance.

Generation

King cobras are not randomly generated, and normally-created king cobras are always hostile. They will not appear in Gehennom.

A king cobra has a 910 chance of generating in The Snake Pit of the Lawful Quest at level creation, and may also appear among the random S generated there at level creation.

King cobras generated at level creation are given a random item to hide under.[1]

Origin

The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is a venomous snake endemic to Asia; it is not taxonomically a true cobra, despite its common name and resemblance. The king cobra is the world's longest venomous snake at an average length of 3.18 to 4 m (10.4 to 13.1 ft) and a record length of 5.85 m (19.2 ft). King cobra species have diversified colouration across habitats, from black with white stripes to unbroken brownish grey. They are widely distributed but not commonly seen, with a range spanning from the Indian Subcontinent through Southeastern Asia to Southern China. King cobras have been threatened by habitat destruction, and have been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2010. It is regarded as the national reptile of India, and has an eminent position in the mythology and folk traditions of India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

King cobras prey chiefly on other snakes, including other king cobras, and are the only snake to construct above-ground nests. Their eggs are purposefully and meticulously gathered and protected by the female throughout the incubation period. A king cobra's threat display includes spreading its neck-flap, raising its head upright, making eye contact, puffing, hissing and occasionally charging. Its size allows it to strike at a considerable range and height, and their venom can kill victims quickly unless an antivenom is administered in time. Despite the species' fearsome reputation, bite incidents usually only arise from a cobra inadvertently revealing itself to a human or else being cornered.

References