Difference between revisions of "Leocrotta"
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===As a pet=== | ===As a pet=== | ||
| − | A leocrotta is not especially remarkable as | + | A leocrotta is not especially remarkable as an "exotic" pet, though it is a decent [[steed]] due to its high movement speed and attacks, and its omnivorous diet makes it easy to keep fed. A [[warhorse]] still outperforms a leocrotta in most aspects, especially in terms of speed (24 vs. 18 base) and ease of taming with [[vegan]] and [[vegetarian]] food. |
==History== | ==History== | ||
Revision as of 01:08, 24 September 2023
q leocrotta 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 8 |
| Attacks |
Claw 2d6, Bite 2d6, Claw 2d6 |
| Base level | 6 |
| Base experience | 76 |
| Speed | 18 |
| Base AC | 4 |
| Base MR | 10 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 2 (Quite rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 1200 |
| Nutritional value | 500 |
| Size | Large |
| Resistances | None |
| Resistances conveyed |
None |
|
A leocrotta:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line697 |
A leocrotta, q, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. The leocrotta is an omnivorous quadrupedal animal that has two claw attacks and a bite attack, and moves faster than an unburdened player at fast speed.
Chatting to a leocrotta causes it to imitate you.
Contents
Generation
Leocrottas are always generated hostile. A leocrotta can be generated by the summon nasties monster spell.
Strategy
At 18 speed, the leocrotta is the fastest monster among the quardupeds, and is a very hard-hitting monster that can easily maul a mid- or low-level character. Low-level characters, especially those that don't specialize in melee, are well-advised to escape using any means possible, as a leocrotta often appears before they can be fully prepared for it; strong ranged attacks can even the odds, but the leocrotta may be able to close the gap before it can be put down.
Thankfully, leocrottas have no resistances and a minimal MR score of 10, making wands and spells effective at immobilizing or killing them. A wand of cold, fire or lightning can get a leocrotta off your back fairly reliably, and a wand of sleep or slow monster enables you to outrun a leocrotta or else bring it down with ranged attacks or wands as above. Engraving or burning Elbereth can be effective at scaring leocrottas away from you.
Fast speed or better, high-damage weapons and decent AC are ideal in the event you are forced into melee combat with a leocrotta, a high damage weapon and decent AC is preferred. Improved AC and better speed can significantly reduce the amount of damage a leocrotta deals, as can slowing them with the wand (or spell) of slow monster like mentioned above; as with many other difficult monsters, you can also fight them from the stairs and walk up or down them to escape and heal as needed.
As a pet
A leocrotta is not especially remarkable as an "exotic" pet, though it is a decent steed due to its high movement speed and attacks, and its omnivorous diet makes it easy to keep fed. A warhorse still outperforms a leocrotta in most aspects, especially in terms of speed (24 vs. 18 base) and ease of taming with vegan and vegetarian food.
History
The leocrotta first appears in Hack for PDP-11, a variant of Jay Fenlason's Hack, and is included in the initial bestiary for Hack 1.0.
From Hack for PDP-11 to NetHack 2.3e, the leocrotta used the l glyph. In NetHack 3.0.0, leocrottas and other quadrupeds (many of which were newly-introduced in this version) were moved to the q glyph.
Origin
The leucrocotta is a creature that originates in the writings of Pliny the Elder, and is based on the crocotta (also known as a corocotta or crocuta) of Indian and Ethiopian folklore, a mythical dog-wolf that is said to be a deadly enemy of men and dogs. The leucrocotta is described in the Naturalis Historia as "the swiftest of all beasts, about the size of an ass [donkey], with a stag's haunches, a lion's neck, tail and breast, badger's head, cloven hoof, mouth opening right back to the ears, and ridges of bone in place of rows of teeth—this animal is reported to imitate the voices of human beings".
Both the leucrocrotta and crocotta, as described by Pliny and Strabo, are likely based on the spotted hyena, an animal known for scavenging and digesting a wide range of foods and making unnervingly human-like vocalizations, such as its famous 'laugh'; its scientific name (Crocuta crocuta) is derived from the crocotta, and local folklore attributes shape shifting abilities and mimicry of human speech to hyenas. Pliny's description for the leucrocrotta is used for the creature's appearance in Dungeons & Dragons, where it is known as the leucrotta and debuts in the 1st Edition Monster Manual; the leocrotta of NetHack derives its stat line, appearance and ability to imitate you when spoken to from its Dungeons & Dragons appearance.
The leucrotta is an evil being created from Yeenoghu's first ancient incursion of the Material Plane, where the hyenas that consumed his kills underwent aberrant transformations, with the leucrotta being the second most common result. Its noxious stench, awful breath, glowing red eyes, and constant drooling give it a reputation for being hideous. A leucrotta is also frighteningly intelligent and can imitate the voices of other animals and even humanoids to lure prey into simple-but-effective traps; it can even speak Common among some other languages. Though not fully nomadic and preferring to frequent familiar territory, a leucrotta would leave without hesitation when most convenient, e.g. if dangerous predators or localized disasters occurred, or else there was a dearth of prey.
A leucrotta can move as fast as a normal-size warhorse; its jaw ridges can tear through armor and flesh, and its hooves are used to batter and disable prey or else kick foes from the rear before making sudden retreats. Leucrottas live alone or in small packs and hunt at night, lurking alongside roads and near human habitats; they are clever, cruel and opportunistic, hunting for sport as much as for food, and draw out their kills as long as possible, even when not hungry. A leucrotta is proficient at stalking prey, with a strong sense of smell and difficult-to-distinguish tracks, and it prefers to hunt isolated targets despite its tendency towards cruelty: leucrottas know that most humanoids will notice one of their number going missing and would try to avenge them; they are also forward-thinking enough to collect gemstones, which are otherwise of no interest to them, in order to use as trap material or bargaining chips.
Though most beings, particularly druids, shun leucrottas and loathe their very existence, leucrottas could be found in a surprisingly amount of social structures, and very occasionally worked and hunted with other beings, usually stronger evil ones, for mutual gain. Such an arrangement was almost always made out of fear - the leucrotta would attack once the deal was no longer profitable and their former partner was weak enough. Gnolls are a notable exception in this regard: leucrottas willingly serve as bodyguards, advisers and even mounts for the gnoll currently in charge, and gnolls see them as a form of entertainment with a cruelty that surpasses their own.
Messages
- The leocrotta imitates you.
- You chatted to a leocrotta.
Variants
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, the leocrotta is a decent polyform for doppelgangers that reach experience level 6: they are strong, fast and quite powerful, but cannot use weapons or armor and lack hands to open doors or operate most tools with.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, leocrottas are classified as fey monsters.
Encyclopedia entry
... the leucrocotta, a wild beast of extraordinary swiftness, the size of the wild ass, with the legs of a Stag, the neck, tail, and breast of a lion, the head of a badger, a cloven hoof, the mouth slit up as far as the ears, and one continuous bone instead of teeth; it is said, too, that this animal can imitate the human voice.
