Polymorph trap

A polymorph trap changes you to a new species, in the same manner as a polymorph spell, potion or wand. They will not be generated above dungeon level 8.

Effects

You, and the trap, are not affected if you have either magic resistance or unchanging. Otherwise, the following may happen:

• If you have polymorph control, you get to choose which monster to become.
• If you are wearing dragon scales or dragon scale mail, you turn into that color dragon. If you were also wearing a cloak, it will be ripped apart (destroyed). Wearing gray dragon scale mail will prevent the polymorph from happening.
• If you have lycanthropy, you switch between your animal and were forms.
• If you are a vampire or vampire bat, you switch between the two.
• Otherwise, you have a (19-Con)/20 chance of suffering a system shock: you sustain d30 damage and exercise your constitution.

If none of the above happened, you polymorph into a random monster, or "feel like a new <race>". (this redistributes your attributes and changes your level up or down).

This transformation will destroy your shirt, body armor and cloak if you polymorph into something LARGE or bigger, a non-humanoid MEDIUM or bigger, or a gargoyle or marilith (wings and extra arms don't fit).

The trap then disappears.

Monster usage

A user has suggested this page be merged with "the messages here apply generally to monster polymorph, not just poly traps (e.g. chameleons, lycanthropes can generate these). This section needs to be reconciled to [[polymorph]] "

Monsters can use polymorph traps. Weak monsters sometimes deliberately step on them for a chance of becoming something nastier. When a monster uses the trap, it is not used up.

If a monster uses a polymorph trap, you can sometimes hear it from anywhere on the level:

"You hear a thud."

A monster slipped out of its body armor.

"You hear a clank."

A shield or helmet fell to the floor as a monster became handless, tiny or horned.

"You hear a cracking sound."

A monster polymorphed into something too big or the wrong shape for its body armor, and the armor was destroyed.

"You hear a ripping sound."

A monster's shirt or cloak was destroyed as it polymorphed into something too big.

Monsters can resist polymorph traps. Polymorph traps count as a wand for these purposes (level 12).

Monsters that are weaker than you may deliberately jump onto polymorph traps. For this reason, it's best not to traverse the lower areas of the Gnomish Mines until one has magic resistance and is sufficiently powerful to deal with monsters like Jabberwocks, Liches, and Vampires that can potentially be created with these traps.

Strategy

If you have valuable armor which you would rather not have destroyed by the trap, you can proceed in relative safety by searching ([s]) every square until you find it.

If you are immune to being polymorphed, you can displace your pet onto the trap to have it turn into a random monster. You can keep doing this until your pet is something useful or powerful, or turns into a (baby) gray dragon, at which point it too is magic resistant, and is no longer affected by the trap. If you aren't immune to being polymorphed, consider using a leash on your pet and standing next to a polymorph trap. Chances for a pet to walk over the trap are much higher this way. Another way is to push boulders to make a two square trap and thus making your pet move between trap and an empty space. After a desirable morph is reached you can block the trap with a boulder.

You can also use a magic whistle to make your pet land on the trap until you get a desirable pet or a gray dragon. Combine the polymorph trap and magic whistle with some pet treats like tripe or a horse friendly treat like an apple and you can get a pretty nice pet. Note: pets that eat in your presence tend to stay tame longer. The winged gargoyle is a great pet, but it doesn't eat.

Note that if you have neither magic resistance nor a magic whistle, you have no way to cause a sessile pet to be polymorphed by the trap; generating one of these (such as a blue jelly), would end the attempt, but at least protect the trap from other monsters.

Polymorph traps are a resource. You can protect a polymorph trap by dropping an item and engraving Elbereth on it. This should prevent monsters from stepping onto the trap. Alternatively, if you don't have protection from the trap, you can drop an item and engrave Elbereth on each tile adjacent to the trap.

Source code references

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