Difference between revisions of "Psi bolt"
Ion frigate (talk | contribs) (this perhaps belongs somewhere else, since i believe it applies to some other spells, but i wanted to get it down) |
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==Frequency== | ==Frequency== | ||
| − | + | Since high-level monsters must select a random spell from an increasingly large list, the relative frequency of this spell decreases as the monster's level increases from 1 to 23 (from 100% to 4.3%). Levels 24 and above, however, introduce a chance to replace [[touch of death]] with psi bolt if the player is immune to the former, and at still higher levels the spell choice is ''slightly'' biased towards psi bolt, thus the chance dramatically grows to 12% at level 25 (assuming immunity) and then to about 18% <!-- rough (and somewhat incorrect) estimate: p ~= 1/25 + 24/25*(p+3/25)/2, thus p ~= 61/325 ~= 18.8%, but actually it's lower than that --> at level 50.{{refsrc|src/mcastu.c|87|nethack=3.6.7}} | |
==Messages== | ==Messages== | ||
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|21+ | |21+ | ||
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| + | ==History== | ||
| + | In [[3.4.3]] and variants based on it, this spell wasn't replacing touch of death, however, starting at level 24, its relative frequency would rapidly increase, passing 50% at level 44.{{refsrc|mcastu.c|83}} Thus, spellcasting monsters with a very high level (such as Demogorgon) would use this spell very often, which could be dangerous to the hero, as they can do a lot of damage with this spell (for example, 33d6 base damage for Demogorgon). | ||
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==SLASH'EM== | ==SLASH'EM== | ||
Revision as of 11:55, 16 October 2023
Psi bolt is the internal name for a monster spell (though it is never referred to in the game as such). This spell can be cast by any monster that uses mage spells.
Damage
This spell deals damage depending on the level of the monster casting the spell (ml), and the damage dice of the monster's specific spellcasting attack:
- If the attack's damage dice is non-zero, i.e. if the damage dice is ndx, then the spell does (ml⁄2 + n)dx damage.
- If the attack's damage dice is zero, the spell does (ml⁄2 + 1)d6 damage.
As virtually every monster has either zero damage dice or 6-sided damage dice for their spellcasting attacks, one can describe the "base" damage of this spell as ml⁄2d6 damage, plus additional damage based on the monster that cast the spell: +8d6 for Orcus and Demogorgon, +6d6 for Dispater, +4d6 for Archons and golden naga, +2d6 for ki-rin and +1d6 for other monsters. Neferet the Green is the one exception: her Psi bolt spell does (her level/2 + 2)d8 damage. [1]
The damage can be halved by half spell damage and by magic resistance; if you have both, you will only suffer one quarter of the damage (rounded up).
Frequency
Since high-level monsters must select a random spell from an increasingly large list, the relative frequency of this spell decreases as the monster's level increases from 1 to 23 (from 100% to 4.3%). Levels 24 and above, however, introduce a chance to replace touch of death with psi bolt if the player is immune to the former, and at still higher levels the spell choice is slightly biased towards psi bolt, thus the chance dramatically grows to 12% at level 25 (assuming immunity) and then to about 18% at level 50.[2]
Messages
| Message | Damage dealt |
|---|---|
| "You get a slight <head>ache." | 0-5 |
| "Your brain is on fire!" (not to be confused with intelligence drain) | 6-10 |
| "Your <head> suddenly aches painfully!" | 11-20 |
| "Your <head> suddenly aches very painfully!" | 21+ |
History
In 3.4.3 and variants based on it, this spell wasn't replacing touch of death, however, starting at level 24, its relative frequency would rapidly increase, passing 50% at level 44.[3] Thus, spellcasting monsters with a very high level (such as Demogorgon) would use this spell very often, which could be dangerous to the hero, as they can do a lot of damage with this spell (for example, 33d6 base damage for Demogorgon).
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, there are many new spellcasting monsters. For the ones that can cast mage spells, the additional damages values (as explained above) are the following: +6d6 for ghoul mages, +5d6 for Solars, +4d6 for Planetars and ghoul queens, +2d6 for vampire mages, and +1d6 for all others.
References
This page may need to be updated for the current version of NetHack.
It may contain text specific to NetHack 3.4.3. Information on this page may be out of date.
Editors: After reviewing this page and making necessary edits, please change the {{nethack-343}} tag to the current version's tag or {{noversion}} as appropriate.
