Sabre-toothed cat
f sabre-toothed cat 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 11 |
| Attacks |
Claw 4d4, Claw 4d4, Bite 2d10 |
| Base level | 9 |
| Base experience | 186 |
| Speed | 12 |
| Base AC | 6 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 800 |
| Nutritional value | 400 |
| Size | Large |
| Resistances | None |
| Resistances conveyed |
None |
|
A sabre-toothed cat:
| |
| Reference | SLASH'EM_0.0.7E7F2/monst.c#line691 |
A sabre-toothed cat, f, is a type of monster that appears in SLASH'EM and SlashTHEM. They move at the same speed as you, and possess three powerful attacks in two claw strikes and a bite.
Strategy
Sabre-toothed cats are significantly tougher than the other felines you may encounter, doing twice the damage of a tiger with twice the hit points - a player who is not sufficiently prepared to engage one in melee may well die very quickly. Fortunately, their lack of monster MR leaves them very vulnerable to wands and spells, and a fast player can reliably outrun them while using ranged attacks at will. Their AC of 6 is also mediocre enough that a well-armored character with a decently-enchanted weapon can fight them off even in melee.
Origin
Machairodontinae is an extinct subfamily of carnivorous mammals within the family Felidae (also known as "true cats"), and contains many of the extinct predators commonly known as "saber-toothed cats", including the famed genus Smilodon. These saber-toothed cats are the best-known genera of saber-toothed predators and were found across most of the world, living from about 16 million until about 11,000 years ago. The species is named for their massive canine teeth: Machairodontinae means "dagger-tooth" and is derived from the Greek μάχαιρα (machaira, "sword").
Previously, some species of saber-toothed cats were called "saber-toothed tigers", though machairodonts are not closely related to any living feline species; DNA analysis published in 2005 confirmed and clarified that the Machairodontinae diverged early from the ancestors of modern cats in their evolution.
