Trapper
t trapper 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 14 |
| Attacks | |
| Base level | 12 |
| Base experience | 270 |
| Speed | 3 |
| Base AC | 3 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 2 (Quite rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 800 |
| Nutritional value | 350 |
| Size | Huge |
| Resistances | None |
| Resistances conveyed |
None |
|
A trapper:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line807 |
A trapper, t, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. It is one of the two eponymous monsters that make up the trapper or lurker above monster class. The trapper has a slightly stronger digestion attack compared to the lurker above, but cannot fly and instead hides itself on the floor of the dungeon to take its targets by surprise.
Generation
Trappers are always generated hostile.
Strategy
Like the lurker above, a trapper can easily be detected via telepathy or warning, and its very low speed of 3 makes them less threatening, especially if you are decently equipped. However, do not let any of your pets near one - digestion attacks will instantly kill pets, so be sure to scout for trappers beforehand when navigating a floor.
History
The trapper 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.
Origin
The trapper originates from Dungeons & Dragons, where it first appears in TSR Games' official newsletter The Strategic Review as an addition to the original 1974 edition's bestiary. It is one of the classic examples of the franchise's "gotcha monsters", creatures that are primarily designed with the purpose of tricking and killing adventuring parties - for this reason, both it and the lurker above are often ranked among the most obnoxious monsters by players.
Similar to a lurker, the trapper is a large and flat manta ray-like creature with tough exterior skin that resembles stone in density and texture. The average trapper's body covers over 400 square feet (37 square meters) and could grow as large as 600 square feet (56 square meters). They can attach themselves to walls and ceilings with ease, and can also shapeshift the texture and color of their outer body to blend in with any surface made of earth, stone, or wood.
A trapper hunts by mimicking a nearby floor, wall or ceiling, often forming a box-like protrusion in their center to lure in prey. This makes them very difficult to detect: whenever an unwary victim wandered near or onto the center of their body, the trapper attacks by forming a ball around them in order to crush and smother them to death; the trapper remains in this ball shape while it digests its victim's flesh, leaving bones, metal and other indigestible materials where the prey once stood. Trappers are known to use the remains of previous victims as bait, and would hibernate whenever prey became scarce (though they would remain aware of anything that approached them).
In the 3rd and 4th Editions, trappers and their lurker 'relatives' were eventually phased out in favor of the similar darkmantle, though they would return alongside the darkmantle for the 5th Edition.
Encyclopedia entry
The trapper is a creature which has evolved a chameleon-like ability to blend into the dungeon surroundings. It captures its prey by remaining very still and blending into the surrounding dungeon features, until an unsuspecting creature passes by. It wraps itself around its prey and digests it.
