Difference between revisions of "User:Phol ende wodan/Monster letter rearrangement"

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(→‎Goals: maybe & is fine to keep)
(New possible move)
 
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The basic goals are, in order of priority:
 
The basic goals are, in order of priority:
−
# Eliminate the punctuation monster symbols, {{white|&}}, {{white|'}}, {{white|;}}, and {{white| }}, but not {{white|@}} because it's traditional, iconic, and would probably cause a revolt if changed. (Perhaps & could be kept - it isn't too visually indistinct like the other punctuation marks).
+
# Eliminate the punctuation monster symbols {{white|'}}, {{white|:}}, {{white|;}}, and {{white| }}. {{white|@}} is spared because it's traditional, iconic, and would probably cause a revolt if changed. {{white|&}} is also kept, because it's also iconic and is not difficult to distinguish.
 
# Keep monster colors within a letter as distinct as possible so the player has to do the minimum amount of farlooking to identify monsters. Note that there is no ANSI support for orange; NetHack's CLR_ORANGE uses bright red, which can variously render as orange, bright red, or pink depending on the terminal.
 
# Keep monster colors within a letter as distinct as possible so the player has to do the minimum amount of farlooking to identify monsters. Note that there is no ANSI support for orange; NetHack's CLR_ORANGE uses bright red, which can variously render as orange, bright red, or pink depending on the terminal.
−
# Even out the number of monsters in each letter, so some classes ({{white|@}}) aren't overloaded while other classes (x, X, Q, z) have only one or two monsters.  
+
# Even out the number of monsters in each letter, so some classes ({{white|@}}) aren't overloaded while other classes (l, x, X, Q, z) have only one or two monsters.  
 
# Have each letter be able to be summed up as something that describes the whole class or at least a large subset of it (a for ant; B for bat or bird; C for centaur).
 
# Have each letter be able to be summed up as something that describes the whole class or at least a large subset of it (a for ant; B for bat or bird; C for centaur).
 +
# Color all races of monsters that exist as multiple variants (e.g. zombies, mummies) the same.
 
# Avoid coloring things as white that are not already white, associated with ice/cold, or associated with humans, because statue glyphs always display as that.
 
# Avoid coloring things as white that are not already white, associated with ice/cold, or associated with humans, because statue glyphs always display as that.
 
# Avoid dark gray and blue conflicts, because of use_darkgray coloring anything dark gray as blue.
 
# Avoid dark gray and blue conflicts, because of use_darkgray coloring anything dark gray as blue.
−
# Bright magenta is underused in general and not currently used for any monsters, though it is used for warning level 5. It seems like it ought to be used to denote the strongest, most powerful monster of a class.
+
# Bright magenta is underused in general and not currently used for any monsters, though it is used for warning level 5. It seems like it ought to be used to denote the strongest, most powerful monster of a class. Also worth keeping in mind is that making a monster a bright shade rather than a dark shade can carry a connotation of higher difficulty.
−
# Avoid changing a monster's established color, unless other rearrangements force it to be changed.
+
# Werecreatures shouldn't change color in their different forms.
 +
# Avoid changing a monster's established color, unless other rearrangements force it to be changed. Previously this list contained some recolors that weren't strictly necessary but did things like make dangerous monsters appear more dangerous; these have been reverted.
  
 
This assumes that few or no monsters are going to be added to what already exists in vanilla. When discussing this with regards to Fourk, that was not the case.
 
This assumes that few or no monsters are going to be added to what already exists in vanilla. When discussing this with regards to Fourk, that was not the case.
  
 
== Moving monsters around ==
 
== Moving monsters around ==
−
* Golems are moved to the {{white|g}} monster class, and retain their colors. The previous residents of this class are moved to the B class, now described as "a bat, bird, or flying creature":
+
* Golems are moved to the {{white|g}} monster class. Not all of them keep their colors; see below. Gargoyles either can stay on g or move to B, in which case it would then be described as "a birdlike or flying creature":
−
** Gremlins are {{green|B}}
 
 
** Gargoyles are {{lightgray|B}}
 
** Gargoyles are {{lightgray|B}}
 
** Winged gargoyles are {{magenta|B}}
 
** Winged gargoyles are {{magenta|B}}
 +
** Gremlins are impish creatures and move to {{black|i}}
  
 
* Elves are moved to the {{white|Q}} monster class, now described as "a Quendi (elf)", and retain their colors. Quantum mechanics are merged into the humanoid monster class and retain their colors: {{cyan|h}}.
 
* Elves are moved to the {{white|Q}} monster class, now described as "a Quendi (elf)", and retain their colors. Quantum mechanics are merged into the humanoid monster class and retain their colors: {{cyan|h}}.
  
−
* Lizards are moved to the {{white|l}} monster class, now described as "a lizard". Not all of them keep their colors; see below. Leprechauns are merged into the imp monster class, which is now described as "an impish creature", and retain their colors: {{green|i}}. Homunculi need to be recolored because of this; see below.
+
* Lizards are moved to the {{white|l}} monster class, now described as "a lizard". Not all of them keep their colors; see below. Leprechauns are merged into the imp monster class, which is now described as "an impish creature", and are recolored to {{brightgreen|i}}.
  
−
* Major demons are moved to the {{white|I}} monster class, now described as "an infernal being". Not all of them keep their colors; see below. Instead of {{white|I}} being used to denote an unknown but observed monster, use a {{brightmagenta|?}} instead.
+
* Common major demons are moved to the {{white|I}} monster class, now described as "an infernal being". Not all of them keep their colors, because so many of them are already red; see below. Instead of {{white|I}} being used to denote an unknown but observed monster, use a {{brightmagenta|?}} instead.
  
−
* I'm not sure about the endgame Riders. They're certainly not "infernal". Keeping them as {{white|&}} might indicate to the player that these are not like any other monster, but that defeats the purpose of moving monsters off punctuation symbols. Since they're humanoid, they could also be {{brightmagenta|@}}; nothing else that's not summoned on the Astral Plane is naturally purple. For now, keep them the way they are.
+
* Demon lords, princes, and the Riders remain on {{white|&}}, with the class description changed to "a demon lord or destructive force". & is being spared because it is visually distinct and has a longstanding association with demons and difficult monsters. Each demon lord gets its own unique color (see below), with the Riders all being {{brightmagenta|&}}.
  
 
* Sea monsters are moved to the {{white|K}} monster class, now described as "a kraken or sea monster". Pirahnas don't keep their colors, see below; but everything else does. Keystone Kops, being human, are moved to the {{white|@}} monster class, and are recolored as if they were Yendorian Army soldiers; see below. (Fourk removes the Kops entirely.)
 
* Sea monsters are moved to the {{white|K}} monster class, now described as "a kraken or sea monster". Pirahnas don't keep their colors, see below; but everything else does. Keystone Kops, being human, are moved to the {{white|@}} monster class, and are recolored as if they were Yendorian Army soldiers; see below. (Fourk removes the Kops entirely.)
Line 37: Line 39:
 
* Ghosts and shades are merged into the {{white|W}} monster class. No monsters in this class except Nazgul keep their colors; see below.
 
* Ghosts and shades are merged into the {{white|W}} monster class. No monsters in this class except Nazgul keep their colors; see below.
  
−
* Puddings and jellies are merged into the {{white|b}} monster class, now described as "a blob or amorphous monster". This isn't strictly necessary unless you need the P and j monster classes freed up because you wanted to add some other new class, but it works thematically.
+
* Bugbears are moved to {{orange|o}} to fit better with their D&D portrayal as a goblinoid or orcish race.
−
** Gray ooze is {{lightgray|b}}
+
 
−
** Brown pudding is {{brown|b}}
+
=== Optional moves ===
−
** Black pudding is {{darkgray|b}}
+
These aren't really necessary unless you wanted to add a new monster class and needed a letter freed up, but they work thematically.
−
** Green slime is {{green|b}}; acid blob is recolored to {{brightgreen|b}}
+
 
−
** Blue jelly is {{blue|b}}
+
* Puddings and blobs are merged into the {{white|j}} monster class, now described as "a jelly, blob or amorphous monster". This frees up the {{white|P}} and {{white|b}} classes.
−
** Spotted jelly is {{orange|b}}
+
** Gray ooze is {{lightgray|j}}
−
** Ochre jelly is {{yellow|b}}
+
** Brown pudding is {{brown|j}}
 +
** Black pudding is {{darkgray|j}}
 +
** Green slime is {{green|j}}; acid blob is recolored to {{brightgreen|j}}
 +
** Blue jelly is {{blue|j}}
 +
** Spotted jelly is {{orange|j}}
 +
** Ochre jelly is {{yellow|j}}
 +
 
 +
* Lights and spheres are merged into the {{white|e}} monster class, on the basis that they are both classes of floating enemies that attack you by exploding. The class is now described as "an eye, sphere or light". This frees up the {{white|y}} class.
 +
** Yellow light is {{yellow|e}}
 +
** Black light is {{black|e}}
 +
 
 +
* Piercers are merged into the {{white|t}} monster class, now described as a "trapping monster". This frees up the {{white|p}} class.
 +
** Rock piercer is {{white|t}}
 +
** Iron piercer is {{cyan|t}}
 +
** Glass piercer is {{brightcyan|t}}
 +
 
 +
* Xorns are merged into the {{white|E}} monster class. This frees up the {{white|X}} class.
 +
 
 +
* Alternatively, umber hulks are merged into the {{white|X}} class as "deep rock dwellers", freeing up the {{white|U}} class.
  
 
== Recoloring existing monsters ==
 
== Recoloring existing monsters ==
−
* Aleaxes are recolored to {{lightgray|A}}.
+
=== Recolors that are independent of letter rearrangement ===
−
* Werejackals are recolored to {{red|d}} in their jackal form.
+
{|class="wikitable"
−
* Werewolves are recolored to {{orange|d}} in their wolf form.
+
!Monster!!Current!!Recolored to!!Reason
−
* Wolves are recolored to {{lightgray|d}}.
+
|-
−
* Wargs are recolored to {{darkgray|d}}.
+
|Aleax || {{yellow|A}} || {{lightgray|A}}
−
* Floating eyes are recolored to {{cyan|e}}. Maybe this will shut up all the players complaining they can't see it.
+
| Ki-rin is already yellow, and gray is a good color for a shapechanging or imitating monster like an Aleax.
−
* Shriekers, as the "most dangerous" type of fungus, are recolored to {{brightmagenta|F}}.
+
|-
−
* Minotaurs are recolored to {{red|H}}. Conflict with the non-generated giant monster is rare enough not to matter.
+
|Acid blob || {{green|b}} || {{brightgreen|b}}
−
* Mind flayers are recolored to {{brightcyan|h}}. On a scale of difficulty of the humanoid class, mind flayers are more dangerous than dwarf kings and should be magenta, but dwarf kings are the "royal" monster.
+
| Light green works better as an "acidic" color than plain green.
−
* Master mind flayers are recolored to {{brightmagenta|h}}.
+
|-
−
* Demon princes (not the demon lords) are recolored to {{brightmagenta|I}}.  
+
|Coyote || {{brown|d}} || {{blue|d}} ||
−
* Erinyes are recolored to {{brightblue|I}}. Conflict with the mail daemon is rare enough not to matter.
+
|-
−
* Mariliths are recolored to {{brightcyan|I}}.
+
|Wererat || {{brown|@}}/{{brown|r}} || {{yellow|@}}/{{yellow|r}} ||
−
* Hezrous are recolored to {{yellow|I}}. Conflict with djinni is rare enough not to matter.
+
|-
−
* Barbed devils are recolored to {{cyan|I}}.
+
|Werejackal || {{red|@}}/{{brown|d}} || {{green|@}}/{{green|d}} ||
−
* Nalfeshnees are recolored to {{orange|I}}.
+
|-
−
* Pit fiends are recolored to {{darkgray|I}}.
+
|Werewolf (wolf form) || {{brown|d}} || {{orange|d}}
−
* Vrocks are recolored to {{green|I}}.
+
| I think it is unreasonable to keep werecreatures' beast forms on the same color as those beasts, ''unless'' they are supposed to be so indistinguishable that they only show up as "wolf" instead of "werewolf" in farlook, which I doubt should happen.
−
* Homunculi are recolored to {{brightblue|i}}.
+
|-
−
* Imps are recolored to {{orange|i}}.
+
|Wolf || {{brown|d}} || {{lightgray|d}} ||
−
* Pirahnas are recolored to {{orange|K}}.
+
|-
−
* Arch-liches are recolored to {{brightmagenta|L}}.
+
|Warg || {{brown|d}} || {{darkgray|d}} ||
−
* Geckos are recolored to {{brightgreen|l}}.
+
|-
−
* Chameleons are recolored to {{lightgray|l}}.
+
|Floating eye || {{blue|e}} || {{cyan|e}}
−
* Baby crocodiles and crocodiles are recolored to {{red|l}}.
+
| Maybe this will shut up all the players complaining they can't see it.
−
* Human mummies are recolored to {{white|M}} for consistency with human zombies and humans in general.
+
|-
−
* Dwarf mummies are recolored to {{orange|M}}.
+
|Green mold || {{green|F}} || {{brightgreen|F}}
−
* Titanotheres are recolored to {{yellow|q}}.
+
| To be consistent with acid blobs' coloring.
−
* Baluchitheria are recolored to {{orange|q}}.
+
|-
−
* Mastodons are recolored to {{magenta|q}}.
+
|Lichen || {{brightgreen|F}} || {{green|F}}
−
* Giant rats are recolored to {{red|r}}.
+
| Really just displaced by green mold.
−
* Wererats are recolored to {{yellow|r}} in their monster form.
+
|-
−
* Rabid rats are recolored to {{green|r}}.
+
|Shrieker || {{magenta|F}} || {{brightmagenta|F}}
−
* Cobras are recolored to {{brightblue|S}}.
+
| Violet fungus deserves magenta, and shriekers are the "most dangerous" type of fungus.
−
* Ghosts are recolored to {{white|W}}.
+
|-
−
* Shades are recolored to {{darkgray|W}}.
+
|Fire giant || {{yellow|H}} || {{red|H}}
−
* Wraiths are recolored to {{lightgray|W}}.
+
| Conflict with the non-generated giant monster is rare enough not to matter.
−
* Barrow wights are recolored to {{brightblue|W}}.
+
|-
−
* Monkeys are recolored to {{brown|Y}}.
+
|Ettin || {{brown|H}} || {{yellow|H}}
−
* Apes are recolored to {{red|Y}}.
+
| Ettins would normally remain brown and minotaurs would be recolored, but they are being forced to yellow because ettin mummies and zombies need a color.
−
* Owlbears are recolored to {{orange|Y}}.
+
|-
−
* Gnome zombies are recolored to {{red|Z}} for consistency with gnome mummies.
+
|Dwarf king || {{magenta|h}} || {{brightblue|h}}
−
* Dwarf zombies are recolored to {{orange|Z}} for consistency with dwarf mummies.
+
| I don't like this change because it removes their "purple = royal" association, but keeping mind flayers on magenta is more important both for assessing their level of danger and for consistency with that type of monster. If more "Lovecraftian horror" monsters got added, that might provide some impetus to create a class for them and move mind flayers into it, though.
−
* Keystone Kops are recolored to {{lightgray|@}}.
+
|-
−
* Kop Sergeants are recolored to {{red|@}}.
+
|Master mind flayer || {{magenta|h}} || {{brightmagenta|h}} ||
−
* Kop Lieutenants are recolored to {{green|@}}.
+
|-
−
* Kop Kaptains are recolored to {{blue|@}}.
+
|Kobold || {{brown|k}} || {{gray|k}}
−
* The Wizard of Yendor is recolored to {{brightmagenta|@}}.
+
| Would normally remain brown, but all variants of kobolds are becoming gray for mummy and zombie rearrangement.
 +
|-
 +
|Arch-lich || {{magenta|L}} || {{brightmagenta|L}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Kobold mummy || {{brown|M}} || {{gray|M}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Human mummy || {{gray|M|}} || {{white|M}}
 +
| For consistency with human zombies and humans in general.
 +
|-
 +
|Ettin mummy || {{blue|M}} || {{yellow|M}}
 +
| Orc undead are becoming blue, so ettins need a different color.
 +
|-
 +
|Orc mummy || {{gray|M}} || {{blue|M}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Titanothere || {{gray|q}} || {{yellow|q}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Baluchitherium || {{gray|q}} || {{orange|q}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Giant rat || {{brown|r}} || {{red|r}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Rabid rat || {{brown|r}} || {{green|r}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Cobra || {{blue|S}} || {{brightblue|S}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Fire vortex || {{yellow|v}} || {{red|v}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Monkey || {{gray|Y}} || {{brown|Y}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Ape || {{brown|Y}} || {{red|Y}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Owlbear || {{brown|Y}} || {{orange|Y}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Kobold zombie || {{brown|Z}} || {{gray|Z}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Orc zombie || {{gray|Z}} || {{blue|Z}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Ettin zombie || {{blue|Z}} || {{yellow|Z}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Watch captain || {{green|@}} || {{blue|@}}
 +
| All human "captains" are being standardized to blue.
 +
|-
 +
|The Wizard of Yendor || {{magenta|@}} || {{brightmagenta|@}} ||
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
=== Recolors that depend on letter rearrangement but could be applied in their current class ===
 +
{|class="wikitable"
 +
!Monster!!Current!!Recolored to!!Reason
 +
|-
 +
|erinys || {{red|&}} || {{green|I}}
 +
| They have a poisonous attack.
 +
|-
 +
|barbed devil || {{red|&}} || {{cyan|I}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|marilith || {{red|&}} || {{brightcyan|I}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|vrock || {{red|&}} || {{orange|I}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|hezrou || {{red|&}} || {{yellow|I}}
 +
| Conflict with djinni is rare enough not to matter.
 +
|-
 +
|nalfeshnee || {{red|&}} || {{brightblue|I}}
 +
| Conflict with the mail daemon is rare enough not to matter. Since they are the only common demon who spellcasts, bright blue is very preferable.
 +
|-
 +
|pit fiend || {{red|&}} || {{darkgray|I}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|imp || {{red|i}} || {{orange|i}}
 +
| More dangerous than manes.
 +
|-
 +
|pirahna || {{red|;}} || {{orange|K}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|gecko || {{green|:}} || {{brightgreen|l}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|chameleon || {{brown|:}} || {{lightgray|l}}
 +
| This color works well as a "blank slate" color.
 +
|-
 +
|baby crocodile and crocodile || {{brown|:}} || {{red|l}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Keystone Kop || {{blue|K}} || {{lightgray|@}}
 +
| For symmetry with soldiers.
 +
|-
 +
|Kop Sergeant || {{blue|K}} || {{red|@}}
 +
| For symmetry with sergeants.
 +
|-
 +
|Kop Lieutenant || {{cyan|K}} || {{green|@}}
 +
| For symmetry with lieutenants.
 +
|-
 +
|Kop Kaptain || {{purple|K}} || {{blue|@}}
 +
| For symmetry with captains.
 +
|-
 +
|Straw golem || {{yellow|'}} || {{brightblue|g}}
 +
| Based on the idea that straw golems are basically overall-wearing scarecrows.
 +
|-
 +
|Glass golem || {{cyan|'}} || {{brightcyan|g}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Rope golem || {{brown|'}} || {{black|g}} ||
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
=== Recolors that depend completely on letter rearrangement ===
 +
{|class="wikitable"
 +
!Monster!!Current!!Recolored to!!Reason
 +
|-
 +
|Gremlin || {{green|g}} || {{black|i}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Gargoyle || {{brown|g}} || {{gray|B}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Ghost || {{white| }} || {{white|W}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Shade || {{darkgray| }} || {{darkgray|W}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Wraith || {{darkgray|W}} || {{lightgray|W}}
 +
| Shades are "darker" than wraiths.
 +
|-
 +
|Barrow wight || {{lightgray|W}} || {{brightblue|W}}
 +
| Bright blue works well since barrow wights are casters.
 +
|-
 +
|Xorn || {{brown|X}} || {{lightgray|E}} ||
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
==== New colors for & bosses ====
 +
{|class="wikitable"
 +
!Monster!!Recolored to!!Reason
 +
|-
 +
|Asmodeus || {{white|&}} || He is associated with cold and has the strongest cold attack in the game.
 +
|-
 +
|Baalzebub || {{brown|&}} || He is insectoid and associated with decay.
 +
|-
 +
|Juiblex || {{brightgreen|&}} || No change.
 +
|-
 +
|Orcus || {{brightblue|&}} || Not the only spellcasting demon, but the only guaranteed one.
 +
|-
 +
|Yeenoghu || {{orange|&}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Geryon || {{green|&}} || Has a poison attack; this is not really significant or unique but it makes sense for at least one poisonous demon to be green.
 +
|-
 +
|Dispater || {{red|&}} ||
 +
|-
 +
|Demogorgon || {{magenta|&}} || No change. He is indisputably the most difficult demon prince, so deserves magenta.
 +
|-
 +
|Death, Famine, and Pestilence || {{brightmagenta|&}} || To mark them as the strongest and most fearsome (guaranteed) bosses in the game. There is also an argument for making them normal magenta and Demogorgon bright magenta, since he is actually more dangerous than the Riders.
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
== Other possibilities ==
 +
These are ones I am not sure about.
 +
 
 +
=== Merge s into a ===
 +
Since these do not behave so differently, unify them under one letter. The description could be changed to "a - an arthropod" if we want to be pedantic about the fact that spiders are not insects.
 +
* Cave spiders change from {{lightgray|s}} to {{lightgray|a}}.
 +
* Giant spiders change from {{magenta|s}} to {{orange|a}}.
 +
* Scorpions change from {{red|s}} to {{brightgreen|a}}.
 +
* Centipedes change from {{yellow|s}} to {{green|a}}.
 +
 
 +
Once class s is cleared, sea monsters can cleanly be moved into "s - a sea monster".
 +
 
 +
=== Move dwarves to K ===
 +
In order for h to be uncrowded somewhat. K for dwarves makes sense for the same reasons that Q for elves does - the name they call themselves in Tolkien lore is ''Khazad''. Works well with the s-into-a merge above, because then there is no conflict on K. Also clears up the minor issue of dwarf kings deserving magenta.
 +
 
 +
=== Move sea monsters to z ===
 +
This would require removing zruties entirely. However, there is very little distinctive about the zruty, and there is so little lore about them that it's not really even possible to tell what other class they should be moved into. z is attractive because nobody would really miss zruties, and the class is otherwise empty. Sea monsters on z is primarily to move them off of punctuation; you could tenuously call the class "zea monsters" but that's really stretching it and not something I'd put in the actual game.
  
 
[[Category:Design]]
 
[[Category:Design]]
 
[[Category:YANI]]
 
[[Category:YANI]]

Latest revision as of 02:17, 31 March 2018

One source of moderate annoyance in the Mazes of Menace is that sometimes you can't identify a monster from a distance. Is that a dwarf king, or a master mind flayer? Is that a jackal that I can kill easily, or a werewolf that's going to summon help and tear me to pieces? Of course, farlook will inform the player of what the monster is, but it's not too useful of an interface.

Another confusing thing is that some monster letters are not letters at all, but punctuation marks. Punctuation is not quite as prominent to the human eye, especially on a map that mostly consists of punctuation marks. This is particularly problematic when apostrophes, semicolons, and blank spaces represent some of the more perilous monsters in the game.

This is a proposal to change monster colors and some classes in vanilla or a vanilla-like variant to fix those problems. It's based partially on a discussion with jonadab and several others with regards to this in Fourk; partially on User:Red_kangaroo/YANIs/Monsters#Class_symbols. Note that NetHack 4 has done a similar rearrangement.

Goals

The basic goals are, in order of priority:

  1. Eliminate the punctuation monster symbols ', :, ;, and  . @ is spared because it's traditional, iconic, and would probably cause a revolt if changed. & is also kept, because it's also iconic and is not difficult to distinguish.
  2. Keep monster colors within a letter as distinct as possible so the player has to do the minimum amount of farlooking to identify monsters. Note that there is no ANSI support for orange; NetHack's CLR_ORANGE uses bright red, which can variously render as orange, bright red, or pink depending on the terminal.
  3. Even out the number of monsters in each letter, so some classes (@) aren't overloaded while other classes (l, x, X, Q, z) have only one or two monsters.
  4. Have each letter be able to be summed up as something that describes the whole class or at least a large subset of it (a for ant; B for bat or bird; C for centaur).
  5. Color all races of monsters that exist as multiple variants (e.g. zombies, mummies) the same.
  6. Avoid coloring things as white that are not already white, associated with ice/cold, or associated with humans, because statue glyphs always display as that.
  7. Avoid dark gray and blue conflicts, because of use_darkgray coloring anything dark gray as blue.
  8. Bright magenta is underused in general and not currently used for any monsters, though it is used for warning level 5. It seems like it ought to be used to denote the strongest, most powerful monster of a class. Also worth keeping in mind is that making a monster a bright shade rather than a dark shade can carry a connotation of higher difficulty.
  9. Werecreatures shouldn't change color in their different forms.
  10. Avoid changing a monster's established color, unless other rearrangements force it to be changed. Previously this list contained some recolors that weren't strictly necessary but did things like make dangerous monsters appear more dangerous; these have been reverted.

This assumes that few or no monsters are going to be added to what already exists in vanilla. When discussing this with regards to Fourk, that was not the case.

Moving monsters around

  • Golems are moved to the g monster class. Not all of them keep their colors; see below. Gargoyles either can stay on g or move to B, in which case it would then be described as "a birdlike or flying creature":
    • Gargoyles are B
    • Winged gargoyles are B
    • Gremlins are impish creatures and move to i
  • Elves are moved to the Q monster class, now described as "a Quendi (elf)", and retain their colors. Quantum mechanics are merged into the humanoid monster class and retain their colors: h.
  • Lizards are moved to the l monster class, now described as "a lizard". Not all of them keep their colors; see below. Leprechauns are merged into the imp monster class, which is now described as "an impish creature", and are recolored to i.
  • Common major demons are moved to the I monster class, now described as "an infernal being". Not all of them keep their colors, because so many of them are already red; see below. Instead of I being used to denote an unknown but observed monster, use a ? instead.
  • Demon lords, princes, and the Riders remain on &, with the class description changed to "a demon lord or destructive force". & is being spared because it is visually distinct and has a longstanding association with demons and difficult monsters. Each demon lord gets its own unique color (see below), with the Riders all being &.
  • Sea monsters are moved to the K monster class, now described as "a kraken or sea monster". Pirahnas don't keep their colors, see below; but everything else does. Keystone Kops, being human, are moved to the @ monster class, and are recolored as if they were Yendorian Army soldiers; see below. (Fourk removes the Kops entirely.)
  • Ghosts and shades are merged into the W monster class. No monsters in this class except Nazgul keep their colors; see below.
  • Bugbears are moved to o to fit better with their D&D portrayal as a goblinoid or orcish race.

Optional moves

These aren't really necessary unless you wanted to add a new monster class and needed a letter freed up, but they work thematically.

  • Puddings and blobs are merged into the j monster class, now described as "a jelly, blob or amorphous monster". This frees up the P and b classes.
    • Gray ooze is j
    • Brown pudding is j
    • Black pudding is j
    • Green slime is j; acid blob is recolored to j
    • Blue jelly is j
    • Spotted jelly is j
    • Ochre jelly is j
  • Lights and spheres are merged into the e monster class, on the basis that they are both classes of floating enemies that attack you by exploding. The class is now described as "an eye, sphere or light". This frees up the y class.
    • Yellow light is e
    • Black light is e
  • Piercers are merged into the t monster class, now described as a "trapping monster". This frees up the p class.
    • Rock piercer is t
    • Iron piercer is t
    • Glass piercer is t
  • Xorns are merged into the E monster class. This frees up the X class.
  • Alternatively, umber hulks are merged into the X class as "deep rock dwellers", freeing up the U class.

Recoloring existing monsters

Recolors that are independent of letter rearrangement

Monster Current Recolored to Reason
Aleax A A Ki-rin is already yellow, and gray is a good color for a shapechanging or imitating monster like an Aleax.
Acid blob b b Light green works better as an "acidic" color than plain green.
Coyote d d
Wererat @/r @/r
Werejackal @/d @/d
Werewolf (wolf form) d d I think it is unreasonable to keep werecreatures' beast forms on the same color as those beasts, unless they are supposed to be so indistinguishable that they only show up as "wolf" instead of "werewolf" in farlook, which I doubt should happen.
Wolf d d
Warg d d
Floating eye e e Maybe this will shut up all the players complaining they can't see it.
Green mold F F To be consistent with acid blobs' coloring.
Lichen F F Really just displaced by green mold.
Shrieker F F Violet fungus deserves magenta, and shriekers are the "most dangerous" type of fungus.
Fire giant H H Conflict with the non-generated giant monster is rare enough not to matter.
Ettin H H Ettins would normally remain brown and minotaurs would be recolored, but they are being forced to yellow because ettin mummies and zombies need a color.
Dwarf king h h I don't like this change because it removes their "purple = royal" association, but keeping mind flayers on magenta is more important both for assessing their level of danger and for consistency with that type of monster. If more "Lovecraftian horror" monsters got added, that might provide some impetus to create a class for them and move mind flayers into it, though.
Master mind flayer h h
Kobold k k Would normally remain brown, but all variants of kobolds are becoming gray for mummy and zombie rearrangement.
Arch-lich L L
Kobold mummy M M
Human mummy M M For consistency with human zombies and humans in general.
Ettin mummy M M Orc undead are becoming blue, so ettins need a different color.
Orc mummy M M
Titanothere q q
Baluchitherium q q
Giant rat r r
Rabid rat r r
Cobra S S
Fire vortex v v
Monkey Y Y
Ape Y Y
Owlbear Y Y
Kobold zombie Z Z
Orc zombie Z Z
Ettin zombie Z Z
Watch captain @ @ All human "captains" are being standardized to blue.
The Wizard of Yendor @ @

Recolors that depend on letter rearrangement but could be applied in their current class

Monster Current Recolored to Reason
erinys & I They have a poisonous attack.
barbed devil & I
marilith & I
vrock & I
hezrou & I Conflict with djinni is rare enough not to matter.
nalfeshnee & I Conflict with the mail daemon is rare enough not to matter. Since they are the only common demon who spellcasts, bright blue is very preferable.
pit fiend & I
imp i i More dangerous than manes.
pirahna ; K
gecko : l
chameleon : l This color works well as a "blank slate" color.
baby crocodile and crocodile : l
Keystone Kop K @ For symmetry with soldiers.
Kop Sergeant K @ For symmetry with sergeants.
Kop Lieutenant K @ For symmetry with lieutenants.
Kop Kaptain K @ For symmetry with captains.
Straw golem ' g Based on the idea that straw golems are basically overall-wearing scarecrows.
Glass golem ' g
Rope golem ' g

Recolors that depend completely on letter rearrangement

Monster Current Recolored to Reason
Gremlin g i
Gargoyle g B
Ghost W
Shade W
Wraith W W Shades are "darker" than wraiths.
Barrow wight W W Bright blue works well since barrow wights are casters.
Xorn X E

New colors for & bosses

Monster Recolored to Reason
Asmodeus & He is associated with cold and has the strongest cold attack in the game.
Baalzebub & He is insectoid and associated with decay.
Juiblex & No change.
Orcus & Not the only spellcasting demon, but the only guaranteed one.
Yeenoghu &
Geryon & Has a poison attack; this is not really significant or unique but it makes sense for at least one poisonous demon to be green.
Dispater &
Demogorgon & No change. He is indisputably the most difficult demon prince, so deserves magenta.
Death, Famine, and Pestilence & To mark them as the strongest and most fearsome (guaranteed) bosses in the game. There is also an argument for making them normal magenta and Demogorgon bright magenta, since he is actually more dangerous than the Riders.

Other possibilities

These are ones I am not sure about.

Merge s into a

Since these do not behave so differently, unify them under one letter. The description could be changed to "a - an arthropod" if we want to be pedantic about the fact that spiders are not insects.

  • Cave spiders change from s to a.
  • Giant spiders change from s to a.
  • Scorpions change from s to a.
  • Centipedes change from s to a.

Once class s is cleared, sea monsters can cleanly be moved into "s - a sea monster".

Move dwarves to K

In order for h to be uncrowded somewhat. K for dwarves makes sense for the same reasons that Q for elves does - the name they call themselves in Tolkien lore is Khazad. Works well with the s-into-a merge above, because then there is no conflict on K. Also clears up the minor issue of dwarf kings deserving magenta.

Move sea monsters to z

This would require removing zruties entirely. However, there is very little distinctive about the zruty, and there is so little lore about them that it's not really even possible to tell what other class they should be moved into. z is attractive because nobody would really miss zruties, and the class is otherwise empty. Sea monsters on z is primarily to move them off of punctuation; you could tenuously call the class "zea monsters" but that's really stretching it and not something I'd put in the actual game.

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