Difference between revisions of "Uvuudaum"
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| − | + | [[Image:Uvuudaum depiction.png|thumb|right|250px|The picture that inspired the dNetHack implementation.]] | |
| − | An uvuudaum has various other intrinsic abilities as well: it gains +20 [[to-hit]] due to its pre-cognitive abilities, has a passive 25 HP-per-turn regeneration, 10-point damage reduction, and an intrinsic [[life saving]] property that revives the uvuudaum when it dies, though it will activate no more than once every 34 turns. Uvuudaums also possess a unique aura that qualifies as both holy and unholy: direct contact with an uvuudaum deals +4d9 damage to holy-hating monsters such as [[demon]]s and [[undead]], and deals +3d7 to unholy-hating monsters such as [[Angel]]s and similar [[angelic being]]s. | + | An '''uvuudaum''', {{brightmagenta|U}}, is a type of [[monster]] that appears in [[dNetHack]]. The uvuudaum is an [[unknown abomination]] that is capable of [[flight]] and [[phasing]], and possesses [[sleep resistance]], [[stoning resistance]], and [[magic resistance]] as well as [[displacement]]. An uvuudaum has six attacks - the most lethal by far is its [[polearm]]-ranged [[vorpal]] [[#Brainspike|brain-spike]] attack, a main hand and offhand weapon attack, a claw attack, clerical [[monster spell|spellcasting]], and a passive wide-angle gaze that causes [[confusion]] in those who can see them, even while peaceful. |
| + | |||
| + | An uvuudaum has various other intrinsic abilities as well: it gains +20 [[to-hit]] due to its pre-cognitive abilities, has a passive 25 HP-per-turn regeneration, 10-point damage reduction, and an intrinsic [[life saving]] property that revives the uvuudaum when it dies, though it will activate no more than once every 34 turns. Uvuudaums also possess a unique aura that qualifies as both holy and unholy: direct contact with an uvuudaum deals +4d9 damage to holy-hating monsters such as [[demon]]s and [[undead]], and deals +3d7 to unholy-hating monsters such as [[Angel]]s and similar [[angelic being]]s. Direct contact includes the brainspike and claw attacks, as well as any bare handed weapon attacks they may make. | ||
==Generation== | ==Generation== | ||
| − | Randomly generated uvuudaums in the main dungeon will be created | + | Randomly generated uvuudaums in the main dungeon will be created peaceful, and will almost always ''remain'' so - see [[#Meditation|below]] for details - while uvuudaums in the [[Anachrononaut quest]] will always be hostile. Uvuudaums do not generate in [[Gehennom]]. Upon killing the [[Wizard of Yendor]] or else performing the [[Invocation]] while the Wizard is still alive, all existing uvuudaums and any subsequently generated ones will be permanently hostile. All uvuudaums are generated with a robe, which may be either tattered or lightly enchanted but has no special properties either way. |
Uvuudaums are an ineligible form for polymorph, and will [[Corpseless|never leave a corpse]] upon death. | Uvuudaums are an ineligible form for polymorph, and will [[Corpseless|never leave a corpse]] upon death. | ||
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Hostile uvuudaums are easily among the most dangerous members of their monster class and one of the most deadly to encounter on the [[ascension run]] - the best course of action is usually to simply avoid uvuudaums or else teleport them away. | Hostile uvuudaums are easily among the most dangerous members of their monster class and one of the most deadly to encounter on the [[ascension run]] - the best course of action is usually to simply avoid uvuudaums or else teleport them away. | ||
| − | Those seeking to | + | Those seeking to kill uvuudaums must have significant amounts of persistence and preparation: high damage output and accuracy is required to counteract the uvuudaum's high regeneration rate and intrinsic life saving - their intrinsic displacement also means you will have to attempt to pummel one repeatedly to get through. As their passive confusion makes them perilous to even perceive, they are especially dangerous for any [[spellcasting]] builds. |
===Meditation=== | ===Meditation=== | ||
| − | Fortunately for you, hostile uvuudaums that are encountered outside of the [[Anachrononaut]]'s [[Quest]] branch will lapse into a meditating state and become peaceful towards [[you]] - even if you disturb or anger them, they will eventually revert to a meditative state and become peaceful again (provided you survive that mistake long enough). Once you have become a | + | Fortunately for you, hostile uvuudaums that are encountered outside of the [[Anachrononaut]]'s [[Anachrononaut quest|Quest]] branch will lapse into a meditating state and become peaceful towards [[you]] - even if you disturb or anger them, they will eventually revert to a meditative state and become peaceful again (provided you survive that mistake long enough). Once you have become a [[demigod]] by killing the Wizard of Yendor or performing the Invocation as above, uvuudaums will cease their meditation and become permanently hostile. |
===Brainspike=== | ===Brainspike=== | ||
| − | The uvuudaum's brainspike attack can | + | The uvuudaum's brainspike attack can hit anywhere within 2 squares (similar to polearm range), dealing physical damage and draining [[constitution]], [[wisdom]] and [[energy]] while inducing [[amnesia]] and [[hallucination]]. The constitution poison is a normal constitution poison effect with no special scaling. The severity of the wisdom reduction and amnesia as well as the duration of hallucination are both scaled by {{frac|6}} of the physical damage dealt, and can be further halved by [[poison resistance]]. The amount of energy drained by the brainspike attack is equal to half the physical damage dealt. |
| − | The brainspike attack is also a vorpal attack that has the standard {{frac|20}} chance of causing [[instadeath]]. The brainspike's vorpal effect is unique in that it can '''''only''''' be blocked by wearing any kind of [[helm]], which causes it to have no effect: if the target is instead [[unsolid]] or [[Body parts|headless]], the attack deals double damage. | + | The brainspike attack is also a vorpal attack that has the standard {{frac|20}} chance of causing [[instadeath]]. The brainspike's vorpal effect is unique in that it can '''''only''''' be blocked by wearing any kind of [[helm]], which causes it to have no effect: if the target is instead [[unsolid]] or [[Body parts|headless]], the attack 'merely" deals double damage instead of instakilling. |
===Spellcasting=== | ===Spellcasting=== | ||
| − | Uvuudaums can cast the following spells with a base damage of | + | Uvuudaums can cast the following spells with a base damage of <caster's level>d6. The final three spells listed are unique to them. |
| − | * [[Psi bolt]]: Direct damage (capped at 50) | + | * [[Psi bolt]]: Direct damage (capped at 50). |
| − | * [[ | + | * [[Warp blades]]: Direct damage (capped at 100). |
| − | * [[Stun (monster spell)|Stun]]: | + | * [[Stun (monster spell)|Stun]]: [[Stun]]s the target. |
| − | * [[Paralyze (monster spell)|Paralyze]]: | + | * [[Paralyze (monster spell)|Paralyze]]: [[Paralysis|Paralyzes]] the target. |
| − | * [[ | + | * [[Prismatic spray]]: Up to seven 6d6 explosions around (always hitting but not necessarily centered on) the target, randomly choosing from physical, fire, cold, shock, poison, acid, disintegration (disintegration does not instakill but checks against disintegration resistance for damage). |
| − | * Temporal duplicate: | + | * Time stop: Restores 50-125 HP to all uvuudaums on the floor, and reduces their cooldowns or timeouts by 2-5 turns. This includes the caster. |
| − | * Nail to the sky: | + | * Temporal duplicate: Summons a temporal clone of the caster, lasting for 2-5 turns before vanishing. |
| − | + | * Nail to the sky: Gives the target intrinsic levitation for (d4+1)*100 turns. | |
| − | === | + | |
| − | A player planning to kill any | + | ===Defeating uvuudauums=== |
| + | A player planning to kill any amount of uvuudaums should be prepared with the following items: | ||
* A means of high damage output, which you will usually have by the point uvuudaums become actively hostile. | * A means of high damage output, which you will usually have by the point uvuudaums become actively hostile. | ||
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* A source of [[fast]] or better speed: uvuuadaums like to retreat to and ''through'' far walls as you chase them, making them difficult to kill outside of open levels - they will often try to remain a knight's move away, meaning that you can chase one to the edge of an open level map and stand vertically or horizontally next to them to force a confrontation. Standing at a diagonal while doing so will often cause them to continue to flee. | * A source of [[fast]] or better speed: uvuuadaums like to retreat to and ''through'' far walls as you chase them, making them difficult to kill outside of open levels - they will often try to remain a knight's move away, meaning that you can chase one to the edge of an open level map and stand vertically or horizontally next to them to force a confrontation. Standing at a diagonal while doing so will often cause them to continue to flee. | ||
* Above all else, wear a helmet to avoid instakill brain spike attacks. | * Above all else, wear a helmet to avoid instakill brain spike attacks. | ||
| − | * Avoid using a [[wage of sloth]] or the [[Garnet Rod]]'s | + | * Avoid using a [[User:Chris/dNethack/dNethack_Items#Hellish_Items|wage of sloth]] or the [[DNetHack artifacts#The Garnet Rod|Garnet Rod]]'s invoke time stop effect - uvuudaums are effectively immune to any form of time-stopping, gaining the same bonus movement points that you would. |
| + | * Some Binder [[Spirits (dNetHack)|spirits]] can remove monsters from the game without killing them under certain conditions, bypassing all forms of lifesaving (including the uvuudaum's). This includes [[Spirits (dNetHack)#Tenebrous.2C the Demonic Shadow|Tenebrous]]'s Echoes of the Last Word, [[Spirits (dNetHack)#Eden.2C the First Garden|Eden]]'s Recall to Eden, and both [[Spirits (dNetHack)#Ahazu.2C the Seizer|Ahazu]]'s active and passive Abduction. | ||
For Anachrononauts encountering hostile uvuudaums on their quest as well as during the ascension run, there are additional or altered requirements: | For Anachrononauts encountering hostile uvuudaums on their quest as well as during the ascension run, there are additional or altered requirements: | ||
| − | * A [[hypospray]] with | + | * A [[Anachrononaut#Hypospray|hypospray]] with ampules will be preferable to potions, as they cannot be diluted and are much lighter - though you cannot use them if stunned. |
** For reference, one hypospray weighs 15 [[aum]], and with 5 ampules weighs the same as a single potion. | ** For reference, one hypospray weighs 15 [[aum]], and with 5 ampules weighs the same as a single potion. | ||
** Full healing ampules can keep your health up, and [[Potion of paralysis|Paralysis]] ampules are reliably effective against uvuudaums. | ** Full healing ampules can keep your health up, and [[Potion of paralysis|Paralysis]] ampules are reliably effective against uvuudaums. | ||
| − | * One or more [[lightsaber]]s, particularly including [[the Annulus]] (their [[quest artifact]]), can generate high enough damage output to sear through an uvuudaum's defenses in melee. | + | * One or more [[lightsaber]]s, particularly including [[DNetHack artifacts#The Annulus|the Annulus]] (their [[quest artifact]]), can generate high enough damage output to sear through an uvuudaum's defenses in melee. Make sure to use a [[User:Chris/dNethack/Lightsaber_Forms|form]] with decent to-hit or damage vs. single targets, rather than against crowds. |
| − | + | * Uvuudaums are not immune to [[disintegration]], which makes [[Anachrononaut#Raygun|raygun]]s a viable weapon - however, the uvuudaum's very low AC will make actually hitting quite difficult. | |
| − | * Uvuudaums are not immune to [[disintegration]], which makes [[ | ||
| − | Players will also need to be able to weather any of the uvuudaum's multitude of monster spells, and should be prepared to withstand and ignore any temporarily summoned uvuudaums in favor of focusing on the summoner themselves. However, if you are overwhelmed by summoned uvuudaums, you may need to retreat until the summons time out - multiple uvuudaums casting the time stop spell will causes healing spikes that can out-recover even the highest damage setups | + | Players will also need to be able to weather any of the uvuudaum's multitude of monster spells, and should be prepared to withstand and ignore any temporarily summoned uvuudaums in favor of focusing on the summoner themselves. However, if you are overwhelmed by summoned uvuudaums, you may need to retreat until the summons time out - multiple uvuudaums casting the time stop spell will causes healing spikes that can out-recover even the highest damage setups. |
| − | |||
| − | |||
==Origin== | ==Origin== | ||
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their long spikes run with strange venoms.| | their long spikes run with strange venoms.| | ||
}} | }} | ||
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| + | |||
{{variant-343}} | {{variant-343}} | ||
[[Category:dNetHack monsters]] | [[Category:dNetHack monsters]] | ||
Revision as of 01:30, 2 July 2023
U uvuudaum 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 28 |
| Attacks |
Reach 3d12 uvuudaum brainspike, Weapon 2d6 physical, Offhand Weapon 2d6 physical, Claw 6d4 physical, Magic 0d6 clerical spell, passive wide-angle gaze 0d0 confusion |
| Base level | 38 |
| Base experience | 778 |
| Speed | 16 |
| Base AC | −20 |
| Base MR | 80 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 1450 |
| Nutritional value | 400 |
| Size | medium |
| Resistances | sleep, petrification, magic |
| Resistances conveyed | |
|
An uvuudaum:
| |
An uvuudaum, U, is a type of monster that appears in dNetHack. The uvuudaum is an unknown abomination that is capable of flight and phasing, and possesses sleep resistance, stoning resistance, and magic resistance as well as displacement. An uvuudaum has six attacks - the most lethal by far is its polearm-ranged vorpal brain-spike attack, a main hand and offhand weapon attack, a claw attack, clerical spellcasting, and a passive wide-angle gaze that causes confusion in those who can see them, even while peaceful.
An uvuudaum has various other intrinsic abilities as well: it gains +20 to-hit due to its pre-cognitive abilities, has a passive 25 HP-per-turn regeneration, 10-point damage reduction, and an intrinsic life saving property that revives the uvuudaum when it dies, though it will activate no more than once every 34 turns. Uvuudaums also possess a unique aura that qualifies as both holy and unholy: direct contact with an uvuudaum deals +4d9 damage to holy-hating monsters such as demons and undead, and deals +3d7 to unholy-hating monsters such as Angels and similar angelic beings. Direct contact includes the brainspike and claw attacks, as well as any bare handed weapon attacks they may make.
Contents
Generation
Randomly generated uvuudaums in the main dungeon will be created peaceful, and will almost always remain so - see below for details - while uvuudaums in the Anachrononaut quest will always be hostile. Uvuudaums do not generate in Gehennom. Upon killing the Wizard of Yendor or else performing the Invocation while the Wizard is still alive, all existing uvuudaums and any subsequently generated ones will be permanently hostile. All uvuudaums are generated with a robe, which may be either tattered or lightly enchanted but has no special properties either way.
Uvuudaums are an ineligible form for polymorph, and will never leave a corpse upon death.
Strategy
Hostile uvuudaums are easily among the most dangerous members of their monster class and one of the most deadly to encounter on the ascension run - the best course of action is usually to simply avoid uvuudaums or else teleport them away.
Those seeking to kill uvuudaums must have significant amounts of persistence and preparation: high damage output and accuracy is required to counteract the uvuudaum's high regeneration rate and intrinsic life saving - their intrinsic displacement also means you will have to attempt to pummel one repeatedly to get through. As their passive confusion makes them perilous to even perceive, they are especially dangerous for any spellcasting builds.
Meditation
Fortunately for you, hostile uvuudaums that are encountered outside of the Anachrononaut's Quest branch will lapse into a meditating state and become peaceful towards you - even if you disturb or anger them, they will eventually revert to a meditative state and become peaceful again (provided you survive that mistake long enough). Once you have become a demigod by killing the Wizard of Yendor or performing the Invocation as above, uvuudaums will cease their meditation and become permanently hostile.
Brainspike
The uvuudaum's brainspike attack can hit anywhere within 2 squares (similar to polearm range), dealing physical damage and draining constitution, wisdom and energy while inducing amnesia and hallucination. The constitution poison is a normal constitution poison effect with no special scaling. The severity of the wisdom reduction and amnesia as well as the duration of hallucination are both scaled by 1⁄6 of the physical damage dealt, and can be further halved by poison resistance. The amount of energy drained by the brainspike attack is equal to half the physical damage dealt.
The brainspike attack is also a vorpal attack that has the standard 1⁄20 chance of causing instadeath. The brainspike's vorpal effect is unique in that it can only be blocked by wearing any kind of helm, which causes it to have no effect: if the target is instead unsolid or headless, the attack 'merely" deals double damage instead of instakilling.
Spellcasting
Uvuudaums can cast the following spells with a base damage of <caster's level>d6. The final three spells listed are unique to them.
- Psi bolt: Direct damage (capped at 50).
- Warp blades: Direct damage (capped at 100).
- Stun: Stuns the target.
- Paralyze: Paralyzes the target.
- Prismatic spray: Up to seven 6d6 explosions around (always hitting but not necessarily centered on) the target, randomly choosing from physical, fire, cold, shock, poison, acid, disintegration (disintegration does not instakill but checks against disintegration resistance for damage).
- Time stop: Restores 50-125 HP to all uvuudaums on the floor, and reduces their cooldowns or timeouts by 2-5 turns. This includes the caster.
- Temporal duplicate: Summons a temporal clone of the caster, lasting for 2-5 turns before vanishing.
- Nail to the sky: Gives the target intrinsic levitation for (d4+1)*100 turns.
Defeating uvuudauums
A player planning to kill any amount of uvuudaums should be prepared with the following items:
- A means of high damage output, which you will usually have by the point uvuudaums become actively hostile.
- A towel or a high drunkenness level to deal with the uvuudaum's confusing gaze.
- Several potions of full healing.
- A ring of sustain ability to prevent your stats from being compromised.
- A source of fast or better speed: uvuuadaums like to retreat to and through far walls as you chase them, making them difficult to kill outside of open levels - they will often try to remain a knight's move away, meaning that you can chase one to the edge of an open level map and stand vertically or horizontally next to them to force a confrontation. Standing at a diagonal while doing so will often cause them to continue to flee.
- Above all else, wear a helmet to avoid instakill brain spike attacks.
- Avoid using a wage of sloth or the Garnet Rod's invoke time stop effect - uvuudaums are effectively immune to any form of time-stopping, gaining the same bonus movement points that you would.
- Some Binder spirits can remove monsters from the game without killing them under certain conditions, bypassing all forms of lifesaving (including the uvuudaum's). This includes Tenebrous's Echoes of the Last Word, Eden's Recall to Eden, and both Ahazu's active and passive Abduction.
For Anachrononauts encountering hostile uvuudaums on their quest as well as during the ascension run, there are additional or altered requirements:
- A hypospray with ampules will be preferable to potions, as they cannot be diluted and are much lighter - though you cannot use them if stunned.
- One or more lightsabers, particularly including the Annulus (their quest artifact), can generate high enough damage output to sear through an uvuudaum's defenses in melee. Make sure to use a form with decent to-hit or damage vs. single targets, rather than against crowds.
- Uvuudaums are not immune to disintegration, which makes rayguns a viable weapon - however, the uvuudaum's very low AC will make actually hitting quite difficult.
Players will also need to be able to weather any of the uvuudaum's multitude of monster spells, and should be prepared to withstand and ignore any temporarily summoned uvuudaums in favor of focusing on the summoner themselves. However, if you are overwhelmed by summoned uvuudaums, you may need to retreat until the summons time out - multiple uvuudaums casting the time stop spell will causes healing spikes that can out-recover even the highest damage setups.
Origin
The uvuudaum originates from the 3rd edition Epic Level Handbook of Dungeons & Dragons, where they are a race of malevolent creatures from an alien plane of madness known as Far Realm. Uvuudaums are rumored to be lords of the Far Realm, and their appearances were just as chaotic and bizarre in nature as their home plane: an uvuudaum hsd a humanoid torso with two largely-normal humanoid arms, and their lower body consists of six arachnid-like limbs with loose clothing worn over it - in place of the head on a humanoid, the uvuudaum had a long tail-like appendage tipped at the end with an iron-hard spike.
Uvuudaums are strange and malevolent creatures that delight in revealing the existence of their horrifying, madness-inducing homeplace to more structured realities; their mere appearance could instill insanity and confusion in observers within 30 feet (9.1 m) of them. Uvuudaums were capable of detecting other beings through a form of blindsight, and could telepathically communicate with anyone capable of language from a range of up to 500 feet (150 m). They were highly resistant to electricity and healed very quickly from most injuries outside of those caused by fire, severe cold or holy weapons.
Uvuudaums could attack with their head-spikes to drain away vital senses and stability of the mind from a victim to heal themselves - those not driven insane by their mere presence, or else not killed by the headspike, would be further subjected to the uvuudaum's spell-casting abilities (or replication thereof, given their alien nature). Among various other spells, uvuudaums could make use of contingent resurrection, nailed to the sky, time duplicate, and time stop once per day each, and also utilized their displacement and stoneskin talents when possible.
Encyclopedia entry
Strange creatures with long, claw-tipped tentacles in place
of heads, Uvuudaums hail from a far realm beyond the known
planes. It is said that they are the lords of those realms,
although evidence for this is thin at best. As with all
supposed facts about that place, that claim is more likely
a gross anthropomorphism, if not an outright falsehood.
The merest glimpse of their form drives men mad, and they
are capable of crushing a man's head with a single flick
of their headspikes. Even if the victim escapes this fate,
their long spikes run with strange venoms.
