Difference between revisions of "Vampire mage (SLASH'EM)"

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A '''vampire mage''' is a new monster in [[SLASH'EM]] (and also a deferred feature in NetHack).  It is considerably stronger than a vampire lord, and is able to cast [[monster spell|spells]]. A +3 (or higher) weapon is needed to damage this monster.
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A '''vampire mage''', {{monsym|vampire mage}}, is a [[monster]] that appears in [[SLASH'EM]] and [[SlashTHEM]], and is implemented from the [[deferred]] monster in the code of ''[[NetHack]]''. A vampire mage is a type of [[Vampire (monster class)|vampire]] that is considerably stronger than a [[vampire lord]] and capable of casting [[monster spells]].
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Vampire mages possess a claw attack and bite attack that can [[drain life]], and will attempt to cast one arcane monster spell for each round of combat. A vampire mage [[Need +x weapon to hit|can only be hit by +3 or better weapons]], and implicitly hits as a +3 weapon himself. Vampire mages also possess [[sleep resistance]], [[poison resistance]] and [[drain resistance]]. A tame vampire mage may turn [[traitor]].
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==Generation==
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Randomly generated vampire mages are always hostile. A vampire lord can [[grow up]] into a vampire mage.
  
 
==Strategy==
 
==Strategy==
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Vampire mages are excellent at wreaking havoc in the later levels of SLASH'EM. Since they are not [[covetous]], they will not warp to the up staircase when hit, but instead will simply flee. As long as they have you in their sight, though, they will continue to [[summon nasties]], and the ring of monsters they will create around you can make it nearly impossible to reach them, particularly on open, [[no-teleport]] levels such as [[Juiblex's swamp]] or [[Moloch's Sanctum]]. It is not uncommon for them to have filled half the level with nasties in such places before you can destroy them. They should therefore be destroyed with extreme prejudice, even in preference to [[arch-lich]]es, since the latter will flee to the up staircase and (likely) out of sight of you when hit even a little bit. They are an excellent target for uncursed [[genocide]].
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Vampire mages are excellent at wreaking havoc in the later stages of the game: in addition to their draining abilities, they wield a suite of especially dangerous monster spells. Additionally, the opera cloaks they generate with can potentially be a [[cloak of magic resistance]], making it difficult to damage them with non-elemental magic - thankfully, they are still vulnerable to [[fireball]] and [[cone of cold]].
  
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Vampires are usually generated with [[opera cloak]]s, which can potentially be a [[cloak of magic resistance]]; this would imperil spellcasters since [[magic missile]], the main spell of [[wizard]]s, is completely ineffective against them, in addition to several other spells.
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A fleeing vampire mage will often continue to cast spells at you, which often results in repeated castings of summon nasties that fills the nearby area with monsters and make them incredibly difficult to reach - this is all the more pronounced on open, [[no-teleport]] levels such as [[Juiblex's Swamp]] or [[Moloch's Sanctum]]. Vampire mages are usually priority targets to eliminate with prejudice, and it is not uncommon for players to target vampire mages for uncursed [[genocide]].
  
 
===As pets===
 
===As pets===
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Vampire lords will grow up into vampire mages at level 20. This makes taming a vampire much more attractive in SLASH'EM, as a relatively weak vampire will quickly grow into a level 30 terror. Vampire mages are nearly immune to monster attacks, due to regeneration, healing spells, low base AC plus the ability to wear armor, and requiring a +3 weapon to take any damage at all, making them excellent pets as long as they have not been genocided. In addition, vampires in SLASH'EM can drain corpses; this will increase their tameness, making it far easier to prevent them from going feral. They also will never become hungry; they simply drain any corpse they find. Unfortunately, vampire mages are capable of [[Pet_(SLASH'EM)#Treachery|spontaneously rebelling]], particularly if you are much weaker than them and/or you abuse them.
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Vampire lords are stellar [[pet]]s: they possess [[regeneration]], healing spells, low base AC combined with the ability to wear all armor, and immunity to weapons that are not +3 or better, including monsters that hit as +3 weapons. A basic vampire can be tamed and quickly raised to a vampire mage in a few levels. They can also be kept fed and high in tameness since they can drain blood from corpses, which also leaves them edible for characters that are not observing [[foodless]] or [[vegan]] [[conduct]]s, or else are feeding other carnivorous pets. Unfortunately, vampire mages may turn traitor, particularly if you are much weaker than them or else abuse them.
  
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Note that if you want to give your vampire mage armor, you will need to make sure it is not blessed. They will avoid blessed items as most pets will avoid cursed items.
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When outfitting a vampire mage, remember that he cannot wear blessed armor or wield [[silver]] weapons.
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{{slashem-7E7|offset=1}}
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{{variant-343}}
 
[[Category:SLASH'EM monsters]]
 
[[Category:SLASH'EM monsters]]
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[[Category:SlashTHEM monsters]]

Revision as of 02:44, 6 December 2023

V vampire mage Vampire mage.png
Difficulty 28
Attacks

Claw 2d8 drain life, Bite 1d8 drain life, Spell-casting 2d6

Base level 20
Base experience 806
Speed 14
Base AC -4
Base MR 50
Alignment -9 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means) 1 (Very rare)
Genocidable Yes
Weight 1450
Nutritional value 400
Size Medium
Resistances sleep, poison, level drain
Resistances conveyed

None

A vampire mage:

Reference SLASH'EM_0.0.7E7F2/monst.c#line3241

A vampire mage, V, is a monster that appears in SLASH'EM and SlashTHEM, and is implemented from the deferred monster in the code of NetHack. A vampire mage is a type of vampire that is considerably stronger than a vampire lord and capable of casting monster spells.

Vampire mages possess a claw attack and bite attack that can drain life, and will attempt to cast one arcane monster spell for each round of combat. A vampire mage can only be hit by +3 or better weapons, and implicitly hits as a +3 weapon himself. Vampire mages also possess sleep resistance, poison resistance and drain resistance. A tame vampire mage may turn traitor.

Generation

Randomly generated vampire mages are always hostile. A vampire lord can grow up into a vampire mage.

Strategy

Vampire mages are excellent at wreaking havoc in the later stages of the game: in addition to their draining abilities, they wield a suite of especially dangerous monster spells. Additionally, the opera cloaks they generate with can potentially be a cloak of magic resistance, making it difficult to damage them with non-elemental magic - thankfully, they are still vulnerable to fireball and cone of cold.

A fleeing vampire mage will often continue to cast spells at you, which often results in repeated castings of summon nasties that fills the nearby area with monsters and make them incredibly difficult to reach - this is all the more pronounced on open, no-teleport levels such as Juiblex's Swamp or Moloch's Sanctum. Vampire mages are usually priority targets to eliminate with prejudice, and it is not uncommon for players to target vampire mages for uncursed genocide.

As pets

Vampire lords are stellar pets: they possess regeneration, healing spells, low base AC combined with the ability to wear all armor, and immunity to weapons that are not +3 or better, including monsters that hit as +3 weapons. A basic vampire can be tamed and quickly raised to a vampire mage in a few levels. They can also be kept fed and high in tameness since they can drain blood from corpses, which also leaves them edible for characters that are not observing foodless or vegan conducts, or else are feeding other carnivorous pets. Unfortunately, vampire mages may turn traitor, particularly if you are much weaker than them or else abuse them.

When outfitting a vampire mage, remember that he cannot wear blessed armor or wield silver weapons.

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