Difference between revisions of "Water moccasin"

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{{wikipedia|Water moccasin}}
 
 
{{monster
 
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A '''water moccasin''', {{monsym|water moccasin}}, is a variety of [[snake]], virtually identical to the normal snake<ref>''Apart from the weight of their corpses, they are identical; water moccasins' unused G_LGROUP flag (generated in large groups) is responsible for their higher difficulty.''</ref> but not generated at random. Like regular snakes, water moccasins will hide under items, are poisonous to eat, and have a 27% chance of imparting [[poison resistance]].
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A '''water moccasin''', {{monsym|water moccasin}}, is a type of [[monster]] that appear in ''[[NetHack]]''. It is a type of [[Snake (monster class)|snake]] that is nearly identical to the standard snake, but is somewhat heavier. Water moccasins can [[swim]] and will [[hide]] under items like most snakes.
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A water moccasin has a single [[poison]]ous bite attack, and possesses [[poison resistance]].
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A water moccasin [[corpse]] is poisonous to eat, but eating a snake corpse or tin has a roughly {{frac|3|11}} chance of conveying poison resistance.
  
 
==Generation==
 
==Generation==
Moccasins are only generated, in [[group]]s of 2-6{{refsrc|src/fountain.c|36|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment=While they are listed as being generated in large groups, this never actually happens; the code that generates them around fountains is separate.}}, by quaffing from (or dipping an item into) a [[fountain]]; their presence in the absence of fountain quaffing is indicative of [[bones]], a [[shapeshifter]], or [[polymorph]] of some kind.
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Water moccasins are not randomly generated, and are always created hostile.
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Water moccasins can only be generated by [[dipping]] or [[quaffing]] from a [[fountain]], which has a {{frac|30}} chance of generating a [[group]] of 2-6 water moccasins.{{refsrc|src/fountain.c|36|version=NetHack 3.6.7}} While water moccasins are designated as generating in large group, this only applies to random generation: in addition to water moccasins not using random generation, fountain generation is a separate set of code.
  
 
==Strategy==
 
==Strategy==
Individually, water moccasins are similar enough to snakes that they can be dispatched in a similar manner. However, on top of necessitating poison resistance as usual, their decent speed and appearance in swarms will require efficient crowd control tactics, which may be further complicated if previous uses of the fountain caused pools of water to form.  Engraving [[Elbereth]] as an escape tactic may prove impossible if the fountain that generated them doesn't dry up, as one cannot engrave on a fountain.
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Individually, water moccasins are similar enough to snakes that they can be dispatched through the same methods - however, the normal method of encountering moccasins will usually result in a character being surrounded by quite a few of them. This makes it a potent source of deaths for unsuspecting low-level characters - moccasins were once the fourth most frequent cause of death on [[nethack.alt.org]] (next to [[soldier ant]]s, [[jackal]]s, and [[wand]]s), and it is common for some users to exclaim "Go team fountain!" when a water moccasin death is announced in the #nethack channel on [[Libera]].
 
 
Water moccasins generated from the fountains in [[Delphi]] can easily trap the player, preventing escape: those fountains only have four (five for the entrance) adjacent squares free.
 
 
 
This makes it a potent source of deaths for unsuspecting low-level characters; fortunately, players who do not use fountains will never have to deal with them, while those who wait until after the early game will likely be prepared.
 
  
Due to their affiliation with fountain quaffing, they are the fourth most frequent cause of death on [[nethack.alt.org]] (next to [[soldier ant]]s, [[jackal]]s, and [[wand]]s); it is common in the #nethack channel on [[Libera]] to exclaim "Go team fountain!" on hearing of a water moccasin death.
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One of the easiest ways for a character to deal with water moccasins is to simply avoid interacting with fountains until they have poison resistance and a means of effectively dealing with the snakes or escaping otherwise. [[Pool]]s of water generated previously by the same fountain can impede escape - engraving [[Elbereth]] can work as an escape tactic, the fountain square cannot be engraved on and moving to a free square may be enough time for one of the moccasins to poison a character. Water moccasins from the fountains in [[Delphi]] can easily trap the player, due to the lack of open adjacent squares.  
  
 
==Origin==
 
==Origin==
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{{wikipedia|Water moccasin}}
 
Water moccasins are a species of venomous snake well known in the southeastern United States.
 
Water moccasins are a species of venomous snake well known in the southeastern United States.
  
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==References==
 
==References==
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
 
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{{nethack-367}}
 
[[Category:Monsters]]
 
[[Category:Monsters]]
{{nethack-366}}
 

Revision as of 04:57, 1 January 2024

A water moccasin, S, is a type of monster that appear in NetHack. It is a type of snake that is nearly identical to the standard snake, but is somewhat heavier. Water moccasins can swim and will hide under items like most snakes.

A water moccasin has a single poisonous bite attack, and possesses poison resistance.

A water moccasin corpse is poisonous to eat, but eating a snake corpse or tin has a roughly 311 chance of conveying poison resistance.

Generation

Water moccasins are not randomly generated, and are always created hostile.

Water moccasins can only be generated by dipping or quaffing from a fountain, which has a 130 chance of generating a group of 2-6 water moccasins.[1] While water moccasins are designated as generating in large group, this only applies to random generation: in addition to water moccasins not using random generation, fountain generation is a separate set of code.

Strategy

Individually, water moccasins are similar enough to snakes that they can be dispatched through the same methods - however, the normal method of encountering moccasins will usually result in a character being surrounded by quite a few of them. This makes it a potent source of deaths for unsuspecting low-level characters - moccasins were once the fourth most frequent cause of death on nethack.alt.org (next to soldier ants, jackals, and wands), and it is common for some users to exclaim "Go team fountain!" when a water moccasin death is announced in the #nethack channel on Libera.

One of the easiest ways for a character to deal with water moccasins is to simply avoid interacting with fountains until they have poison resistance and a means of effectively dealing with the snakes or escaping otherwise. Pools of water generated previously by the same fountain can impede escape - engraving Elbereth can work as an escape tactic, the fountain square cannot be engraved on and moving to a free square may be enough time for one of the moccasins to poison a character. Water moccasins from the fountains in Delphi can easily trap the player, due to the lack of open adjacent squares.

Origin

Water moccasins are a species of venomous snake well known in the southeastern United States.

Encyclopedia entry

See the encyclopedia entry for snake.

References