Xorn
X xorn 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 11 |
| Attacks |
Claw 1d3, Claw 1d3, Claw 1d3, Bite 4d6 |
| Base level | 8 |
| Base experience | 139 |
| Speed | 9 |
| Base AC | −2 |
| Base MR | 20 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 1200 |
| Nutritional value | 700 |
| Size | Medium |
| Resistances | Fire, Cold, Stoning |
| Resistances conveyed |
None |
|
A xorn:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line2054 |
A xorn, X, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. It is the only member of the xorn monster class.
The xorn is an unbreathing metallivore that is notable for its ability to phase through walls, though it cannot cross moats this way; however, you can do so safely while polymorphed into a xorn. It has fire resistance, cold resistance and stoning resistance. Xorns possess three claw attacks and a strong bite.
Xorns are kebabable, granting a +2 to-hit bonus when using a weapon that uses the spear or javelin skills against them. They are also susceptible to digging attacks, granting a +2 to-hit bonus to when using pick-axes or dwarvish mattocks to attack them.
Contents
Generation
Xorns are rarely randomly generated and may not be encountered until much deeper within the dungeon or its branches; some xorns are likely to be generated in the throne room of the Castle at level creation. Xorns can also be generated on the Plane of Earth by digging with a pick-axe. The Wizard of Yendor may create a clone of himself in the guise of a xorn via the Double Trouble monster spell.
Xorns are the second quest monster for the Monk quest, and the xorn monster class is the second quest class as well - in total, they make up 17% of randomly generated monsters in the branch. Several xorns are also generated on level creation for each floor, four on the home level, two on the upper filler level, three on the lower filler level(s), and nine on the locate and goal levels.
Xorns are also the second quest monster for the Wizard quest, making up 14% of randomly generated monsters in the branch. Two xorns are generated on level creation in the lower filler level(s).
Strategy
Xorns have a decent AC of −2 and four attacks including an extremely nasty bite, and their phasing can make them difficult to evade; players should not use non-disposable iron projectiles against xorns. However, they move at a slow 9 speed and respect Elbereth, so they can be dispatched with sufficient caution. Xorns can be lethal to players with low AC who try to out-melee them, particularly Monks embarking on their quest – their phasing can also thwart boulder fort strategies employed against tougher monsters such as Master Kaen.
Players trying to avoid xorns at the Castle can exploit their inability to cross water by luring them across the drawbridge and raising it behind them. Xorns also cannot be destroyed by drawbridges under normal circumstances due to their phasing; however, if there are two phasing monsters on both squares of the drawbridge (the portcullis and the moat in front), one of them will be killed if the drawbridge is raised.
Wizards looking to farm wraiths may consider a strategic genocide of xorns so that more wraith-class monsters will generate - they will no longer have access to phasing via xorn polyform, but in return can farm wraiths freely without worrying about graveyards, especially once they retrieve the Eye.
As a polyform
Due to their unusual abilities, xorns are one of the most useful monsters to polymorph into for various applications:
- Eating jewelry for intrinsics
- Phasing across difficult-to-navigate levels such as Asmodeus' Lair or the Stronghold of the Master Assassin - note that you cannot phase across the boundary between the two parts of Moloch's Sanctum, or anywhere on the Astral Plane
- Heading directly to the wand of wishing in the Castle during a speedrun or with a weak character
Xorns can wear all non-torso armor - be sure to remove any body armor (including cloaks and shirts) before polymorphing into one. Remember that you can cross water while polymorphed into a xorn, although other xorns cannot. Additionally, be mindful of where you are when your polyself is potentially about to expire: In addition to the perils of returning to normal form over water, you may find yourself stuck in a wall if you are phasing through one when your form expires; if you return to normal form while phasing through a wall adjacent to open space, you will be able to move into it.
Otherwise, if you are stuck in the middle of solid stone with no adjacent space, you will be unable to move - you can escape by doing any of the following:
- Teleporting out
- Prayer - this is considered a major trouble
- Re-polymorph into a xorn or earth elemental
History
The xorn 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.
In NetHack 3.4.3, xorns were subject to a few notable bugs:
- Xorns could be created in inaccessible areas, such as outside the Sokoban walls. This was bug C343-151.
- When a player polymorphed into a xorn returned to their normal form and was in open space, they would be stuck in a pit that doesn't exist; this was bug C343-17.
Origin
The xorn originates from Dungeons & Dragons, where it debuts in the 1st Edition Monster Manual of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Xorns come from the Elemental Plane of Earth and are depicted as odd and radially-symmetrical creatures: a large mouth sits at the top of their rocky body, surrounded by three long arms interspersed with their three eyes and three stumpy legs. All of their limbs are evenly spaced, and their arms end in sharp talons.
Like many creatures from their Elemental Plane, xorns can travel through ground and stone as if it were water. Xorns encountered outside their home plane are not especially peaceful, but only attack if something else attacks them first or impedes their scavenging for the usual xorn diet of stone and minerals, including some types of metals. This may explain the unused message present in the code of NetHack for eating flint stones.
Variants
In variants that incorporate the Convict role, one or two xorns are generated on the lower filler level(s) of the Convict quest at level creation.
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, xorns hit as +2 weapons.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, the Elder Elemental Eye at any level of reinforcement can protect against xorns.
SlashTHEM
In addition to SLASH'EM changes, SlashTHEM xorns are lithivores and can eat stone in addition to metal.
Hack'EM
In Hack'EM, xorns can also eat hard gems in addition to metal.
Encyclopedia entry
A distant cousin of the earth elemental, the xorn has the
ability to shift the cells of its body around in such a way
that it becomes porous to inert material. This gives it the
ability to pass through any obstacle that might be between it
and its next meal.
