Strong

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For the player stat, see strength.

In NetHack, some monsters are considered strong. This property is boolean (i.e. monsters either possess it or do not), and is governed by the M2_STRONG flag in monst.c. As a monster attribute, it is not entirely analogous to player strength.

Effects for monsters

A strong monster has twice the carrying capacity as a non-strong monster of the same weight.

Only strong monsters may wield two-handed weapons.[1] Strong monsters have a 14 to avoid being pulled around with a grappling hook, and will instead pull around the player.[2]

Generation

A strong humanoid monster that has a weapon attack and the ability to wield weapons, is not being generated on the Rogue level, and does not have its own set of rules governing its monster starting inventory can be generated with one of the following five weapon sets, with an equal probability of each:[3]

  1. A battle-axe
  2. A two-handed sword
  3. A bow and 3-14 arrows
  4. A long sword, or
  5. A lucern hammer

The size of the die used in rolling for these weapons is determined by whether or not the monster is also a lord to its kind, an overlord to its kind, or is nasty; this is governed by an rnd equation that translates to 514 - N, where N is the result of a "bias" variable that is incremented for each applicable property - 1 if the monster is a lord, 1 if the monster is nasty, and 2 if the monster is an overlord - and then multiplied by two:[3]

  • A normal strong monster uses a d14. (514 ≈ 35.71%)
  • Strong monsters that are either nasty or lords to their kind use a d12. (512 ≈ 41.67%)
  • Strong monsters that are both nasty and a lord to their kind, or else are an overlord to their kind, use a d10. (510 = 50%)
  • Strong monsters that are both nasty and an overlord to their kind use a d8. (58 = 62.5%)

Effects for the player

Polymorphing into a strong monster sets your strength to 18/**, regardless of your base race.[4]

If your steed is strong and gets entangled in a spider web, it is treated as having a strength of 17 for the purpose of calculating its chance of breaking free (i.e. a 12 chance).[5]

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

As part of resolving issue #679 regarding congruence between non-player monsters and their player counterparts, commit b6a3d4b adds various special cases that alter strength caps for specific strong monsters, including some that ensure monster strength matches those of their playable counterparts:

  • Strength is capped at 18 for polyforms that lack the strong attribute.
  • Polymorphing into a strong orc sets your strength to 18/50, matching the natural cap of a player orc; the exceptions are the Uruk-hai, which confers 18/** strength as before, and the orc shaman, which no longer has the M2_STRONG flag. The orc mummy is given the M2_STRONG flag.
  • Polymorphing into a strong elf sets your strength to 18, matching the natural cap of a player elf. 'Plain' elves no longer have the M2_STRONG flag.
  • Polymorphing into a non-undead giant sets your strength to 19; polymorphing into an undead giant (i.e. zombie or mummy) instead sets it to 18/** as with other strong monsters.

List of strong monsters

The following monsters are strong:

References