Anubite

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An anubite, h, is a type of monster that appears in dNetHack and notdNetHack. The anubite is a carnivorous gnoll werecreature that has infravision and the ability to see invisible, and can be seen via infravision - they can shift between humanoid form and a canine form known as the anuban jackal, d, which lacks infravision. In humanoid form, an anubite will pick up weapons, food and magical items.

An anubite has a weapon attack, an offhand weapon attack and a bite attack in humanoid form, while in anuban jackal form it has a lycanthropy-inducing bite attack and the ability to summon hostile werejackals when in range of a character. Anubites possess drain resistance in both forms. Eating an anubite corpse or tin confers werejackal lycanthropy to a character.

In SpliceHack, the anubite, 9 is a defunct monster that existed in pre-rewrite versions and was part of the gnoll monster class.

Generation

Anubites are only randomly generated in Gehennom, and may appear in small groups. They are always created hostile and in humanoid form, and are not a valid form for normal polymorph.

Four anubites are randomly placed around the lair of Yeenoghu at level creation, and they also make up 120 of the monsters randomly generated there. Nine anubites are randomly placed around the lair of Lamashtu at level creation.

Strategy

While stronger and faster than normal gnolls, anubites are not particularly threatening by the time most characters can encounter them. MC3 in dNetHack and notdNetHack use 3.4.3's magic cancellation system, which is more than enough to almost completely block the lycanthropy from their animal form's bites - even without MC3, most character builds will have a means of killing anubites before they can shift forms and/or get in melee range.

Origin

The gnoll is a creature that appears in various types of fantasy media, and is generally portrayed as a human-hyena hybrid or a form of humanoid hyena. The term originates from 1912 short story collection The Book of Wonder by Lord Dunsany, with one short story titled "How Nuth Would Have Practised His Art upon the Gnoles".

The gnoll of Dungeons & Dragons is introduced in the first boxed set of the game, and gnolls are described in Book 2: Monsters and Treasure as a "cross between Gnomes and Trolls (...perhaps, Lord Sunsany did not really make it all that clear)". These early gnolls were stated to be similar to hobgoblins with +2 morale, while a gnoll king and his bodyguard fought similar to trolls without regenerative power. The 1st Monster Manual for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and all subsequent material describe gnolls as aggressive desert-dwelling nomads that resemble humanoid hyenas, and actively raid and plunder other settlements; it also introduces Yeenoghu, the demon god of gnolls who many of them serve and worship.

Anubites are cynocephalic beings that naturally resemble their namesake: Anubis, the god of funerary rites, protector of graves, and guide to the underworld. They are loosely based on the jackal-headed warriors known as the Army of Anubis from 2001 movie The Mummy Returns.

Encyclopedia entry

Anubite

_Ardeth Bay: I am sorry if I alarmed your son. But you must
understand, now that the bracelet is on his wrist, we have
only seven days before the Scorpion King awakens!
_Rick: We? What we?
_Ardeth: If he is not killed, he will raise the Army of Anubis!
_Jonathan: I take it that's not a good thing?
_Rick: Oh, he'll wipe out the world.
_Jonathan: Ah, the old "Wipe-Out-The-World" ploy.

Anuban jackal

The Egyptian Jackal (_Canis aureus lupaster_) also
known as the African Wolf or Wolf Jackal is currently
listed as a subspecies of the golden jackal, but may be
a subspecies of grey wolf or a unique species in its
own right. It is native to Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia,
though its post Pleistocene range once encompassed the
Palestine region.
[ Wikipedia ]