Ape
Y ape 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 6 |
| Attacks |
Claw 1d3, Claw 1d3, Bite 1d6 |
| Base level | 4 |
| Base experience | 41 |
| Speed | 12 |
| Base AC | 6 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 2 (Quite rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 1100 |
| Nutritional value | 500 |
| Size | Large |
| Resistances | None |
| Resistances conveyed | None |
|
An ape:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line1923 |
An ape, Y, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. It is a strong and omnivorous apelike creature that can be seen via infravision.
An ape has two claw attacks and a bite attack.
Apes can be tamed with bananas, and additionally consider them a treat.
Contents
Generation
Randomly generated apes may be peaceful towards neutral characters, and can appear in small groups.
Apes appear among the random Y that make up the second quest monster class for Healers and make up 6⁄175 of the monsters randomly generated on the Healer quest.
Strategy
Apes can move as quickly as an unhasted, unburdened character, and deal decent amounts of melee damage - combined with their tendency to generate in groups, this makes them a somewhat dangerous early game threat. Fortunately, an ape has unimpressive AC and no MR score or any other resistances, and a decently-prepared character can bring them down with wands, spells and other items; a bulkier or well-armored character can withstand their attacks and overwhelm them in melee if they have the means to.
Apes are also not difficult to escape from, thankfully: they respect Elbereth, and any means of scaring is guaranteed to make them flee. If you happen to have bananas, taming them is viable as a last resort.
As pets
Apes do not make particularly exciting pets: they are slower than a large cat or large dog, and their damage potential is only marginally better than either monster. However, they are very easy to tame if bananas are on hand, and can still be a great help to a character early in the game.
History
The ape first appears in NetHack 3.0.0, which introduces the apelike creatures.
The ability to tame apes with thrown bananas is introduced in NetHack 3.6.1 via commit 16118581, with the original change credited to SporkHack.
Origin
The ape is a clade of Old World simians that are native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia - in prehistory, they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and Europe. In traditional and non-scientific use, the term "ape" can include tailless primates, making it distinct from the scientific taxon of ape, i.e. the super Hominoidea.
There are two extant branches of Hominoidea: the gibbons or lesser apes (Hylobatidae), and the hominids or great apes (Hominoidae). The great apes include three species of orangutans and their subspecies, two species of gorillas and their subspecies, two species of panins (bonobos and chimpanzees) and their subspecies, and humans. Apes are agile tree-climbers, minus gorillas and humans, and eat a variety of plant and animal foods, with the majority of their diet being herbivorous.
Variants
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, apes can be generated in real zoos.
Apes can be tamed with bananas and consider them treats.
SporkHack
In SporkHack, apes can also be tamed with bananas and consider them treats.
Encyclopedia entry
The most highly evolved of all the primates, as shown by all their anatomical characters and particularly the development of the brain. Both arboreal and terrestrial, the apes have the forelimbs much better developed than the hind limbs. Tail entirely absent. Growth is slow and sexual maturity reached at quite an advanced age.
Aldo the gorilla had a plan. It was a good plan. It was right. He knew it. He smacked his lips in anticipation as he thought of it. Yes. Apes should be strong. Apes should be masters. Apes should be proud. Apes should make the Earth shake when they walked. Apes should _rule_ the Earth.
by David Gerrold ]
