Arctic fern (UnNetHack)
| F arctic fern (No tile) | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 14 |
| Attacks | |
| Base level | 12
|
| Speed | 2 |
| Base AC | 10 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 20 |
| Nutritional value | 200 |
| Size | Small |
| Resistances | Cold resistance |
| Resistances conveyed | None |
|
An arctic fern:
| |
| Reference | UnNetHack commit 4b5df73 - src/monst.c, line 3836 |
An arctic fern, F, is a type of monster that appears in UnNetHack. The arctic fern is a form of fungus-like fern monster with an affinity to cold and traits that are very similar to other fungi and molds, though it is stationary rather than fully sessile or fully motile.
Arctic ferns have a "gaze attack" that causes them to generate arctic fern spores with a 1⁄2 chance (50%) if they are not cancelled and the hero is within roughly 10 squares of one: these spores act as a means of reproduction for the fern and will target the hero and other monsters in the dungeon—monsters that are not other ferns, fern sprouts or Devil's Snare have a mutual grudge and will attack the spores themselves to prevent ferns from spreading, per the encyclopedia entry. Spores that explode from either their explosion attack or on-death explosion have a 1⁄3 chance of creating another fern, with a 1⁄6 chance of creating a full-grown arctic fern and otherwise creating an arctic fern sprout—their active explosion attacks also leave behind poison clouds.
Arctic ferns possess cold resistance.
Generation
Randomly generated arctic ferns are always created hostile, and will not normally appear in Gehennom but can appear in Sheol. They are not a valid polymorph form. Arctic fern sprouts can grow up into arctic ferns.
Arctic ferns cannot be generated on squares other than ice, moats, pools of water, or muddy swamp by normal monster creation or the explosions of their spores.
A "fern nursery" random vault has a 1⁄2 chance of randomly placing a hostile arctic fern within the room.
Arctic ferns never leave a corpse upon death.
History
The arctic fern, its spore and its sprout first appear in version 5.1.0 via commit f487c92.
Origin
Ferns are a group of real plants with characteristic leaves. They are primitive, having neither seeds nor flowers; they reproduce with spores, hence the spore attack in the game.
Encyclopedia entry
These dreadful weeds have been driven to extinction on the
surface, yet deep within the dark and damp of the dungeon
they still flourish. When it detects the motion of nearby
creatures, the dungeon fern releases a deadly, poisonous
spore, which quickly detonates to propagate the species.
Residents of the dungeon have learned how not to disturb
the dungeon fern, and will attack its spores on sight to
keep them from overtaking their home.
More than one variety of this plant is known to exist.
