Bebelith
x bebelith 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 14 |
| Attacks |
Bite 2d8 physical, Claw 1d8 armor shredding, Claw 1d8 armor shredding |
| Base level | 10 |
| Base experience | 355 |
| Speed | 12 |
| Base AC | -10 |
| Base MR | 20 |
| Alignment | -10 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 2 (Quite rare) |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 4500 |
| Nutritional value | 1000 |
| Size | huge |
| Resistances | fire resistance, shock resistance, poison resistance |
| Resistances conveyed | fire resistance, shock resistance, poison resistance |
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A bebelith:
| |
A bebelith, x, is a type of monster that appears in dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack. Bebeliths are amphibious, primordial mythical insects that are restricted to orthogonal movement, similar to grid bugs. They possess infravision and can follow a hero to other levels if they are adjacent. Tame bebeliths may turn traitor.
A bebelith has a bite attack and two armor-shredding claw attacks, and possesses fire resistance, shock resistance and poison resistance.
Eating a bebelith corpse or tin can grant temporary fire resistance, shock resistance and poison resistance.
Generation
Bebeliths are normally generated hostile and can appear in small groups. They are not a valid target for genocide or polymorph.
Hostile bebeliths can be summoned by a hostile spellcaster casting the summon nasties monster spell.
Strategy
Bebeliths are especially dangerous due to their high defenses and claw attacks, which can shred through worn armor with each hit—artifacts can be disenchanted by the bebelith's claw attacks, but cannot be destroyed this way. Fortunately, the bebelith's inability to move diagonally provides heroes an opportunity to utilize superior positioning and kill them without taking a hit. Beware if the Wizard of Yendor and other powerful spellcasters summon a bebelith among the various hostile nasties they create!
Origin
Bebiliths are arachnid demons that originate from Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition; the encyclopedia entry is a direct quote of one bebelith communicating to another from the Monstrous Compendium: Outer Planes Appendix. A bebilith resembles a two-ton misshapen spider the size of a large horse, with legs that stretch up to 14 feet (4.3 meters) and end in razor-sharp barbs - it possesses a tough, chitinous and mottled exoskeleton, and its fangs drip globs of odorous liquid. The foreleg claws are used to penetrate and rip armor plating from their foes. Bebeliths communicate among each other via silent telepathy, while their strong sense of smell lets them track their foes with ease; their venom is highly perishable, quickly becoming inert on contact with air.
Otherwise known as barbed horrors or creepers of the Abyss, bebeliths often roam the Abyss unimpeded: their strange mystique causes other demons to leave them alone. Bebeliths also prey upon other demons for their own inscrutable reasons; some claim they hunt demons for sport, while others purport that they sought to punish demons for unknown transgressions. Though some demons could easily kill bebeliths, doing so was considered taboo, and some great demonic beings even paid them homage. The drow spider-goddess Lolth has a particular fondness for bebeliths, and it is not uncommon to see them in her service and find them among denizens of the Demonweb Pits; drow also summon bebeliths to act as destroyers or guardians.
Once bebeliths decide on a group of targets to exterminate, they pursue their targets with cruel, unwavering focus, and do not stop until they achieved utter obliteration. While they are far from stupid, bebelith intellects are limited, making their actions seem all the more incomprehensible. Though they favor demonic prey, bebeliths will hunt any available prey and attack them on sight: they tend to prefer singling out targets, using their webs to isolate and slow them while remaining in near-constant motion. If the bebeliths are overwhelmed, they will try to bite their enemies before retreating via plane shift, leaving the poisons to hopefully finish that prey off.
Bebiliths can fire up to 4 webs every day, manipulating them with ease to prevent foes from escaping. They are also capable of plane shifting, with the Astral Plane serving as their most common target. Bebiliths have a strange connection with fire: their webs are often fire-resistant (if not on fire) when spun, and victims of their venomous bite must have their corpses quickly blessed before they burst into flames.
Encyclopedia entry
‘Long we live and long we weave
Till we have filled this space.
Then, as before, we will leave
To hunt another place.
Our task ends when the weak are gone.
then fill new spaces with our spawn!'
