Chupoclops
Chupoclops the Hope-trapper is a spirit that appears in dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack.
Ritual, seal and taboo
Chupoclops requires that her seal be drawn on a square containing either a headstone or a corpse belonging to the same race as the hero. The seal will be drawn around the corpse or headstone: failing to complete the binding ritual will cause the corpse to vanish or else dig out the grave marked by the headstone, while successfully completing the ritual leaves the corpse and grave untouched.
To remain bound to Chupoclops, the hero must not engrave wards.
Mark
A hero that has Chupoclops bound grows a pair of chelicerae in their mouth. The chelicerae cannot be seen from a distance, and may by hidden up close by wearing a mask to cover their mouth.
Benefits
While Chupoclops is bound, the hero gains sleep resistance and cannot be trapped by webs, and they also obtain skill in knives.
Chupoclops's active powers are as follows:
- Throw Webbing: The hero throws a ball of webbing in a chosen direction.
Chupoclops's passive powers are as follows:
- Poisonous Bite: The hero gains a 2d4 bite attack that inflicts strength-draining poison.
- Grave Eater: The hero can eat tainted corpses safely.
- Aura of Despair: Monsters within 5 squares of the hero lose (XL)/10 + 1 movement points.
- Ethereal Strike: The hero's attacks ignore armor and can always hit intangible monsters such as shades and Sharab Kamerel.
As a monster
| s Chupoclops (No tile) | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 22 |
| Attacks |
bite 4d8 poison (strength), kick 3d6 webbing, passive 0d0 webbing, spit 2d4 webbing |
| Base level | 17 |
| Base experience | 550 |
| Speed | 16 |
| Base AC | 4 |
| Base MR | 50 |
| Alignment | -5 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 0 (Not randomly generated) |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 3000 |
| Nutritional value | 800 |
| Size | large |
| Resistances | sleep resistance, poison resistance |
| Resistances conveyed | sleep resistance, poison resistance |
|
Chupoclops:
| |
In notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, Chupoclops, s, also appears as a monster that can be summoned by an Illithanachronounbinder. She is a strong, carnivorous and oviparous spidery animal. Like most summoned spirits, she cannot be tamed.
Chupoclops has a strong bite attack that inflicts strength-draining poison, a 'kick' attack that can trap her target in a web, a passive attack that also spreads webbing, and the ability to spit balls of webbing at targets. She possesses sleep resistance and poison resistance.
Chupoclops is poisonous to consume, which primarily comes up if she is digested by another monster.
Generation
Chupoclops is first generated when summoned from her seal by an Illithanachronounbinder. She is always created hostile, and is not a valid polymorph form or genocide target.
Chupoclops is always generated with several cave spider eggs.
Chupoclops does not leave a corpse upon death.
Strategy
Below this point, there are major spoilers for the Illithanachronounbinder role. They can be accessed by selecting the "Role spoiler" tab.
On paper, Chupoclops is a quick-moving monster with 16 speed, strong attacks and several means of creating immobilizing webs that should be very dangerous to an unwary Illithanachronounbinder. However, performing her binding ritual will confer immunity to being trapped in webs, and can also slow her down as well - while she cannot be trapped in webs herself, the movement speed penalties inflicted by her passive power can slow her down enough to avoid her poisonous bite, which can still be deadly.
The many spider eggs she carries will hatch and spawn an army of cave spiders, which can prove annoying if you have not yet dealt with Chupoclops by that point.If Chupoclops is killed after being summoned, she can be encountered again in the Void, a branch accessed by opening the high altar of Ilsensine the Fallen as an Illithanachronounbinder using the invoke effect of The Elder Cerebral Fluid. Chupoclops is generated along with many other spirits of the near void on the first floor of the branch, and is created with the "whispers" template, which makes her nonliving.
Messages
- The great sweep of lives and civilizations seems represented in microcosm by the scene within the seal's boundaries.
- You sense the twin threads of mortality and despair,
- that wrap this world and its inhabitants like silken bindings, and, suddenly,
- you know you are in the presence of the Spider.
- You attempted to bind Chupoclops.
- She wraps you tight in her bitter cords and sends you forth, bait within her web.
- You successfully bound Chupoclops to yourself.
- She wraps your blade tight in her bitter cords, making it an anchor for her web.
- You successfully bound Chupoclops to The Pen of the Void.
- The Spider passes you over, and collects her prize.
- You failed to bind Chupoclops due to a lack of open slots for spirits of the Near Void. If a corpse was used for the binding ritual, it vanishes, while a grave used for the ritual is dug out.
- Thoughts of death and despair almost overcome you.
- You performed the binding ritual incorrectly.
Encyclopedia entry
“The Eldar knew not whence she came; but some have said that in ages long before she descended from the darkness that lies about Arda, when Melkor first looked down in envy upon the Kingdom of Manwë, and that in the beginning she was one of those that he corrupted to his service. But she had disowned her Master, desiring to be mistress of her own lust, taking all things to herself to feed her emptiness”
“Of the fate of Ungoliant no tale tells. Yet some have said that she ended long ago, when in her uttermost famine she devoured herself at last.”
