Displacer beast
The displacer beast, f, is a feline monster that first appears in SLASH'EM, and also appear in dNetHack, SlashTHEM and xNetHack. They have natural displacement.
Across variants, each time you attempt to attack a displacer beast in melee, you have around a 50% chance of merely displacing it like a pet. Using F to force an attack will not move you or the displacer beast, and results in attacking "thin air" if you would have displaced it. In dNetHack they cannot actually displace you, you will just miss.
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.
Displacer beasts have been introduced to vanilla in the upcoming NetHack 3.7, with the same traits as detailed in the xNetHack tab below.Description
f displacer beast 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 14 |
| Attacks |
Claw 4d4, Claw 4d4, Bite 2d10 |
| Base level | 12 |
| Base experience | 301 |
| Speed | 12 |
| Base AC | -10 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | -3 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 750 |
| Nutritional value | 400 |
| Size | Large |
| Resistances | None |
| Resistances conveyed | None |
|
A displacer beast:
| |
| Reference | SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2/monst.c#line662 |
Displacer beasts can pose a real problem in combat - in addition to their intrinsic displacement rendering around half your melee attacks harmless, they also have a very low AC and high HP, and can do quite a bit of damage. Luckily, they are not fast, and a player with speed should be able to outrun them. This is particularly advisable if there are other hostile monsters around, since missed attacks leave you open to retaliation from them and the displacer beast itself.
Amusingly, you can displace a displacer beast into water or lava, killing it instantly.| f displacer beast
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 16 |
| Attacks |
Tentacle 2d4 physical, Tentacle 2d4 physical, Bite 1d8 physical, Claw 1d3 physical, Claw 1d3 physical |
| Base level | 12 |
| Base experience | 307 |
| Speed | 12 |
| Base AC | -10 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | -3 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 1500 |
| Nutritional value | 400 |
| Size | large |
| Resistances | poison |
| Resistances conveyed | poison |
|
A displacer beast:
| |
| Reference | dNetHack src/monst.c, line 705 |
| f displacer beast
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 14 |
| Attacks |
Claw 4d4, Claw 4d4, Bite 2d10 |
| Base level | 12 |
| Base experience | 301 |
| Speed | 12 |
| Base AC | -10 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | -3 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 750 |
| Nutritional value | 400 |
| Size | Large |
| Resistances | None |
| Resistances conveyed | None |
|
A displacer beast:
| |
| Reference | SlashTHEM src/monst.c, line 781 |
| f displacer beast
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 14 |
| Attacks |
Claw 4d4, Claw 4d4, Bite 2d10 |
| Base level | 12 |
| Base experience | 301 |
| Speed | 12 |
| Base AC | -10 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | -3 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 750 |
| Nutritional value | 400 |
| Size | Large |
| Resistances | None |
| Resistances conveyed | displacement 6d6 |
|
A displacer beast:
| |
| Reference | xNetHack include/monsters.h, line 389 |
In xNetHack, displacer beasts are eligible to be summoned with the summon nasties monster spell. Eating displacer beast meat confers intrinsic displacement for 6d6 turns.
Origin
The displacer beast is a Dungeons & Dragons, monster that projects a displaced image a few feet from where it actually stands. It is the source mythology for the displacement provided by the cloak of displacement.
