Echidna (SLASH'EM)
z echidna 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 3 |
| Attacks | |
| Base level | 2 |
| Base experience | 17 |
| Speed | 6 |
| Base AC | 9 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 15 |
| Nutritional value | 10 |
| Size | Tiny (medium in Hack'EM) |
| Resistances | None |
| Resistances conveyed | None |
|
An echidna:
In Hack'EM, an echidna also:
| |
| Reference | SLASH'EM_0.0.7E7F2/monst.c#line1854 |
- For the nymph-like spirit in dNetHack and its derivatives, see Echidna (dNetHack).
An echidna, z, is a type of monster that appears in SLASH'EM, SlashTHEM, SpliceHack, and Hack'EM. The echidna is the weakest of the zouthern animals across all variants: it is a tiny carnivorous animal that is oviparous and thick-skinned, and has a tendency to wander while moving. In Hack'EM, echidnas are medium rather than tiny in size, and can also be seen via infravision.
An echidna has two claw attacks.
Generation
Across all variants, echidnas may be generated as peaceful towards neutral heroes, and they are not randomly generated in Gehennom.
In SlashTHEM, echidnas appear among the random z that are part of the second quest monster class for Zookeepers and make up 6⁄175 (~3%) of all monsters randomly generated on the Zookeeper quest. In Hack'EM, echidnas can appear in zouthern rooms.
In Hack'EM, echidnas have a 1⁄10 chance of dropping a boomerang upon death.
Strategy
Echidnas are generally are not terribly threatening among early monsters, due to their low speed and weak attacks. SLASH'EM players should be careful not to confuse them with the stronger wombats and dangerous wallabies, who share the same glyph.
Origin
The echidna, sometimes known as the spiny anteater, is a quill-covered mammal that lives in Australia and New Guinea. They are medium-sized and usually black or brown in coloration. Echidnas are solitary animals that superficially resemble the anteaters of South America and other spiny mammals such as hedgehogs and porcupines, though they are not related to any of them. The echidna's name is likely a corruption of the ancient Greek word ekhinos, meaning "hedgehog" or "sea urchin"—they may also be named for the mythological Echidna, a half-woman and half-snake monster from Greek mythology, due to being perceived as sharing mammalian and reptilian qualities.
An echidna has an elongated and slender snout that functions as both mouth and nose, and have electrosensors to find earthworms, termites, ants, and other burrowing prey. There are four extant species of echidnas, which make up the only living group of mammals that lay eggs (known as monotremes, of the order Monotremata) alongside the platypus. The short-beaked echidna's diet consists mostly of ants and termites, while the long-beaked species typically eat worms and insect larvae by using the sharp, tiny spines on their tongue to capture their prey.
Encyclopedia entry
The following encyclopedia entry is only found in SpliceHack:
The echidna enjoys flexing its muscles, but it has a strange aversion
to laughter. Natural enemies of the echidna include hedgehogs.
