Energy vortex
v energy vortex 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 9 |
| Attacks |
Engulf 1d6 shock, Engulf 2d6 drain energy, Passive 0d4 shock |
| Base level | 6 |
| Base experience | 101 |
| Speed | 20 |
| Base AC | 2 |
| Base MR | 30 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 0 |
| Nutritional value | 0 |
| Size | Huge |
| Resistances | Shock, Sleep, Disintegrate, Poison, Stoning |
| Resistances conveyed | None |
|
An energy vortex:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line879 |
An energy vortex, v, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. The energy vortex is a type of vortex with an affinity to electricity, and is among the most lethal of the vortices that a hero can encounter.
An energy vortex has an engulfing attack that deals shock damage, which is replaced with a touch attack that deals shock damage and can destroy wands and rings in the target's inventory if the attack hits the hero during the grace period where they were expelled and cannot be re-engulfed.[1] A hero engulfed by an energy vortex is subjected to a 3⁄4 chance of energy drain during each of the energy vortex's turns, which is converted to a "claw" attack with a 1⁄4 chance of energy drain if it hits the hero during the aforementioned grace period[2][3]—in both cases, the energy drain reduces the hero's current energy in proportion to their maximum energy, and drains their maximum energy if their current energy is 0.[4] An energy vortex also has a passive shock attack that triggers when it is attacked and not killed in melee, and deals damage based on the attacker's experience level or monster level. Energy vortices possess shock resistance, sleep resistance, disintegration resistance, poison resistance, and stoning resistance.
Contents
Generation
Randomly generated energy vortices are always created hostile.
Five energy vortices are generated on the Plane of Air at level creation.[5]
Energy vortices do not leave a corpse upon death.
Strategy
The energy vortex is a very dangerous monster with a high speed of 20: most heroes encounter it well before they obtain a source of shock resistance, and must contend with both active shock attacks and a passive that deals level-based damage, as well as having their energy drained while engulfed by the vortex—in particularly bad cases, this can drain enough energy to the point where the hero's maximum energy is affected as well. The danger posed by energy vortices make them a tempting target for genocide.
A ranged attack is all but required to dispatch of an energy vortex quickly, since it will not trigger the passive attacks, and the wand or spell of slow monster can potentially weaken the vortex's assault and even force it to immediately release an engulfed hero; scaring tools such as a bugle can also work, though the energy vortex's MR score of 30 makes this approach somewhat unreliable. Perhaps counter-intuitively, attack wands are the best means of defeating an approaching energy vortex, even with the risk of those wands being destroyed if the vortex attacks after releasing the hero. Canceling an energy vortex prevents the energy drain from occurring, while a source of shock resistance nullifies the other attacks, and high magic cancellation can significantly reduce the chances of shocks and energy drain occurring otherwise.
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (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.
Extrinsic sources of shock resistance will protect wands and rings in open inventory 99⁄100 of the time.History
The energy vortex first appears in NetHack 3.0.0. From this version to NetHack 3.4.3, energy vortices do not have an energy drain attack and the substitute claw attack is not implemented for engulfing—this makes energy vortices safe for a hero with shock resistance to be engulfed by.
The energy drain attack is introduced in NetHack 3.6.0 where it drains 4d6 energy, which can have severe effects on low-energy heroes and means that energy vortices are no longer safe "ferry" options for a shock-resistant hero.
NetHack 3.6.1 introduces the energy drain attack's current mechanics, along with the grace period for engulfing attacks and the "claw" attack that is substituted for them.
Messages
- The air around you crackles with electricity.
- You were engulfed by an energy vortex.
- You seem unhurt.
- This is added to the above if you have shock resistance.
- You feel your magical energy drain away.
- Your energy was drained from being engulfed by an energy vortex.
- You get expelled from <the energy vortex> in a shower of sparks!
- The energy vortex released you from its engulfing.
- You are jolted with electricity!
- You were shocked by an energy vortex's passive attack.
- You feel a mild tingle.
- As above, but you have shock resistance.
Variants
dNetHack
In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, the energy vortex and almost all other vortices (except for the yochlol's stinking cloud form) take halved damage from blunt, piercing and slashing weapons.
Energy vortices can generate randomly in the Law Quest if Oona is alive and her elemental affinity is electricity.
Invoking Ehecailacocozcatl can summon a tame energy vortex.
A half-dragon Troubadour that has a magic missile breath weapon gains the ability to sing a tame energy vortex into being at experience level 14, which costs 45 power - in practice, it is not possible for a half-dragon Troubador to start a game with this breath weapon.
SpliceHack
In SpliceHack, two hostile energy vortices are generated on the Plane of Ice at level creation.
Hack'EM
In Hack'EM, invoking The Storm Whistle has a 1⁄10 chance of generating a tame energy vortex.
Encyclopedia entry
- See the encyclopedia entry for vortex.
