Hellcat (SLASH'EM)
f hellcat 
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|---|---|
| Difficulty | 14 |
| Attacks | |
| Base level | 12 |
| Base experience | 291 |
| Speed | 12 |
| Base AC | 6 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 800 |
| Nutritional value | 400 |
| Size | Large |
| Resistances | None |
| Resistances conveyed | None |
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A hellcat:
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| Reference | SLASH'EM_0.0.7E7F2/monst.c#line698 |
- For the monster in other variants, see hellcat.
A hellcat, f, is a type of monster that appears in SLASH'EM and SlashTHEM. The hellcat is a large and quadrupedal feline animal that is carnivorous and can be seen via infravision. Tame hellcats may turn traitor.
Hellcats have two claw attacks, and also have a strong bite attack that inflicts fire damage and can burn away sliming along with potentially destroying potions, scrolls, and spellbooks in the victim's inventory.[1][2]
Contents
Generation
Hellcats are only randomly generated in Gehennom, and normally-created ones are always hostile.
Strategy
Hellcats are unlikely to be a serious bother for heroes that reach Gehennom under normal circumstances, with the most problematic element being losing inventory items to their fiery bite attacks. Heroes that are in much earlier stages of the game will have much more trouble if they encounter a hellcat as a result of a polymorph trap—thankfully, they lack good AC, MR score or any form of resistance properties, and also respect Elbereth.
History
The hellcat first appears in NetHack-- 3.0.10, where it uses the f glyph—in NetHack-- 3.1.3, it uses the f glyph, and it is given its current glyph in SLASH 6.
Origin
The hellcat is a creature that originates from Dungeons & Dragons, where it makes its debut in the original 1981 Fiend Folio and also appears in the 1992 Monstrous Compendium Fiend Folio Appendix released as an update and expansion to the former. Also known as a "bezekira", the hellcat is a lawful evil feline animal that stalks the Nine Hells: it ranges from 6‒9 ft (1.8‒2.7 m) long in size and weighs up to 900 pounds (410 kilograms), and its appearance varies from that of a lion to a tiger-size domestic cat. Hellcats can be found on any layer of the Nine Hells other than Nessus, and can also be seen in the Domains of Dread. In addition to reproducing like other creatures do, hellcats can also be created as a form of punishment for a baatezu, although petitioners that perpetrated great evil in front of a lesser or greater baatezu were uncommonly rewarded with 'promotion' to hellcat form.
A hellcat lacks the charm of more mundane felines in exchange for an abundance of their more infuriating traits, particularly their capriciousness: they are notoriously independent, and will only obey the orders of those committed to the ideals of both law and evil (with a preference for priests and clerics)—though they will always obey baatezu above all others, even their loyalty to individual devils is as pliant as in any other case. While a hellcat will obey the whims of their master, they are willing to change loyalties in an instant if they are not properly fed, or else if a superior master should desire them, and they are just as willing to betray their new owner in the same manner. In spite of their capricious tendencies, hellcats are quite difficult to compel into betraying their masters (in contrast to doing so of their own accord).
Hellcats move about in virtual silence, constantly on the prowl for any opportunity to do evil—similar to baatezu and other devils, they will tempt lawful beings who are drifting towards evil to their alignment, normally running from other beings of non-lawful evil alignments and seeking to kill those of good alignments. They can also sense how powerful an individual is, allowing them to scout potential masters before offering their aid. Hellcats are carnivorous and only require live human or demihuman prey once a week for sustenance, and prefer to terrorize their victims in order to flavor their flesh with fear before devouring them whole.
Hellcats are invisible in the presence of any light: in non-magical darkness, they are visible as faint and wraith-like outlines with bodies seemingly composed of bright light and flickers of fire, while their fangs and eyes glow crimson, and they are only visible this way when seen from 30 feet away (or double that distance for a viewer with low-light vision). Physical contact between hellcats residing in darkness and other creatures is still possible, and their invisibility is useless in Cania, forcing them to rely on the layer's environmental hazards and their impeccable sense of smell. Hellcats fight with tooth and claw and enjoy ambushing prey over employing brute force, and their supernatural feline independence protects them from all mind-affecting magic; they are also resistant to magic and enchanted weapons, although they can be damaged by holy water or bless spells and can be kept at bay by firmly displaying holy items.
