Juggernaut

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The juggernaut is a monster added in SLASH'EM.

Description

Juggernauts are large quadrupeds with a single very powerful melee attack. They are slightly slower than an unhasted player, and possess no special abilities or resistances. Unlike most other animals, they leave no corpse.

Generation

Juggernauts cannot be generated in Gehennom; this combined with their high base level makes them a rare sight, most commonly seen once a character has obtained the Amulet of Yendor.

Strategy

By the time they appear, juggernauts are not a huge threat. However, one should be careful not to ignore them: their attacks do as much melee damage as the Riders', making a mockery of even the thickest AC, and their high base level enables them to hit consistently. However, their slow speed, poor AC, and lack of any special abilities combine to make them relatively easy to take down.

Origin

The word "juggernaut" is generally used in the English language to describe something that is uncommonly large or strong. Deriving from the Sanskrit word for "world-lord", a title of Krishna, the word entered the English language as a term used to describe large wagons bearing images of Hindu deities.

It is unclear exactly what SLASH'EM's juggernaut is. Its tile appears to resemble one of the aforementioned wagons, and the fact that it never leaves a corpse would be consistent with it being one. However, it is also an herbivorous animal, where one would expect an animated wagon to be inediate and nonliving. Unfortunately, there is no encyclopedia entry to clarify what the developers intended this particular monster to be.