Magic resistance (monster)
- This article is about the measure of a monster's magical defenses. For the property that blocks magic missiles and force bolts, see magic resistance.
In NetHack, monster magic resistance, also known as monster MR or MR score, is a numeric value that determines the ability of a monster to resist the effects of magic such as spellcasting, zapped wands and thrown potions.
Description
A monster with a magic resistance score higher than 0 has a chance of taking halved damage when subjected to certain magical items and effects by a hero or another monster.[1] A monster's MR score also determines the chance that it resists the effects of conflict, taming and being polymorphed, e.g. by a polymorph trap.[2] This chance is given as follows:[3]
Chance = MR/(100 + (attack level) - (defense level))
Monster magic resistance is distinct from the magic resistance property (sometimes referred to as "player-style MR"): the latter does not affect a monster's resistance to conflict and taming effects, but does protect them from polymorphing as well as wands of striking, force bolts, wands of death, rays from a finger of death, and all forms of magic missiles[4]—neither type of magic resistance will protect monsters from level teleporters. Monster magic resistance is also different from magic cancellation, which can block some of the secondary effects of direct monster attacks such as the level drain from a wraith's touch attack, and is applicable to both heroes and monsters (e.g. by wearing armor).
Attack and defense level
The attack level is calculated as follows, where the defense level is the monster level of the target, which has a maximum of 50:
| Source | Attack level |
|---|---|
| spell | Caster's level |
| Wand or polymorph trap[5] | 12 |
| Tool | 10 |
| Weapon | 10 |
| Scroll | 9 |
| Potion | 6 |
| Ring | 5 |
All this also determines the chance that monsters (including pets) resist conflict; conflict from the Sceptre of Might is treated the same as the ring of conflict for this purpose.
Effects subject to monster magic resistance
Monster magic resistance is used in determining the outcomes of the following effects, including whether or not any damage inflicted from these effects is halved:
- The scaring effect of Magicbane[6]
- Conflict[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]
- Explosions (halves damage)[15]
- All sources of sleeping[16]
- Wand of striking and force bolt (halves damage)[17][18][19]
- The scaring effect of tooled horn, drum of earthquake, leather drum, and bugle[20][21]
- The taming effect of magic harp, scroll of taming, or spellbook of charm monster[22][23]
- The maximum and current HP halving effects (one check for each) when hit by potion of sickness (or healing potions for Pestilence)[24]
- The confusion effect when hit by potion of confusion or booze[25]
- The blinding effect when hit by potion of blindness (blindness duration is increased by fewer turns, instead of being nullified)[26]
- Acid damage when hit by potion of acid[27]
- Turn undead – one check each for scaring, and pacifying or killing[28][29]
- The scaring effect when reading scroll of scare monster or casting cause fear[30]
- Stepping onto a polymorph trap[31][2]
- Confusion when hitting while charged from scroll of confuse monster or confuse monster[32]
- Slowing from wand of slow monster or slow monster spell[33]
- Hasting from wand of speed monster[34]
- Scaring from wand of undead turning or turn undead [35]
- Polymorph from the wand, spell, or potion of polymorph[36]
- Damage received by Pestilence from healing or extra healing spells (halves the amount of damage instead of nullifying it)[37]
- Spell of drain life (resistance halves damage and prevents level drain)[38][39]
- Cancellation from Magicbane, wand of cancellation, and cancellation spell [40]
- Damage from ray hits (halves damage)[41]
Strategy
Monster magic resistance generally determines what strategies are effective against certain monsters - for example, mind flayers have 90 monster magic resistance, which makes strategies such as polymorph magic or scaring from a musical instrument unlikely to work. In contrast, these strategies will work on minotaurs, which have no monster magic resistance.
Messages
- <The monster> resists!
- A monster resisted an attack; this is shown only in some cases.
Variants
Some variants change the monster magic resistance stats for certain monsters that are included from vanilla NetHack or other variants, and may additionally change the name to further distinguish it from the magic resistance property.
NetHack Fourk
In NetHack Fourk, the stat is referred to as willpower.
FIQHack
In FIQHack, this stat is also called willpower, with the attacker bonus from wands dependent on the wand skill.
xNetHack
xNetHack calls this stat magic saving throw.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, this stat is referred to as magic saving throw in the monster lookup; various monsters added from NetHack and other variants also have their magic saving throw improved.
References
- ↑ src/zap.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 5159-L5223: resist() function
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 src/trap.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 2682
- ↑ src/zap.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 5204
- ↑ src/trap.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 2680: polytrap check for magic resistance property
- ↑ src/trap.c in NetHack 3.6.0, line 2588
- ↑ src/artifact.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1076
- ↑ src/dogmove.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 899
- ↑ src/dogmove.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 938
- ↑ src/monmove.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 506
- ↑ src/monmove.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 645
- ↑ src/monmove.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1082
- ↑ src/priest.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 204
- ↑ src/shk.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 3839
- ↑ src/mhitm.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 126
- ↑ src/explode.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 425
- ↑ src/mhitm.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1512
- ↑ src/zap.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 5210: damage is done directly inside the resist() function, and halved if resisted
- ↑ src/muse.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1270
- ↑ src/zap.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 175
- ↑ src/music.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 79: for horns and drums
- ↑ src/music.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 205: for bugles
- ↑ src/music.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 230
- ↑ src/read.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 944
- ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1457
- ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1468
- ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1502
- ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1551
- ↑ src/pray.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 2023
- ↑ src/pray.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 2023
- ↑ src/read.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1250
- ↑ src/trap.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1639
- ↑ src/uhitm.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1323
- ↑ src/zap.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 182
- ↑ src/zap.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 195
- ↑ src/zap.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 218
- ↑ src/zap.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 235
- ↑ src/zap.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 394
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedresist_halfdamage - ↑ src/zap.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 438
- ↑ src/zap.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 2741
- ↑ src/zap.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 3753
