Magic missile
Magic missile is a damage type that appears in NetHack, and is represented by the AD_MAGM damage type flag.
Description
Attacks with the magic missile damage type inflict non-elemental magical damage that can be blocked with magic resistance in all cases: the check for magic resistance on a hero or monster is distinguished from the check against a monster's MR score by using the damage type flag for magic missiles.
The following spells and attacks utilize magic missiles as a damage type:
- The magic missile spell that is usable by the hero.
- The wand of magic missile when zapped by a hero or monster, or else when applied to break it and create an explosion.
- The magic missile monster spell used by Angels, the Oracle and Yeenoghu.
- The breath weapon of gray dragons, which can also be selected by the randomized breath weapon of the Chromatic Dragon.
All monsters that have a magic missile attack or random breath weapon also have magic resistance—the only exceptions are baby gray dragons, who lack the breath weapon of their adult forms but are born with an innate resistance.
Origin
The magic missile originates from Dungeons & Dragons, where the magic missile spell is initially introduced as a weaker level one Wizard spell that quickly became a staple of the class: it was effectively a homing attack with each bullet doing its own damage roll, which easily racks up significant damage short of the target having magic resistance. The magic missiles of NetHack similarly have no defense for them beyond magic resistance, though they lack any homing properties.
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