Piranha
; piranha 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 6 |
| Attacks |
Bite 2d6 |
| Base level | 5 |
| Base experience | 56 |
| Speed | 12 |
| Base AC | 4 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 0 (Not randomly generated) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 60 |
| Nutritional value | 30 |
| Size | small |
| Resistances | None |
| Resistances conveyed | None |
|
A piranha:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line2806 |
A piranha, ;, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. The piranha is a small, carnivorous and slithy sea monster that is oviparous and capable of swimming, and shares the same glyph as the kraken.
A piranha has a single bite attack.
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 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.
Piranha now have 18 speed and a second 2d6 bite attack, and their difficulty is increased to 7.Contents
Generation
Piranha are not randomly generated, and normally created piranha are always hostile.
Each sea monster generated in the pool squares of a swamp at level creation has a 1⁄10 chance of being a piranha.[1]
Two piranha are generated in the river of the Tourist quest home level at level creation.
Two piranha are generated in the moat surrounding the Wizard of Yendor's dwelling on the top floor of the Wizard's Tower at level creation.
Four piranha are generated on the Plane of Water at level creation.
Strategy
Piranha are not generally regarded as a significant threat outside of potentially mistaking a kraken for one, and can easily be dispatched by the time most heroes can encounter them.
History
The piranha first appears in NetHack 3.3.0.
Origin
A piranha, or piraña, is any of a number of freshwater fish species in the family Serrasalmidae, or the subfamily Serrasalminae within the tetra family Characidae in order Characiformes, that inhabit South American rivers, floodplains, lakes and reservoirs. Piranhas are indigenous to the Amazon basin, in the Orinoco, in rivers of the Guianas, in the Paraguay–Paraná, and the São Francisco River systems; most species are restricted to a single river system, but some occur in several systems, and many species can occur together. The most common aquarium piranha is the red-bellied piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri). Most piranhas grow to between 12 and 35 cm (5–14 in) long, with red-bellied piranhas reaching up to 50 cm (20 in).
Although often described as extremely predatory and mainly feeding on fish, the piranha's dietary habits vary extensively, and they will also take plant material, leading to their classification as omnivorous. Though they are not as dangerous as described in the media, piranha dwellings should be approached with caution, especially when fishing; there have been a notable amount of injuries and even rare fatalities attributed to piranhas. Various stories exist of piranhas, particularly red-bellied piranhas, that can skeletonize a human body or cattle in seconds, and many pop cultural depictions of piranha tend to portray them with similar traits.
All piranhas have a single row of sharp teeth in both jaws that are tightly packed and interlocking, and are used for rapid puncture and shearing; the individual teeth are broadly triangular, pointed, and blade-like. Piranhas have one of the strongest bites found in bony fishes, and relative to body mass the black piranha (Serrasalmus rhombeus) produces one of the most forceful bites measured in vertebrates—this extremely powerful and dangerous bite is generated by large jaw muscles that are attached closely to the tip of the jaw, favoring force production over bite speed; these strong jaws combined with finely serrated teeth make them adept at tearing flesh.
Piranhas vary extensively in ecology and behavior depending on exact species—despite their reputation as ferocious predators that hunt their prey in schools, recent research suggests that they are timid fish that school for protection from their own predators, such as cormorants, caimans and dolphins. Piranhas lay their eggs in pits dug during the breeding season, and swim around to protect them; newly hatched young feed on zooplankton, and eventually move on to small fish once large enough. Piranha can be bought as pets in some areas, but are illegal in many parts of the United States and in the Philippines; they are also popular as food, being both eaten as a subsistence catch by fishers and sold at market, but are more often considered a nuisance by fishers because they steal bait, eat catches, damage fishing gear, and may bite when accidentally caught.
Variants
Some variants of NetHack may buff the piranha and make them more common.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, piranha and other sea monsters can be randomly generated if a level has water and a water square is selected as a spot for random monster generation, and will be generated on such floors at level creation. Piranha use the same stats as they do in NetHack 3.4.3.
Piranha make up 1⁄6 of randomly generated monsters in Elshava within the Mithardir variant of the Chaos Quest.
xNetHack
In xNetHack, piranha are given a second bite attack with the same dice and the ability to move between iron bars, and their speed is raised to 18. They can also devour corpses, similar to ghouls and purple worms.
Some piranha can be generated in the waters of the Gnomish Sewer map of Mines' End at level creation.
Several piranha are generated on each of the upper filler levels for the revamped Archeologist quest at level creation.
Some moat-filled filler levels in Gehennom may generate piranha in the waters at level creation. A few piranha are generated in the Stygian Marsh levels of Gehennom at level creation.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, piranha are given a second bite attack with the same dice and the ability to move between iron bars as in xNetHack, and their speed is similarly raised to 18. Piranha can also be generated in more areas:
- Two live piranhas and some piranha corpses are generated within Gollum's Cave in Goblin Town at level creation. Gollum himself will also grudge piranhas and other monsters in an attempt to kill them and eat their corpses.
- Piranha can generate in the watery areas within the Gnomish Mines at level creation.
- Three piranha are generated within the lake on the locate level of the Infidel quest at level creation.
SlashTHEM
In SlashTHEM, up to five piranha can be generated in the river of the Creek Town map for Minetown at level creation.
Encyclopedia entry
They live in "schools." Many times they will wait for prey to come to the shallow water of the river. Then the large group of piranhas will attack. These large groups are able to kill large animals ... Their lower teeth fit perfectly into the spaces of their upper teeth, creating a tremendous vice-like bite ... Piranhas are attracted to any disturbance in the water.
