Quasit

i quasit
Difficulty	7
Attacks	Claw 1d2 poison (dexterity), claw 1d2 poison (dexterity), bite 1d4 physical

i quasit
Difficulty	7
Attacks	Claw 1d2 poison (dexterity), claw 1d2 poison (dexterity), bite 1d4 physical
Base level	3
Base experience	36
Speed	15
Base AC	2
Base MR	20
Alignment	−7 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means)	2 (Quite rare)
Genocidable	Yes
Weight	200
Nutritional value	200
Size	Small
Resistances	poison resistance
Resistances conveyed	poison resistance (20%)
A quasit: regenerates HP quickly. does not eat. (*) can follow you to other levels. has infravision. can be seen through infravision.
Reference	NetHack 5.0.0 - include/monsters.h, line 574

A quasit, i, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. The quasit is a small minor demon that has infravision, can be seen via infravision, possesses enhanced regeneration, and can follow a hero to other levels if they are adjacent.

Quasits have two claw attacks that can inflict dexterity-draining poison, as well as a bite attack that deals physical damage, and they possess poison resistance and a vulnerability to silver.

Eating a quasit corpse or tin has a ¹⁄₅ chance of granting poison resistance.

Generation

Randomly-generated quasits may be created as peaceful for chaotic heroes that do not have the Amulet of Yendor.

The quasit is the first quest monster for Knights, and makes up ⁹⁶⁄₁₇₅ of the monsters generated on the Knight quest. Several quasits are also generated on each floor of the quest branch during level creation: twelve are generated on the home level, five are generated on the upper filler level, seventeen are generated on the locate level, four are generated on the lower filler level(s), and sixteen are generated on the goal level. Quasits also appear among the random i that are part of the first quest monster class for the Knight quest and make up ²⁴⁄₁₇₅ of the monsters randomly generated there.

Quasits additionally appear among the random i that are generated on each floor of the Wizard quest during level creation.

Strategy

With their movement speed of 15 and two poisoned claw attacks, quasits can be fairly dangerous to characters that have not yet obtained poison resistance. Fortunately, they tend to have low HP, and their 2 AC should be easier for many characters to deal with at that point in the game—their MR score of 20 may prove a bit inconvenient for strategies involving magical items or spells, while their weakness to silver can make weapon-based combat against them slightly more favorable.

Quasit corpses and tins are a source of poison resistance for the hero and any of their meat-eating pets: they are not poisonous unlike the corpses of many other monsters with poisoned attacks, making them completely safe in both instances.

History

The quasit first appears in Hack for PDP-11, which is based on Jay Fenlason's Hack, and is included in the initial bestiary for Hack 1.0.

From Hack 1.0 to NetHack 2.3e, the quasit uses the Q glyph—in NetHack 2.3e, it only appears if the KAA compile-time option is not defined, and is otherwise replaced by the quantum mechanic (which is new to that version). NetHack 3.0.0 adds both monsters to the default bestiary, and the imp or minor demon monster class is established: the quasit is moved to this monster class and given its current glyph.

In versions up to NetHack 3.6.7, including some variants based on those versions, the quasit's poisoned claw attacks can cause instant death for the hero as well as attribute drain: applying a unicorn horn can cure strength drain from the quasit's claws. NetHack 5.0.0 removes the ability of poison attacks against the hero to cause instant death via commit d0b11fd2 while replacing them with severe poison effects, and also removes the unicorn horn's ability to restore attributes via commit 43d331c4.

Origin

The quasit is a creature that originates from Dungeons & Dragons, where they make their debut in the 1st Edition Monster Manual. Quasits are minor demons that stand somewhere between 1 and 2 feet tall, and appear as tiny humanoids with warty green skin, spiky horns, barbed tails, and clawed hands and feet; some quasits also have bat-like wings similar to imps. Quasits are considered the chaotic counterparts of the lawful evil imps, and inhabit most of the non-lawful Lower Planes, where they act as servants to other demons. In the mortal realms, they tempt those that summon them to acts of evil by gradually pushing them towards depravity and self-destruction. When a quasit is not doing the bidding of a greater evil, they might entertain themselves with minor acts of malicious mischief.

While they are not particularly smart, quasits are by no means small-minded: they typically possess a deep cunning and human-like brainpower, allowing them to excel at deception. Quasits crave power of their own like all demons, but are physically weak and mostly cowardly—they avoid direct confrontations where possible and have a healthy sense of self-preservation. They prefer to act alone, but make sure to keep tabs on the locations of other demons in case they are endangered. Quasits prefer ambushes to direct combat, though they can prove to be incredibly annoying: they have the imp-like powers of invisibility and the ability to turn into animals, as well as a level of durability that allows them to resist non-magic weapons, and they also have better land speed than most imps in return for not frequently being formed with wings. Rather than utilizing stingers as with many venomous animals and demons, quasits deliver toxins through their talons, which are coated in a substance that causes a burning itch.

When around a being that they deem their master, quasits prefer to manipulate them into fighting more powerful beings and doing the quasits' own bidding while acting as support through the use of stealth approaches to combat. Conversely, quasits with other demons much prefer to just let them fight without interfering. Quasits can only ascend the Abyssal hierarchy through serving their masters diligently, and a quasit that cannot stand out or even becomes responsible for an abject failure may find themselves trapped in eternal servitude, being eaten, killed for fun, or (worst of all for them) being demoted back to a mane or larva. Some quasits even flee their demonic masters at the first opportunity in the hopes of carving their own path in life.

Variants

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, quasits hit as a +1 weapon, and otherwise they behave mostly as in NetHack 3.4.3 and prior contemporary versions. The poison from their claw attacks has a chance of instantly killing a hero without poison resistance, as in those versions: strength drain from the claw attacks can be cured by applying a non-cursed unicorn horn, though unicorn horns in SLASH'EM require a higher enchantment for a better chance of curing each applicable trouble.

Quasits are among the minor demons that can be gifted as loyal and tame minions to chaotic heroes of experience level 6 or lower via sacrifice or prayer.

Quasits appear among the random i that are part of the second quest monster class for Necromancers and make up ⁶⁄₁₇₅ of the monsters randomly generated on the Necromancer quest.

UnNetHack

In UnNetHack, quasits behave as they do in vanilla NetHack, and can be generated in Sheol.

dNetHack

In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, quasits have many of the same stats as they do in vanilla NetHack, but have some notable additions and changes as well: they are tiny instead of small in physical size (with ¹⁄₁₀ the weight of quasits in NetHack), have a distinctly humanoid body shape with wings, can see via catsight as well as infravision, are gold lovers with the ability of flight and a tendency to wander while moving, and are considered full-fledged demons with drain resistance. Quasits only give 10 base nutrition when eaten or consumed, and they can be warded by a fully-reinforced Elder Elemental Eye.

Quasits may appear in the court of a throne room ruled by an orc-captain.

xNetHack

In xNetHack, quasits are buffed from NetHack: their speed raised from 15 to 18, their poisonous claw attacks deal 1d4 damage, they can generate in small groups, ¹⁄₄ of them generate as invisible, and they can see invisible. Their monster difficulty is also increased from 7 to 9.

Quasits are carnivorous, as are other minor demons that leave corpses—they also take +d6 damage from being hit with iron weapons and items.

Hack'EM

In Hack'EM, quasits are carnivores as in xNetHack, but are otherwise unchanged from vanilla NetHack.

Encyclopedia entry

Quasits are small, evil creatures, related to imps. Their
talons release a very toxic poison when used in an attack.