Shoggoth (SLASH'EM)
P shoggoth 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 25 |
| Attacks |
Claw 4d8, Touch corrosion, Engulfing 4d8 acid, Passive corrosion |
| Base level | 18 |
| Base experience | 696 |
| Speed | 15 |
| Base AC | −5 |
| Base MR | 25 |
| Alignment | −5 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 2500 |
| Nutritional value | 500 |
| Size | Large |
| Resistances | cold, electricity, poison, acid, petrification |
| Resistances conveyed |
poison (33%), cold (33%), electricity (33%), Cures stoning |
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A shoggoth:
| |
| Reference | SLASH'EM_0.0.7E7F2/monst.c#line2988 |
- For the monster in dNetHack and notdNetHack, see Shoggoth (dNetHack).
A shoggoth, P, is a type of monster that appears in SLASH'EM, SlashTHEM and Hack'EM. A shoggoth is a strong, omnivorous ooze-like monster that can also eat metal, and possesses infravision, enhanced regeneration, and the ability to hide on the ceiling. It can also pick up and collect items, favoring magical ones, and will follow you to other levels if it is adjacent.
A shoggoth has a strong claw attack, a corrosion-inducing touch, an acidic engulfing attack, and a passive corrosive attack. Shoggoths possess cold resistance, poison resistance, shock resistance, acid resistance, and stoning resistance. A tame shoggoth may turn traitor.
A shoggoth corpse is acidic to eat, but eating a shoggoth corpse or tin has a 1⁄3 chance each of conveying cold resistance, poison resistance or shock resistance, and also cures stoning.
Generation
Randomly generated shoggoths are always hostile. A shoggoth can grow up into a giant shoggoth.
Shoggoths may appear among the random P that are generated in the lair of Demogorgon at level creation.
Strategy
The shoggoth is an unpleasant monster to encounter: It is faster than an unhasted player at 15 speed, possesses a solid -5 AC, and can deal a substantial amount of damage while degrading every iron and copper item in your inventory, including non-weapon items. Fortunately, shoggoths will usually hide when not in your range of vision and can be detected via warning or telepathy, so they can usually be avoided if necessary. Unfortunately, chameleons and doppelgangers can also turn into shoggoths or their giant variants, as can any monster that steps on a polymorph trap - this is likely to become a game-ending circumstance, even for a player that is alert and cautious.
Stronger characters that plan to engage a shoggoth should do so from a significant range to avoid their melee attacks where possible, and should have a weapon that is made of a non-corrosive material (or at least corrodeproofed). They should also have a good AC and acid resistance to block the damage from their engulfing attacks if the shoggoth manages to close in - the lab coat and yellow dragon scale mail are the most ideal sources. Shoggoths have an MR score of 25, making some spells and wands less reliably effective against it, though they are still vulnerable to sleep-inducing magic and items in particular. Since shoggoths are solid, an engulfed character can use a wand of digging or dig spell to escape the shoggoth and kill it in short order, though the shoggoth may re-engulf them before they can attack or move away. If all else fails, a wand of death may be worth using to ensure you are not overwhelmed and eaten alive.
As a pet
Shoggoths make solid pets on paper due to their strong attacks and regeneration, quick movement speed and ability to eat nearly anything - this makes feeding a non-issue and generally ensures that they will survive most fights en route to becoming a giant shoggoth. They are easier to tame with the charm monster spell or taming scrolls as well, since a character can walk to an adjacent square without revealing their presence directly (which is easily done without the warning property) and cast or read scrolls repeatedly - their 25 MR score is also much less of a barrier compared to other "super-pets".
Unfortunately, outside of the chance that a pet shoggoth may betray you they are difficult to control due to their tendency to hide, and their ability to eat nearly anything means they will often stop to try and eat nearly everything they come across - a magic whistle is all but necessary to keep a shoggoth pet close by and/or away from potentially valuable objects. Shoggoths are also incapable of directly damaging monsters with enchantment resistance, typically walling them against otherwise-easy kills as well as the more powerful monsters within the dungeon.
As a polyform
For any character with polymorph control and a source of polymorph, the shoggoth is one of the better available forms: in addition to -5 AC, high base speed and strong attacks, it is also immune to stoning. However, it is blind as well, though warning and telepathy can mitigate some of the worse aspects; it is also limbless and incapable of manipulating containers or performing any other actions that require hands, making it impractical for general-purpose travel. Conversely, the polyform excels in areas where you will be focusing on combat and doors and containers are typically of little concern.
Origin
The shoggoth is a creature that originates from the works of H.P. Lovecraft, where they appear as massive and occasionally intelligent amoeboid creatures made out of iridescent black slime, with multiple eyes floating on the surface. An average shoggoth measures 4.5 meters (15 feet) across while spherical, though they can become much larger.
Encyclopedia entry
"... in the place of utter blasphemy, the unholy pit where
the black realm begins and the watcher guards the gate -
I saw a shoggoth - it changed shape ..."
It was a terrible, indescribable thing vaster than any subway
train -- a shapeless congeries of protoplasmic bubbles, faintly
self-luminous, and with myriads of temporary eyes forming and
un-forming as pustules of greenish light all over the tunnel-
filling front that bore down upon us, crushing the frantic
penguins and slithering over the glistening floor that it and
its kind had swept so evilly free of all litter. Still came
that eldritch, mocking cry -- "Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!" and at
last we remembered that the demoniac Shoggoths - given life,
thought, and plastic organ patterns solely by the Old Ones ...
