Snark (SporkHack)
| J snark (No tile) | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 14 |
| Attacks |
bite 2d6 physical, bite 2d6 physical |
| Base level | 12 |
| Base experience | ? |
| Speed | 18 |
| Base AC | 0 |
| Base MR | 30 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 2 (Quite rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 400 |
| Nutritional value | 200 |
| Size | large |
| Resistances | disintegration resistance |
| Resistances conveyed | disintegration resistance (+5%) |
|
A snark:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line359 |
- For the monster in EvilHack and Hack'EM, see Snark (EvilHack).
A snark, J, is a type of monster that appears in SporkHack and SlashTHEM. The snark is a type of jabberwock that shares most of its traits with the namesake monster of its class, though it does not collect items, cannot be used as a steed for riding, and will try to avoid the hero where possible when moving. Additionally, if a snark ends up adjacent to the hero, it may very rarely reveal itself to be a boojum.
Snarks have two bite attacks, and possess disintegration resistance.
Eating a snark corpse or tin grants 1⁄20 (+5%) additional disintegration resistance in SporkHack, and has a 4⁄5 chance of granting disintegration resistance in SlashTHEM.
Generation
Randomly generated snarks are always created hostile. They are not a valid target for polymorph.
Origin
The snark is a fictional animal species created by Lewis Carroll, with the name "snark" being a portmanteau of "snake" and "shark". It is the titular creature of Carroll's nonsense poem, The Hunting of the Snark. According to Carroll himself, the initial inspiration to write the poem was what would be used as its final line: "For the snark was a boojum, you see."
Over the years Carroll was asked repeatedly to explain the snark's appearance, and in all cases his answer was that he did not know and could not explain—he is also cited as stating that his descriptions of the snark and other creatures within the poem were "unimaginable" and intended to remain so. Even so, later commentators have offered many analyses of the work as a whole: one notable criticism suggests that it may be a product of Carroll's grief at the loss of his favourite uncle, Skeffington Lutwidge.
The domain of the snark is described as an island very distant from England and filled with chasms and crags, and is home to other creatures such as the jubjub and bandersnatch. The snark is a peculiar creature that cannot be captured in a commonplace way: the most common method is to seek it with thimbles, care, forks, and hope; one may also "threaten its life with a railway share" or "charm it with smiles and soap". Above all, courage is required during a snark hunt. The poem also describes several varieties of snark—some have feathers and bite, while others whiskers and scratch. There are "five unmistakable marks" that identify a snark:
- The flavour, which is "meager and hollow, but crisp" (apparently like a coat too tight in the waist);
- the snark's tendency to sleep late into the day, waking near five in the afternoon
- the snark's dislike of jokes, especially puns
- the snark's enjoyment of bathing-machines, to the point it carries one with it wherever it goes; and
- its ambitious personality.
The boojum is a particular variety of snark that causes one of the other characters at the end of the poem (the baker) to "softly and suddenly vanish away, and never be met with again".
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