Spitting attack
A spitting attack, also known simply as a spit attack, is a ranged attack type that appears in NetHack, and is primarily used by monsters. The attack type is defined by the AT_SPIT flag within monattk.h in the source code.[1]
Description
A monster that has a spitting attack, including a hero polymorphed into such a monster, performs the attack by spitting a substance towards its target in a straight line. Spitting attacks ignore magic cancellation, and monsters will not use them in melee range.
The spitting attacks present in NetHack are only used to shoot venom at targets, which comes in two forms: blinding venom that blinds the victim, but deals no damage, and acidic venom that burns the victim unless they have acid resistance.
List of monsters
The following monsters have spit attacks:
- N black naga (acidic)
- N guardian naga (blinding)
- S cobra (blinding)
- & Juiblex (acidic)
Despite the guardian naga's spit attack using the AD_DRST damage type flag, it behaves exactly the same as blinding venom.
Juiblex's covetous behavior means that the acid spitting attack is very rarely seen, since he will generally warp adjacent to the hero when he gets an opportunity to move.
History
The spitting attack type is formally defined in NetHack 3.0.0.
References
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