Swamp fern (UnNetHack)
| F swamp fern (No tile) | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 14 |
| Attacks | |
| Base level | 12
|
| Speed | 2 |
| Base AC | 10 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 20 |
| Nutritional value | 200 |
| Size | Small |
| Resistances | None |
| Resistances conveyed | None |
|
A swamp fern:
| |
| Reference | UnNetHack commit 4b5df73 - src/monst.c, line 3878 |
A swamp fern, F, is a type of monster that appears in UnNetHack. The swamp fern is a form of fungus-like fern monster with a natural affinity to swamps and traits that are very similar to other fungi and molds, though it is stationary rather than fully sessile or fully motile.
Swamp ferns have a "gaze attack" that causes them to generate swamp fern spores with a 1⁄2 chance (50%) if they are not cancelled and the hero is within roughly 10 squares of one: these spores act as a means of reproduction for the fern and will target the hero and other monsters in the dungeon—monsters that are not other ferns, fern sprouts or Devil's Snare have a mutual grudge and will attack the spores themselves to prevent ferns from spreading, per the encyclopedia entry. Spores that explode from either their explosion attack or on-death explosion have a 1⁄3 chance of creating another fern, with a 1⁄6 chance of creating a full-grown swamp fern and otherwise creating a swamp fern sprout—their active explosion attacks also leave behind poison clouds.
Generation
Randomly generated swamp ferns are always created hostile, and will not normally appear in Gehennom or Sheol. They are not a valid polymorph form. Swamp fern sprouts can grow up into swamp ferns.
Swamp ferns can only be generated on muddy swamp by normal monster creation or the explosions of their spores.
A "fern nursery" random vault has a 1⁄2 chance of randomly placing a hostile swamp fern within the room.
Swamp special rooms have a 1⁄2 chance of generating a swamp fern at level creation.
The forest floor of the Ruins of Moria has a 1⁄4 chance of also being made into a swamp at level creation, with up to 4 swamp ferns placed randomly across the resulting muddy swamp.
Swamp ferns never leave a corpse upon death.
History
The swamp fern, its spore and its sprout first appear in version 5.1.0 via commit f487c92.
Origin
Ferns are a group of real plants with characteristic leaves. They are primitive, having neither seeds nor flowers; they reproduce with spores, hence the spore attack in the game.
Encyclopedia entry
These dreadful weeds have been driven to extinction on the
surface, yet deep within the dark and damp of the dungeon
they still flourish. When it detects the motion of nearby
creatures, the dungeon fern releases a deadly, poisonous
spore, which quickly detonates to propagate the species.
Residents of the dungeon have learned how not to disturb
the dungeon fern, and will attack its spores on sight to
keep them from overtaking their home.
More than one variety of this plant is known to exist.
