White dragon
D white dragon 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 20 |
| Attacks |
Breath 4d6 cold, bite 3d8, claw 1d4, claw 1d4 |
| Base level | 15 |
| Base experience | 460 |
| Speed | 9 |
| Base AC | -1 |
| Base MR | 20 |
| Alignment | -5 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 4500 |
| Nutritional value | 1500 |
| Size | Gigantic |
| Resistances | Cold |
| Resistances conveyed | Cold resistance (100%) |
|
A white dragon:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line1161 |
A white dragon, D, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. It is an adult dragon associated with the element of cold. Like all dragons, white dragons are strong, carnivorous, oviparous, thick-skinned, can see invisible, and are capable of flight - they will also seek out gold, gems and magical items to pick up.
White dragons have a cold breath weapon, a strong bite attack, and two claw attacks, and possess cold resistance.
Eating a white dragon corpse or tin always grants cold resistance.
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.
White dragons and other dragons gain the additional extrinsic effects conferred by their scales.Contents
Generation
Randomly generated white dragons are always created hostile. A baby white dragon can grow up into a white dragon.
Characters and monsters that polymorph while wearing white dragon scales or white dragon scale mail will turn into white dragons.
White dragons may appear among the hostile D generated in throne rooms at dungeon levels 15 and below, and can also appear among the monsters randomly generated by looting a throne while confused and carrying gold (provided there is no chest on the level).[1]
White dragons have a 1⁄3 chance of dropping a set of uncursed +0 white dragon scales upon death unless disintegrated, and the chance is reduced to 1⁄20 if the dragon was revived.
Strategy
The cold breath of white dragons can destroy potions in a target's open inventory, but poses relatively less threat to a hero than some other breath weapon types. A character is also likely to have either cold resistance or reflection by the time they encounter a white dragon normally - in the former case, corpses from monsters such as winter wolves and blue jellies are fairly likely to grant the property. As is standard with most dragons, using superior speed to remain out of a white dragon's line of fire can turn the fight in a character's favor, and sources of fire damage can bring down a white dragon more quickly.
White dragon breath (as well as silver dragon breath) can freeze moats and pools, allowing a crafty character to draw its attention and create makeshift bridges to cross. This can also be done with a pet white dragon since it can target monsters across water, though pet silver dragons are preferable since they possess the same intrinsics and abilities along with reflection.
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.
White dragons and other large enough monsters can inflict knockback with their melee attacks, making them exceedingly dangerous to fight near pools or lava and capable of forcing characters back into breath weapon range.
Extrinsic cold resistance will protect inventory from cold damage 99⁄100 of the time, and white dragon scale mail provides both this property and slow digestion, making it much more desirable to seek out white dragons for their scales.History
The white dragon first appears in NetHack 2.3e.
From NetHack 3.0.0 to NetHack 3.0.10, including variants based on those versions, polymorphing a white dragon corpse produces regular dragon scale mail. NetHack 3.1.0 introduces the current method of obtaining white dragon scale mail.
Variants
Many variants alter the white dragon and other dragons to make them more varied and/or threatening.
SLASH'EM
As with most other dragons in SLASH'EM, the white dragon's stats are improved: their base level is raised to 18, their difficulty is raised to 25, their AC is boosted to -4, their bite and claw attacks are stronger, and they hit as a +3 weapon. Tame white dragons also have a chance of turning traitor.
Ice Mages that are at experience levels 14 or higher can polymorph into a white dragon via the #youpoly extended command.
White dragons can appear in dragon lairs and the Wyrm Caves.
NetHack brass
In NetHack brass, the white dragon's speed is raised to 12, and its breath weapon deals 12d12 damage.
GruntHack
In GruntHack, the white dragon's difficulty is slightly lowered to 19, their bite and claw attacks are stronger, and they are given an additional 2d10 engulfing attack that can digest targets.
UnNetHack
In UnNetHack and DynaHack, all dragons have their breath weapons, resistances, and names randomized each game, allowing any non-chromatic dragon to appear as white - the default ice dragon is the lindworm.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, notdNetHack, and notnotdNetHack, white dragons have their effective AC boosted to -4. The white dragon's attacks are made slightly stronger, with an additional 2d8 tailslap attack that they will use once every global turn, and their breath attacks use the same damage dice also ignore reflection, unless the source is from dragon armor or an artifact that grants dragonbreath reflection.
White dragons may appear among the court of a throne room ruled by an orc of the ages of stars.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, white dragons are buffed similarly to GruntHack: their attacks are made stronger as in GruntHack and reordered, including the addition of the digestion attack; they are also given a passive cold attack similar to the one granted from white dragon-scaled armor.
Encyclopedia entry
In the West the dragon was the natural enemy of man. Although preferring to live in bleak and desolate regions, whenever it was seen among men it left in its wake a trail of destruction and disease. Yet any attempt to slay this beast was a perilous undertaking. For the dragon's assailant had to contend not only with clouds of sulphurous fumes pouring from its fire breathing nostrils, but also with the thrashings of its tail, the most deadly part of its serpent-like body.
"One whom the dragons will speak with," he said, "that is a dragonlord, or at least that is the center of the matter. It's not a trick of mastering the dragons, as most people think. Dragons have no masters. The question is always the same, with a dragon: will he talk to you or will he eat you? If you can count upon his doing the former, and not doing the latter, why then you're a dragonlord."
