Wolverine (SLASH'EM)
d wolverine 
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|---|---|
| Difficulty | 11 |
| Attacks | |
| Base level | 9 |
| Base experience | 198 |
| Speed | 15 |
| Base AC | 4 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | -8 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 850 |
| Nutritional value | 350 |
| Size | Medium |
| Resistances | None |
| Resistances conveyed | None |
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A wolverine:
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| Reference | SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2 src/monst.c, line 503 |
- For the monster in EvilHack, see wolverine (EvilHack).
A wolverine, d, is a type of monster that appears in SLASH'EM, SlashTHEM and Hack'EM. The wolverine is a medium-sized and carnivorous canine animal that is chaotic in alignment rather than neutral like most canines, and can be seen via infravision. In Hack'EM, the wolverine can also go berserk if it is at 1⁄3 of its maximum HP.
A wolverine has a strong bite attack and a claw attack.
Contents
Generation
Randomly-generated wolverines are always created hostile. They are not randomly generated in Gehennom.
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, wolverines appear among the random d that are part of the first quest monster class for Samurai and make up 24⁄175 of the monsters randomly generated on the Samurai quest. They also appear among the random d that are part of the second quest monster class for Yeomen and make up 6⁄175 of the monsters randomly generated on the Yeoman quest.
SlashTHEM
In SlashTHEM, wolverines appear in the same capacity for Samurai and Yeomen as in SLASH'EM. They also appear among the random d that are part of the first quest monster class for Ninjas and make up 24⁄175 of the monsters randomly generated on the Ninja quest.
Hack'EM
In Hack'EM, wolverines appear in the same capacity for Samurai and Yeomen as in SLASH'EM. They also appear among the random d that are part of the first quest monster class for Infidels and make up 24⁄175 of the monsters randomly generated on the Infidel quest.
Strategy
Wolverines can be surprisingly damaging for the junctures they are normally encountered at, especially given their fairly fast movement speed of 15. A hero fighting one should exploit their lack of resistances or MR score, which means they can be felled by spellcasting, thrown potions such as sleeping or paralysis, offensive wands, and poisoned weapons among other options.
History
The wolverine first appears in SLASH 6, an ancestor of SLASH'EM. In this version, wolverines appear among the random d that are part of the first quest monster class for the Drow and make up 24⁄175 of the monsters randomly generated on the defunct Drow quest branch.
Origin
The wolverine, also called the "carcajou" or "quickhatch" (from East Cree kwiihkwahaacheew), is a carnivorous animal that is the largest land-dwelling member of the family Mustelidae, which includes weasels, otters and badgers. It is an elongated and low-slung animal about the size of a medium dog, with a body length ranging from 65–109 cm (26–43 in), and it has strong limbs, a broad and rounded head, small eyes, and short rounded ears. Males are often 10–15% larger than the females in linear measurements and can be 30–40% greater in weight.
The wolverine is found primarily in the remote reaches of the northern boreal forests in the Northern Hemisphere, as well as the subarctic and alpine tundras, with the greatest population numbers in Northern Canada, the U.S. state of Alaska, the mainland Nordic countries of Europe, and throughout western Russia and Siberia. Its population has steadily declined since the 19th century owing to trapping, range reduction and habitat fragmentation: wolverines have low population density and live in large territories, bringing them into conflict with human development; as of November 2023, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service have added the wolverine to the threatened list in the United States' lower 48 states.
The wolverine is a solitary animal with a reputation for ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size, with the documented ability to kill prey many times larger than itself. Though it has short legs, its large five-toed paws and posture enable it to climb up and over steep cliffs, trees and snow-covered peaks with relative ease. Wolverines are primarily scavengers, with most of their food being carrion left by wolves, especially in winter and early spring; they may find carrion themselves (e.g. by following wolf and lynx trails), feed on it after the predator has finished, or simply take it from another predator. Wolverines in "Old World" locations, such as the Scandinavian and Kola peninsulas and the mainland Finland, hunt more actively than their North American relatives—this may be because competing predator populations in Eurasia are less dense, making it more practical for a wolverine to hunt for itself than to try and snatch another animal's kill.
The wolverine has a reputation as an insatiable glutton: this is reflected in its Latin genus name Gulo ("glutton"), though this may be in part due to a false etymology resulting from its less common name in Norwegian, fjellfross ("mountain cat") possibly working its way into German as Vielfraß ("glutton", literally "devours much"). The wolverine's feeding style appears voracious, which plays a large part in its reputation and is the basis for the scientific name, but this is believed to be an adaptation to food scarcity (especially in winter). They are also known to occasionally eat plant matter.
