Green slime
P green slime 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 8 |
| Attacks | |
| Base level | 6 |
| Base experience | 164 |
| Speed | 6 |
| Base AC | 6 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 400 |
| Nutritional value | 150 |
| Size | Large |
| Resistances | cold, electricity, poison, acid, petrification |
| Resistances conveyed | None |
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A green slime:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line1847 |
A green slime, P, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. The green slime is an omnivorous pudding-like creature.
A green slime has a single touch attack that causes sliming, which gradually turns the victim into a mindless green slime: this is a delayed instadeath for the hero, and ends the game in nine turns if the transformation is not stopped; monsters that are not fiery and are affected by the touch attack are instantly transformed into green slimes. The green slime also has a sliming passive attack that will not trigger, since the code in uhitm.c only has a case for handling the sliming touch attack when used against another monster[1]—the attack still contributes to the experience points earned for killing a green slime.[2]
Green slimes are acidic and poisonous to eat, and eating a glob of green slime cures stoning and causes sliming. Digesting a green slime causes sliming that will transform a hero in 4 turns and immediately transforms monsters.
Contents
Generation
Green slimes are only randomly generated in Gehennom, and normally-generated green slimes are always created hostile.
Hostile green slimes can be generated by the summon nasties monster spell.
A green slime can leave behind a glob of its body upon death.
Strategy
To the uninitiated, the green slime seems innocuous on its own, and fighting back against green slimes is not difficult: they possess quite low speed, unimpressive AC and no MR score, and move at half the speed of an average hero. However, their touch attack is still extremely dangerous even for more seasoned players—the sliming it causes leaves you with nine turns to cure it (or four if you digested a live slime) before you are fully turned into a mindless green slime. As such, avoid remaining within melee range of the monster if at all possible—many types of ranged attack can dispatch them effectively, and green slimes respect Elbereth, though this has no effect in Gehennom (where they are normally encountered). An amulet of unchanging can both block sliming from the touch attack or the eaten glob and abort any current sliming, and cancellation will completely nullify the sliming touch attack.
A hero that is pinned close to one, e.g. as part of a group of summoned nasties, or else has no way to avoid melee, should have a source of fire or other applicable cure ready to go immediately if they are slimed: successfully casting cure sickness will cure sliming, and a spare wand of fire can be just as effective at curing sliming as it is at dispatching slimes; and prayer is sufficient if all else fails, though this will not work in Gehennom. High magic cancellation will significantly reduce the chance of sliming, although it obviously cannot be relied upon by itself. Heroes in the form of a mind flayer or master mind flayer should take special care to avoid melee (particularly for some speed ascensions), since their tentacle attacks have the same effect as eating the slime's glob directly unless they have a source of unchanging. To avoid being left helpless while near a green slime, other monsters with immobilizing abilities should also be treated with the utmost caution.
Green slimes are a tempting choice of monster for single-target genocides, especially for heroes that plan on keeping pets. Of note is that monsters will pick up the leftover globs from killed slimes as a potential stoning cure, but salamanders are the only ones who will actually eat them since they are fiery.
History
The green slime first appears in SLASH 6, a variant of NetHack 3.1.3, and makes its vanilla debut in NetHack 3.3.0. From this version to NetHack 3.4.3, including some variants based on these versions, green slimes leave normal corpses, and eating a green slime corpse causes sliming and cures stoning. In NetHack 3.6.0, the corpse is replaced by the glob of green slime.
In NetHack 3.4.3 and previous versions, including some variants based on them, a hero can polymorph themselves into a green slime and use the sliming touch attack to permanently dispose of the Riders: the sliming touch attack is not considered magical, and circumvents their 100 MR score; similarly, a large group of tamed green slimes can turn the Riders into slimes as well. In either case, the resulting green slime can then be tamed. NetHack 3.6.0 makes the Riders immune to sliming.
Origin
Green slimes are one of the many monsters imported from Dungeons & Dragons, and make their debut in the 1974 1st Edition Monster Manual. Prior to the 4th edition, green slimes are typically portrayed as immobile, ooze-like plant growths found in subterranean places that slowly grow by feeding on various substances. Green slimes drop down on passersby to attach itself to living flesh, turning the victim into green slime within a short time; the slime can be removed through a few methods, with the most effective being the spell of "cure disease" (which can also kill the slime itself). Burning is also effective for removing infection and killing slimes, hence the green slime's vulnerability to fire in NetHack.
Variants
Variants based on NetHack 3.4.3 and earlier versions may retain green slime corpses, while variants based on later versions may replace them with globs. Some variants also properly implement the green slime's passive attack.
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, green slimes can leave corpses upon death, and the chance of their sliming attack succeeding is reduced to 1⁄4.
Green slime corpses can be found in fungus farms.
A tin of green slime has a 1⁄2 chance of being generated within the Chamber of Gluttony in the Lawful Quest at level creation.
GruntHack
In GruntHack, green slimes can leave corpses upon death, and their difficulty is also lowered to 7. Their passive sliming touch is made fully functional, making them very dangerous to engage in melee.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, green slimes can leave corpses upon death.
Three green slimes appear within the room in the lair of Demogorgon if his dwelling appears as the third Abyss level.
xNetHack
In xNetHack, green slimes are given a damaging engulfing attack that induces sliming, and their passive attack is enabled. Green slimes can leave behind globs upon death unless they are hit by Fire Brand or Sol Valtiva, which instantly kills them and burns them up.
Eating a glob of green slime can grant temporary acid resistance like any acidic corpse or glob, and will also induce sliming as normal.
SpliceHack
In SpliceHack, green slimes can leave globs behind upon death.
A green slime named "Glurrz, emissary of Juiblex" is generated within Baalzebub's Lair at level creation.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, green slimes can leave globs behind upon death. Green slimes have their passive attack enabled, and are given a damaging engulfing attack that induces sliming similar to xNetHack; the attack also deals more damage and causes strangulation unless the victim is breathless.
All of the above information also applies to Hack'EM.
Encyclopedia entry
- See the encyclopedia entry for amoeboid.
