0004240: Catoblepae and Petrifying Clouds Implemented

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Category

Severity

Reproducibility

Date Submitted

Last Update

0004240

[DCSS] Patches

feature

N/A

2011-07-09 08:37

2011-07-09 16:05

Reporter

Wensleydale

View Status

public

Assigned To

KiloByte

Priority

normal

Resolution

done

Status

resolved

Product Branch

0.9 ancient branch

Summary

0004240: Catoblepae and Petrifying Clouds Implemented

Description

Branch found here, as per Kilobyte's request: https://github.com/Wensleydale/DCSS-branches/ [^]

The catoblepas is a lair-dwelling yak-genus monster that breathes choking clouds of calcifying dust to petrify unwary adventurers. A quick rundown of its attributes:

1) Less EV than a death yak, but slightly more AC and attack power (unlike death yaks, the catoblepas is a solitary creature and does not spawn in herds).
2) A somewhat sluggish creature, the catoblepas is speed 8. Running away is not difficult if you choose to disengage early, but if you allow yourself to become petrified the beast will quickly close the gap. Because of its breath, kiting is not an issue, and the player must step carefully around the streams of petrifying clouds if they wish to engage in melee. This is designed to be an interesting slow creature and could possibly replace one of the boring slow monsters in lair, such as giant slugs.
3) Clouds petrify using the same formula that swamp drake breath uses to determine if the player is confused, which is a check based on XL. This is actually surprisingly forgiving in practice, meaning that coming across a catoblepas around a blind corner is not a death sentence (and in any case, there are some other clever ways of escaping).
4) This creature hits somewhat hard, both to compensate for its slow speed and to remain a threat despite the damage reduction that petrification confers. I have tested it and feel that it is balanced, if somewhat unforgiving of recklessness (which I feel is a good thing). In any case, why bother implementing a monster if it's not going to be dangerous? >:)
5) This creature is somewhat rare, currently found in lair at the same depth as hydras. It is more rare than fire drakes, but less rare than griffons. It is also found in the dungeon, at the same depth and rarity as basilisks.
6) Its color is magenta, matching basilisks, in order to better associate these two monsters in the minds of players (guessing people are way more familiar with basilisks than catoblepae). Its breath is white, in contrast to the lightgrey color of steam. A tile for its breath does not yet exist, but Denzi has already made an excellent catoblepas tile (use the more purplish tile in the most recent file: https://crawl.develz.org/mantis/view.php?id=4147). [^]

In summary, the catoblepas is designed to be a slow lair monster that presents a unique and interesting challenge for players, and I hope you will find it satisfactory. :)

Additional Information

Notes
(0013729) KiloByte (manager) 2011-07-09 16:05	In trunk! I'd say it's way too frequent, but let's keep this for now for testing.

Issue History
Date Modified	Username	Field	Change
2011-07-09 08:37	Wensleydale	New Issue
2011-07-09 16:05	KiloByte	Note Added: 0013729
2011-07-09 16:05	KiloByte	Status	new => resolved
2011-07-09 16:05	KiloByte	Fixed in Branch	=> 0.9 development branch
2011-07-09 16:05	KiloByte	Resolution	open => done
2011-07-09 16:05	KiloByte	Assigned To	=> KiloByte

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