Draft:Unicorn

Omega 0.90.4

U Unicorn
Form	Ordinary creature
Attacks	2 center attacks: 0–49 physical each before absorption; 7 defensive actions
Special abilities	Extra retreat step while nearby
Base level	7
HP	100
Hit	100
Defense	30
Action interval	2 ticks; lower is faster
Kill experience	400, when death is in sight
Generation	Random pools and encounter details
Carried items	None at ordinary generation
Immunities	Poison, fear
Remains	Unicorn's horn; 50% on normal death
Remains use	Poison immunity when eaten; ring via alchemy
Traits Normally peaceful Can swim; extra retreat can occur while peaceful
Reference	minit.h in Omega 0.90.4, line 221

A unicorn is a normally peaceful creature, displayed as a black U on white. It is difficult to engage because of its speed, extra retreat movement and many defensive actions. Its horn can either grant poison immunity when eaten or be transformed into a protective ring.

Generation

Unicorns belong to ordinary random-monster pools, with no ordinary starting possessions. They are not individually favored by a named countryside terrain table, but may appear through random slots. They are not unique creatures despite their distinctive name and useful horns.

Behavior

A unicorn starts peaceful and can swim. If hostile and adjacent, it attempts two center attacks with raw physical rolls of 0–49 and has seven defensive actions. It acts at a base interval of two ticks and is immune to poison and fear, but not sleep.

When awake and within six squares, it normally has a 50% special-action check to take an additional retreating step. This also works while peaceful; sanctuary suppresses the special action. The movement is not teleportation and must pass normal terrain checks. A unicorn is not initially hungry and does not accept food through the ordinary pacification response.

Unicorn's horn

A horn appears on 50% of normal deaths. It has two different uses:

Use	Result	Cost or limitation
Eat the horn	Grants poison immunity without an ordinary countdown	Consumes the horn; adds no food and does not clear existing poison
Transform at Ambrosias	Blessed +7 ring of poison resistance	1,000 Au; replaces the selected horn with one ring
Sell to Ambrosias	166 Au	Consumes one horn

Eating sets poison immunity to a large reserve of 1,000. This protection has no regular independent countdown, but other effects can still change or remove it; invulnerability's countdown also decrements other immunity reserves. Existing poisoning continues to count down, while poison immunity prevents its damage. The horn is not a meal or a direct poison-clearing effect.

Wearing the non-cursed ring adds poison immunity and clears an existing poison counter. This clearing effect belongs to the ring's equipment action, not to eating the horn.

Strategy

Leaving a peaceful unicorn alone avoids two accurate attacks and a lengthy contest against seven defensive actions. Poison and fear are poor offensive choices; food cannot buy peace if you provoke it. Its extra retreat step also makes an uncomplicated pursuit less likely than its base speed alone suggests.

If you obtain a horn, decide on its use before consuming it. Eating supplies protection immediately without paying the alchemist, while transformation preserves the protection in an equipment item. Do not eat it merely to satisfy hunger or assume it clears an existing poison counter. Ordinary horns remain separate inventory objects rather than merging into a stack; select the individual horn to convert.