Draft:Unicorn
| 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
| |
| Reference | minit.h in Omega 0.90.4, line 221[1] |
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.[2]
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.[3]
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.[4]
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.[5]
Unicorn's horn
A horn appears on 50% of normal deaths. It has two different uses:[6]
| 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 stack 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.[7]
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.[8]
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. Split duplicate horns before transformation if you want to keep them, since the service replaces the selected stack.[9]
References
- ↑ lev.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 373–394; mon.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 134–203; mmelee.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 8–145; mmelee.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 227–311; time.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 47–74; item.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 63–139. Ordinary construction, combat, timing and remains.
- ↑ minit.h in Omega 0.90.4, line 221; itemf1.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 714–717.
- ↑ lev.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 11–70; lev.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 280–395; minit.h in Omega 0.90.4, line 221.
- ↑ minit.h in Omega 0.90.4, line 221; mon.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 12–76; mmelee.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 227–311; util.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 93–151.
- ↑ mon.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 12–76; mon.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 402–444; mmove.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 91–121; inv.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 430–467.
- ↑ mon.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 134–203; minit.h in Omega 0.90.4, line 221.
- ↑ itemf1.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 714–717; aux2.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 172–215; site1.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 819–876; iinit.h in Omega 0.90.4, line 346.
- ↑ itemf2.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 80–98.
- ↑ itemf1.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 714–717; site1.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 845–869.