Wraithwing | |
A wraithwing taking flight |
|
Monster ID | 5 |
Layer | Monsters |
Movement | Wraithwing |
First appears | Webfoot DROD |
Is required | Yes |
Is brain visible | No |
Traverses shallow water | Yes |
- For the DROD RPG monster, see Wraithwing (RPG).
Wraithwings are a common monster in many dungeons. They are especially cowardly but possess the unique ability of flight.
Description[]
Wraithwings resemble black imps with great veiny wings. Once they flap close enough to attack, their surprisingly muscular arms and legs let them grapple prey while they chomp down on their victim's neck. Exsanguination is almost immediate thanks to their immense jaws lined with needlelike teeth.
Wraithwings are one of the few dungeon creatures that fly. Even then, they can't do it very well. They usually have to stick near the ground where air currents won't buffet them around so much. Anyone who's really studied flight can tell you that it's a wonder wraithwings can fly at all. They're heavier than most birds and lack strong wing muscles. It takes constant, steady flapping for them to stay afloat, but despite their limitations, they've carved out their own niche in the Beneath.
Up on the surface, wraithwings usually stick to the expansive lowlands that few other creatures inhabit due to the extensive flooding that happens every spring. During that part of the year, wraithwings prefer migrating into dungeons and caves where they can jump and glide across deep chasms to hunt the prey other predators can't reach.
Wraithwings are cowardly but clever. A group of wraithwings won't commit to attacking an intruder until they can surround them.
Behavior[]
Target[]
- Wraithwings target the player (if not stealthed), decoys, temporal clones, stalwarts, and soldiers.
- Wraithwings prioritize the closest target first using Manhattan distance. In the case of a tie, wraithwings prefer the target with the latest movement order.
- Decoys are always prioritized last as long as there is another target within five tiles of the wraithwing.
Movement[]
- Wraithwings can fly over pits, water, and shallow water. They do not activate pressure plates.
- In general, a group of wraithwings will attack if they can flank their target. They will converge to a region five tiles away from their target and wait for the opportune movement to strike.
- A given wraithwing calculates a distance X by taking the maximum of their horizontal or vertical distance from their target. The value of X then determines the wraithwing's next move:
- If X > 5, it will move toward the player like a roach.
- If X <= 5, it will look at all the other wraithwings in the room. First, it calculates the distances from every other wraithwing to their target and calls them Y1, Y2, Y3, and so on. Second, it calculates the distances between itself and every other wraithwing, and calls them Z1, Z2, Z3, and so on. Third, it picks the smallest value from the list of Ym and calls it Y*, and the smallest value from the list of Zn and calls it Z*. Finally, it calculates its next move:
- If abs(X - Y*) < 3 and Z* > 2, the wraithwing will move toward its target like a roach.
- Otherwise, if X = 5, the wraithwing will wait in place. If X < 5, the wraithwing will move away from its target like a roach queen.
- Intuitively, a group of wraithwings will wait to attack until they can flank their target from multiple directions. A pair of wraithwings adjacent to each other, for example, will be just as hesitant to charge as a single wraithwing, but if the pair are on opposite sides of their prey, they will approach like roaches.
- A brained wraithwing uses similar movement rules as its non-brained counterparts:
- If X > 5, it will move toward the player like a brained roach.
- If X <= 5, it will calculate its next move based on the locations of other wraithwings as normal. Then:
- If abs(X - Y*) < 3 and Z* > 2, the wraithwing will move toward its target like a brained roach.
- Otherwise, if X = 5, the wraithwing will wait in place. If X < 5, the wraithwing will move away from its target with a preference forlike a brained roach queen but without the diagonal movement toward the center of the room.
Vulnerabilities[]
- Wraithwings are vulnerable to sharp weapons, active firetraps, puffs, explosions, briar, and being eaten by adders.
- Because wraithwings can fly, they are immune to hot tiles, floor spikes, and being dropped or pushed into pits and water.