Unique monster

Version 0.32: This article is up to date for the latest stable release of Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.

Unique monsters are monsters that are generated at most once per game. They are usually much more powerful than normal monsters, but provide much greater experience. As such, they can be considered the "boss monsters" of Crawl (although not every unique is guaranteed to appear in every run, and by no means are you required to slay every unique you encounter).

Certain uniques have alternate versions of themselves from earlier or later in their lives. You will only ever encounter one of these alternates in a given run.

Wandering Uniques

• i Agnes the Wanderer - A zippy spriggan fighter who wields a branded lajatang.
• S Aizul the Neglectful Guardian - A disgraced guardian serpent who uses powerful poison magic and a nasty sleeping spell.
• 6 Amaemon the Diabolical Poisoner - A demonspawn poison specialist capable of intensifying the venom of his allies.
• H Arachne the Outcast - Half-spider, half-woman, Arachne and her pets will quickly ensnare and poison those who stumble across her. Only appears if the Spider's Nest isn't present.
• H Asterion the Fallen King - A bloodthirsty king who was turned into a minotaur and exiled. He now seeks to carve out a new kingdom with the aid of Makhleb.
• R Azrael the Boundless Flame - An efreet who commands a pack of fiery monsters while pelting you with high-power Fire Magic and Damnation.
• d Bai Suzhen, Madame White Snake - Late-game draconian that casts Summon Hydra. When severely injured, she becomes a storm dragon ringed by storm clouds.
• o Blorkula the orcula - An orcish vampire who casts magic in every colour of the rainbow and can split into a swarm of vampire bats instead of dying.
• L Boris, Master of Life and Death - A lich who excels at reviving himself elsewhere after you kill him.
• g Crazy Yiuf the Enlightened - An insane, cloak-wearing gnoll who defends his forest hut with a quarterstaff of chaos.
• @ Donald the Adventurer - An adventurer much like yourself, but with a propensity for both swimming and complaining. Generally comes with a kite shield of reflection.
• e e Dowan, Brother of Duvessa and Duvessa, Sister of Dowan - Twin elves who are never seen apart and who complement each other's strengths. Dowan uses magic while Duvessa prefers a blade.
• @ Edmund the Younger - Sigmund's obscure and less threatening younger brother. Generally comes with a good-quality flail.
• i The Enchantress - Queen of the spriggans, she is extremely difficult to hit and has a nasty set of hexes. She owns one of the last surviving sets of faerie dragon scales.
• x Erica the Fiery-Tempered - An octopode spellcaster who carries a flaming scimitar, but prefers to use her assortment of conjurations and hexes.
• O Erolcha the Cunning - An ogre mage who can potentially banish the unlucky to The Abyss well before they're ready for it.
• @ Eustachio the Magnificent - A mustachioed summoner who can bog his foes down in a swarm of summoned mammals and imps.
• e Fannar the Cold-Hearted - An elven Ice Mage who spawns with Ice Magic-enhancing equipment. Bring cold resistance!
• @ Frances the Duchess of Pandemonium - A powerful fighter who once bested a demon lord and thereby gained demonic powers.
• @ Frederick the Flawless - A demigod fighter-mage who packs several extremely powerful spells.
• w Gastronok the Ponderous - An unusually intelligent elephant slug who gained his magic and his hat by eating a wizard.
• 5 Grinder - A shadow imp who can easily paralyze and torture low-level adventurers to death.
• g Grum the Hunter - A gnoll armed with a polearm who leads a pack of wolves into combat. Younger version of Grunn.
• g Grunn the Punished - A damned, undead gnoll that hunts the deep parts of the dungeon with a pack of doom hounds. Older version of Grum.
• @ Harold the Weathered - A bounty hunter on the verge of retirement. He specializes in techniques that make it difficult for targets to escape.
• g Ijyb the Inquisitive - An exiled coglin who destroyed her exosuit in a catastrophic accident, she nevertheless carries a dangerous wand.
• F Jeremiah, Barachi Dreamer - A barachi who sleepwalks through the Dungeon at the behest of a dark god; their dreams manifest as a perpetual swarm of butterflies.
• @ Jessica the Apprentice Sorceress - An apprentice sorceress who uses low-level spells to attack those who disturb her.
• g Jorgrun Earthshaker - A dwarven earth elementalist fond of statuary (both creating it and blowing it up).
• V Jory the Bloodstained Count - A wealthy vampire who combines mesmerization with devastating magical power.
• @ Joseph, a Mercenary - A mercenary skilled with throwing nets, a sling, and a quarterstaff. Took his hat from Wiglaf.
• @ Josephine the Decaying Necromancer - A withered necromancer who devastates the living and supports her undead underlings by hurling ghostly fireballs. Younger version of Josephina.
• L Josephina the Ice-Lich - A necromancer who has used powerful Ice Magic to transform herself into an icy lich; she uses her undead underlings as explosive fodder. Older version of Josephine.
• M Khufu the Undying Pharaoh - A royal mummy that combines high durability, smiting, torment, and an extremely dangerous mummy and demon entourage.
• @ Kirke, Weaver of Myths - An enchantress who would like nothing more than for you to join her herd of hogs.
• O Lodul the Thunderous - An ironbound thunderhulk who has been sent outside the Vaults on a recruiting mission amongst his ogrish kin.
• @ Louise the Corrupted - A spellcaster who wears surprisingly heavy armour and is capable of banishing the unwary to the Abyss.
• R Mara, Lord of Illusions - An exceptionally powerful rakshasa, Mara's mastery of illusions allows him to bamboozle even the strongest of foes. Adventurers may find themselves battling their double.
• @ Maggie the Vainglorious - An ambitious young Fire Elementalist clad in basic dragon armour. Younger version of Margery.
• @ Margery the Dragonslayer - A seasoned Fire Elementalist with her own entourage of hell knights. Older version of Maggie.
• f Maurice the Thief - An accomplished vine stalker thief who uses invisibility to rob passersby blind.
• M Menkaure, Prince of Dust - The mummified king of a long-forgotten realm who can torment his foes.
• A Mennas, the Voice of Zin - A powerful angel whose speed and aura of silence makes escape extremely difficult. Spellcasters beware!
• X Mlioglotl, the Unformed Horror - A worshipper of Lugonu who has become little more than a thrashing mass of corruption. His very presence can warp reality.
• h Natasha, Servant of Life and Death - A wandering felid hedge wizard who has gone searching for her lost master. She has three lives.
• o Nergalle, Lorekeeper of the Fallen - An orcish historian who can summon spectral orcs from ages past to fight for her.
• c Nessos the Markscentaur - An armoured centaur who pelts their opponents with arrows of poisoned flame.
• @ Norris the Philosopher - A laid-back death cultist who brings the ocean (and some sharks) with him to spread his particular brand of peace.
• @ Nikola the Mad Inventor - A mad scientist who is an expert with fighting using electricity of all kinds.
• T Pargi the Meek - An unusually skinny troll that fled from his brethren into the upper levels of the dungeon. Younger version of Parghit.
• T Parghit the Mighty - A heavily armored troll making his way towards the Orb of Zot. His extensive battle experience has granted him truly ludicrous regenerative abilities. Older version of Pargi.
• K Pikel, Merchant of Souls - A kobold brigand who has taken up trading souls to the Hells. Carries a branded whip and travels with a band of lemures.
• p Player ghost - The restless spirit of another adventurer who perished on their quest for the Orb. Their skills in life are carried over into undeath.
• F Prince Ribbit- A cursed prince who is stuck in the form of a blink frog.
• @ Psyche the Insane Magess - A maddened mage whose dagger and spells are equally unpredictable.
• g Robin of the Strong Arm -- A helmeted hobgoblin who inspires their goblinoid minions before literally flinging them at you.
• 8 Roxanne, Geomancer Emeritus - A powerful earth mage who turned herself into a statue when a spell went horribly wrong. She can't move, but her magic is as strong as ever.
• @ Rupert the Wild - A berserker whose powerful roars can disable his foes long enough for him to rush in and crush them.
• o Saint Roka the Messiah - An orc warlord of Beogh who travels with a band of followers who believe they are the orcish messiah.
• @ Sigmund the Dreaded - The bane of low-level adventurers, Sigmund carries a couple of dangerous spells and a wicked scythe.
• T Snorg the Insatiable - An exceptionally fat troll who will go berserk at the slightest provocation.
• Q Sojobo, Queen of Tengu - Queen of the tengu, Sojobo is not only a powerful warrior but a master Air Mage.
• K Sonja the Graceful Assassin - A kobold assassin who always carries curare needles and a nastily-branded short blade.
• @ Terence the Veteran - A war veteran who has chosen to live in the Dungeon for his retirement, of all places.
• o Urug the Orcish Ballista - A one-eyed orc who carries a pack of javelins and a heavier weapon than usual.
• 9 Vv the Exile - A strange creature of living stone, risen from realms deep beneath the Dungeon. She commands both flame and frost.
• g Wiglaf the Gunnerdwarf - A dwarven cannoneer of Okawaru. Recovered his hat from Joseph, and is willing to defend it with extreme prejudice and a ludicrously oversized cannon.
• D Xtahua the Ancient - An ancient and exceptionally powerful fire dragon. They can paralyze their foes, leaving them helpless to escape the flames.
• a Zenata, Seeker of Sheza - An weaponsmith who has replaced parts of herself with metal constructs. She can animate a swarm of dancing weapons.

Snake Pit Unique

• N Vashnia the Elite Marksnaga - A naga sharpshooter who possesses far more skill with both weaponry and Translocations than her underlings.

Spider's Nest Unique

• B Xak'krixis, Royal Expeditionary Alchemist - A formicid unusually skilled in Alchemy. Attacks using poisonous magic and exceptionally effective Fulminant Prisms.

Swamp Unique

• D The Lernaean hydra - A hydra with a mind-boggling 27 heads. Those who allow it into biting range are swiftly devoured.

Shoals Uniques

• m Ilsuiw, Witch of the Tides - A skilled merfolk aquamancer who often travels with a large band of her kin.
• C Polyphemus the Watchful Shepherd - A cyclops who has somehow managed to tame a herd of death yaks and catoblepi and will happily fling them at trespassers.

Slime Pits Uniques

• J Dissolution, High Priest of Jiyva - An intelligent jelly that eats its way through rock walls in search of those who would oppose the Slime God.
• J The Royal Jelly - Jiyva's primary worshiper and guardian of the Slimy Rune of Zot, the Royal Jelly will quickly overwhelm interlopers with a torrent of jellies. Should someone manage to kill it, the Slime God will also die.

Hell Uniques

• & Geryon, Gatekeeper of Hell - Three-headed Geryon presides over the Vestibule of Hell. Those who wish to enter the Hells proper must first defeat him and his followers.
• z Murray the Demonic Talking Skull - An exceptionally durable curse skull with a nasty bite and even nastier necromantic spells.
• D Serpent of Hell - A three-headed demon dragon that changes depending on which branch of Hell you encounter it in.
• C Antaeus, Guardian of Cocytus - Guardian of the Icy Rune of Zot. Easily the beefiest enemy in the game, Antaeus eschews reliance on underlings and prefers to crush intruders himself using his massive body and powerful cold and electric magic.
• & Asmodeus, Prince of Gehenna - Guardian of the Obsidian Rune of Zot. Asmodeus and his followers will quickly incinerate any interlopers with insufficient fire resistance.
• & Dispater, Lord of the Iron City - Guardian of the Iron Rune of Zot. Dispater will crush adventurers with powerful Earth Magic and legions of powerful demons.
• & Ereshkigal, Queen of Tartarus - Guardian of the Bone Rune of Zot. Those who face her and her servants risk being drained of all life.

Pandemonium Uniques

• 1 Ignacio, Master of Excruciating Pain - A mortal who was rewarded with demonhood and became an executioner. He still carries his favorite executioner's axe.
• & Cerebov, Demon Lord of Fire and Steel - Guardian of the Fiery Rune of Zot, lord of a host of balrugs, and wielder of its signature sword, which strips fire resistance from its targets. Quite possibly the single most dangerous foe in the entire game.
• & Gloorx Vloq, Demon Lord of Darkness - Guardian of the Dark Rune of Zot and leader of a multitude of executioners. It is exceptionally fast and extremely deadly to both the living and the undead.
• & Lom Lobon, Demon Lord of Forbidden Knowledge - Guardian of the Magical Rune of Zot and head of a cabal of wizards. In addition to its followers, it has mastered extremely powerful ice and lightning magic.
• & Mnoleg, Demon Lord of Chaos - Guardian of the Glowing Rune of Zot and master of everything hideous, tentacled, and mutagenic. Mnoleg and its sevants will quickly deform even the hardiest of warriors.

Realm of Zot Unique

• d Tiamat, Avatar of the Dragonlord - An exceptionally powerful draconian whose color, breath weapon, and resistances are constantly shifting. Comes with a dragonskin cloak and a large retinue of draconian followers.

Dungeon Sprint Uniques

• C Chuck the Collector - A stone giant armed with a large rock of returning and an anachronistically awesome cap.
• Y Nellie, Star of the Show - Standard hellephants cannot compare with Nellie in terms of raw ferocity or adorableness.

Retired Uniques

• @ Michael - A human spellcaster who had a very basic spell list.
• @ Duane - A large-eared mercenary who had rather average abilities.
• @ Francis - An aged wizard who had an assortment of spells.
• @ Norbert - A human warrior who had little in the way of distinguishing characteristics.
• p Terpsichore - A phantom who would have been able to bring nearby weapons to life as her allies.
• @ Jozef - A mercenary who would poison and slow opponents before moving into melee or pelting them with sling bullets.
• c Pan- A satyr who would have disabled wandering adventurers while his band of allies picked them off from a distance.
• N Lamia- Although stunningly beautiful, this sorcerous naga queen was cannibalistic and mad.
• @ Maud the Forgotten - A warrior princess from a distant land who generally used rare weaponry.

Generation

While every game will present a fair number of them, most uniques are not guaranteed to exist in a given game. The only ones who are guaranteed are:

• The Royal Jelly
• Geryon
• The Serpent of Hell
• The four unique Hell lords: Antaeus, Asmodeus, Ereshkigal, Dispater
• The four unique Pandemonium lords: Cerebov, Gloorx Vloq, Lom Lobon, and Mnoleg

Source Code Notes

From mon-flags.h:

/// monster is a unique
M_UNIQUE = BIT(21),

History

• 0.32 added Xak'krixis, reworked Blork the orc into Blorkula the orcula, and brought back Wiglaf.
• 0.31 added Jeremiah and brought back Norris.
• 0.29 added Amaemon, Grunn, Josephina, Lodul, Vv, and Zenata.
• 0.28 added Mlioglotl.
• 0.25 added Maggie.
• Prior to 0.22, Ilsuiw was guaranteed to spawn if the Shoals were generated.
• 0.19 removed Wiglaf, Norris, and Maud, while introducing Bai Suzhen.
• 0.18 changed the Iron Giant from a sprint-exclusive unique to a regular monster.
• 0.16 added Robin.
• 0.15 gave special titles to most uniques, inspired by 4.1.
• 0.14 removed Lamia and introduced Natasha, Vashnia, and Asterion.
• 0.13 added Sojobo. Pan was introduced and removed during development.
• 0.12 added Lamia and Jorgrun.
• 0.11 removed Jozef.
• 0.8 removed Francis, Duane, and Norbert. Terpsichore was considered, but ultimately rejected during development.
• 0.7 added Grinder.
• 0.6 removed Michael and added Crazy Yiuf, Purgy, Grum, Menkaure, Pikel, Maurice, Gastronok, Kirke, Aizul, and Mara. The Lernaean hydra was also enabled.
• 0.5 added Nessos and Dissolution. The Lernaean hydra was included in the code, but not yet placed anywhere.
• 0.3 added Polyphemus.
• 0.2 added Tiamat.