Electric eel

Version 0.17: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

electric eel S
HP	10-22
HD	3
XP	54
Speed	10
AC	1
EV	15
Will	10
Resistances	rElec+++ rDrown
Vulnerabilities	None
Habitat	Water
Intelligence	Animal
Uses	Uses nothing
Holiness	Natural
Size	Small
Type	electric eel, electric eel
Flags	Cold-blooded No gen derived

A type of fish capable of generating a powerful electric field. “The latter lived in the country, and before his house there was an oak, in which there was a lair of snakes. His servants killed the snakes, but Melampus gathered wood and burnt the reptiles, and reared the young ones. And when the young were full grown, they stood beside him at each of his shoulders as he slept, and they purged his ears with their tongues. He started up in a great fright, but understood the voices of the birds flying overhead, and from what he learned from them he foretold to men what should come to pass.” -Pseudo-Apollodorus , _Library and Epitome_, 1.9.11. circa 150 BC. trans. Sir James George Frazer, 1913. “A snake, with mottles rare, Surveyed my chamber floor, In feature as the worm before, But ringed with power.” -Emily Dickinson, “In Winter In My Room”. circa 1860.

Useful Info

An electric eel is a dangerous aquatic creature that attacks from afar using bolt of electricity. They are often encountered in the watery areas of the Dungeon and the Lair, as well as in the Swamp.

Spells

Spell set I
Slot1	Electrical Bolt (3d6)	Natural flag

Tips & Tricks

• Their electrical attacks deal significant damage and it's uncommon to have rElec that early in the game. Even worse, they often appear in pairs or small groups. Simply charging in to fight them, especially when wading through shallow water, is suicide.
• They are one of very few monsters to lack a melee attack. Unfortunately, this makes them more dangerous, as they will continue to spam their electrical attack even when you are in melee range.
• Certain wands are very effective against electric eels. A wand of disintegration will often do enough damage kill them outright, while a wand of cold will leave behind freezing vapor clouds which should finish it off. A wand of polymorph other won't kill one, but will leave you with a much more manageable opponent.
• Venomous weapons or other methods of poisoning are useful, as the eel will continue to take poison damage while submerged.
• When all else fails, just walk away. They can't leave their pools, and they give lousy experience anyway.

History

In older versions, these were called electrical eels. This was simply a misnomer, but it was not corrected until 0.6.