Neqoxec

Version 0.11: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

neqoxec 3
HP	21-45
HD	6
XP	183
Speed	10
AC	4
EV	12
Will	48
Attack1	15 (hit: plain)
Resistances	rPois+, rN+++, rTorm, rRot
Vulnerabilities	Holy, Holy wrath, Silver
Habitat	Land
Intelligence	Normal
Uses	Open doors
Holiness	Demonic
Size	Medium
Type	neqoxec, neqoxec
Flags	Evil Levitate Silence immune

A weirdly shaped demon, pulsing and shifting with mutagenic energies, its belly distended with the devoured brains of its victims. "If thus mutation is influenced by natural selection, it implies, that any particular mutation must advance in a direction advantageous for the respective species, and, indeed, many examples of mutation known among fossil animals are apparently due to the advantage produced by the change. I must add here, however that probably not all mutations (in a paleontological meaning), are due to natural selection, but that many do not imply an actual improvement." -_Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society_, Volume XXV, no. 150. 1896.

Useful Info

The neqoxec is a particularly dangerous tier-3 demon. Although it doesn't deal much damage, it will gladly mutate you (usually bad), drain your intelligence, or summon other demons to attack you. They are found in the Abyss and Pandemonium (particularly in Mnoleg's domain), and are often summoned by other monsters with the Summon Demon spell.

Spells

Spell set
Slot1	Polymorph Other
Slot2	none
Slot3	none
Slot4	Brain Feed
Slot5	Call Imp
Slot6	none

Tips & Tricks

An amulet of resist mutation provides protection against 90% of its mutation attempts, but that isn't perfect. It requires a clear line of fire to mutate you, so keep other monsters or summoned allies in the way to block it. Even then, their intelligence-drain attack uses smite-targeting, but that's much less dangerous. A ring of sustain abilities can help here. Fortunately, they're fragile and have few resistances. Take them out first whenever possible.