Phoenix

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phoenix b
HP	92-130
HD	13
XP	1279
Speed	12
AC	2
EV	10
Will	52
Attack1	19 (claw: holy)
Resistances	damnation, rPois+, rN+++, rRot, rDrown, rHoly
Vulnerabilities	Water
Habitat	Land
Intelligence	Normal
Uses	Uses nothing
Holiness	Holy
Size	Medium
Type	phoenix, phoenix
Flags	Always corpse Flying Warm-blooded

A bird of myth and legend, said to die in flames and be reborn from the ashes. “They have also another sacred bird called the phoenix which I myself have never seen, except in pictures. Indeed it is a great rarity, even in Egypt, only coming there (according to the accounts of the people of Heliopolis) once in five hundred years, when the old phoenix dies. Its size and appearance, if it is like the pictures, are as follow:- The plumage is partly red, partly golden, while the general make and size are almost exactly that of the eagle. They tell a story of what this bird does, which does not seem to me to be credible: that he comes all the way from Arabia, and brings the parent bird, all plastered over with myrrh, to the temple of the Sun, and there buries the body. In order to bring him, they say, he first forms a ball of myrrh as big as he finds that he can carry; then he hollows out the ball, and puts his parent inside, after which he covers over the opening with fresh myrrh, and the ball is then of exactly the same weight as at first; so he brings it to Egypt, plastered over as I have said, and deposits it in the temple of the Sun. Such is the story they tell of the doings of this bird.” -Herodotus, _Histories_, II, 73. ca. 440 B.C. trans. George Rawlinson, 1858.

For a list of all holy monsters, see list of holy monsters.

Useful Info

Phoenixes are holy winged creatures wreathed in flames that radiate a three-tile halo aura. Upon death, phoenixes will always leave a corpse; if left alone for too long (between X and Y turns), this corpse will self-resurrect at full health. Destroying the corpse through butchery, blood sacrifice, or Necromancy is necessary to truly kill a phoenix (in fact, you only get XP when the corpse is destroyed). Like most holy creatures, they are extremely rare, being found only in holy-themed Pandemonium and Ziggurat floors, as well as the occasional bird-themed Dungeon vault.

Tips & Tricks

• Don't kill a phoenix over deep water. Unless you are a merfolk, octopode, or grey draconian, you won't be able to reach the corpse and it will get a free resurrection.
• Worshipping a good god (Zin, the Shining One, or Elyvilon) may cause it to calm down and become neutral towards you.