Gastronok
Version 0.17: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.
For a list of all gastropods, see list of gastropods.
Gastronok w 
| |
|---|---|
| HP | 99-200 |
| HD | 20 |
| XP | 1495 |
| Speed | 5 |
| AC | 3 |
| EV | 1 |
| Will | 80 |
| Attack1 | 40 (bite: plain)
|
| Resistances | rDrown |
| Vulnerabilities | None |
| Habitat | Amphibious |
| Intelligence | Human |
| Uses | Starting equipment Open doors |
| Holiness | Natural |
| Size | Giant |
| Type | elephant slug, elephant slug |
| Flags | See invisible No wand Speaks Unique Male |
| A voracious and surprisingly intelligent slug, devoted to eating everything and everyone he comes across, with a pointed hat perched rakishly atop his head. He acquired the hat the same way he acquired his intelligence and his knowledge of spells: by consuming their former owner, a powerful wizard. |
Contents
Useful Info
Gastronok the Ponderous is a unique elephant slug with access to some surprisingly dangerous spells. Although he's... sluggish, as you might expect, he can slow you down and speed himself up with surprising ease, and while spellcasters are usually weak in melee, he hits hard and has a massive HP pool. Coupled with 20 HD and 80 magic resistance, he can shrug off most debilitating effects quickly, giving you few methods for taking him out without a serious fight. On the plus side, Gastronok is almost guaranteed to leave behind an enchanted hat (possibly with the intelligence ego) or even the Hat of Pondering (10% chance).
Location
- The Dungeon:8-12 (Rare)
- The Orcish Mines:1-2 (Rare)
- The Lair:1-3
Spells
| Spell set I | ||
|---|---|---|
| Slot1 | Airstrike (2d(18-34)) | Wizard flag |
| Slot2 | Slow | Wizard flag |
| Slot3 | Sprint | Wizard flag |
| Slot4 | Summon Small Mammal | Wizard flag |
| Slot5 | Cantrip | Wizard flag |
Tips & Tricks
- Gastronok's Airstrike is unavoidable and powerful enough to mangle most lightly armoured characters, particularly if they're in the air when he casts it (+50% damage vs. levitating or flying targets). Keep yourself grounded while facing him to avoid a quick death.
- Although he ignores or shakes off most Hexes easily enough, powerful Conjurations still get the job done. Necromancers may want to hit him with Agony as well; although he may resist it a few times before it lands, it's still a huge amount of damage dealt.
- Being slowed while surrounded by summoned rats is dangerous, as Gastronok can simply pelt you with Airstrike from a distance as you claw your way out. It requires a lot of magic resistance to reliably resist his Slow, so wearing an amulet of stasis may be a good idea.
- While heavily armoured fighters or dodge-specialists can carefully face him in melee, most frail casters simply have no safe place to hide when fighting him. Remember that you can always run and face him later when you're more confident in your ability to nuke him quickly.
- Anything that lets you deal damage even when he's not in your line of sight is perfect for use in kiting Gastronok. Just be sure to have ample room to retreat to. Non-Mephitic cloud spells can be useful, although they will quickly dissipate if they are out of sight. Conjurers can repeatedly blast him with Fulminant Prism while retreating past corners. Not a caster? A blowgun, a stack of poisoned needles (or curare if you have them), and a few skill levels in Throwing will make you fast enough to shoot him and then take a step back in the time it takes him to pursue you. So long as you let him move into your line of sight and then move back out again before it can act, the slug'll never cast a spell. Just make sure to have a lot of empty floor available to retreat into, as it'll take a while for the poison to do its work.
