Out of depth

Crawl tends to create many Out of Depth (OOD) monsters, who have spawned on a higher floor then where they are "usually" spawned. The source file mon-pick-data.h defines where is a monster's base floor is, so anything above that is technically OOD. The term typically refers to monsters which are much more difficult relative to where you are in the game, such as an ogre on D:2.

Creation of Out of Depth Monsters

Like all monsters, out of depth monsters are spawned when the floor is generated.

Dealing with Out of Depth

• Check the monsters speed and range, and determine if you can just walk away. An OOD orc priest is extremely scary, with its 17 damage Smiting that reaches the entire screen. An ogre or hydra are 10 speed melee enemies, meaning you can just run away if you see them. The same applies to the 10 speed orc priest, but only if you can keep it out of sight (where monsters can't attack).
• Use your consumables! Especially if you can't escape.

History

• Prior to 0.21, monster spawning was used as a means to create out of depth monsters. If the out-of-depth timer went on too long, then it became more and more likely for these difficult monsters to spawn.