Item usage

Version 0.28: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

A monster's item usage property describes which types of items it can use. There are four "levels", and each next level includes all the previous ones.

• "Uses nothing" (stored in the source code as MONUSE_NOTHING) means the monster cannot use items.
• "Open doors" (MONUSE_OPEN_DOORS) means the monster can open doors, but cannot use inventory-type items.
• "Starting equipment" (MONUSE_STARTING_EQUIPMENT) means the monster is sometimes generated with items that it can use. The items a monster starts with is dependent on its type; gnolls tend to start with polearms, Sigmund always carries a magical scythe, and centaurs always have bows and may sometimes wear barding.
• "Weapons & armour" (MONUSE_WEAPONS_ARMOUR) means that not only may the monster start with items, but that it may pick up and use items on the floor, including wands. Note that monsters can pick up only items the player has not seen yet.