Lava snake

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For a list of all snakes, see list of snakes.

lava snake SLava snake.png
HP 9-24
HD 3
XP 48
Speed 10
AC 2
EV 17
Will 12
Attack1 7 (bite: fire: 3-5)


Resistances rF+++, rDrown
Vulnerabilities Cold
Habitat Lava
Intelligence Reptile
Uses Uses nothing
Holiness Natural
Size Small
Type snake, lava snake
Flags Submerges
Warm-blooded
Silence immune
A burning red snake which dwells in pools of lava. It spits gobs of molten rock at passers-by.

“The latter lived in the country, and before his house there was an oak, in which there was a lair of snakes. His servants killed the snakes, but Melampus gathered wood and burnt the reptiles, and reared the young ones. And when the young were full grown, they stood beside him at each of his shoulders as he slept, and they purged his ears with their tongues. He started up in a great fright, but understood the voices of the birds flying overhead, and from what he learned from them he foretold to men what should come to pass.”
-Pseudo-Apollodorus , _Library and Epitome_, 1.9.11. circa 150 BC.
trans. Sir James George Frazer, 1913.

“A snake, with mottles rare,
Surveyed my chamber floor,
In feature as the worm before,
But ringed with power.”
-Emily Dickinson, “In Winter In My Room”. circa 1860.


Useful Info

Lava snakes are lava-dwelling snakes that spit fire at you if you come within their line of sight, much like a fiery equivalent to electric eels. They can be found anywhere that lava occurs, except for the early portions of the Dungeon.

Tips & Tricks

Lava snakes are only worth 48 XP and leave no corpse; you can afford to skip them over. If you have to kill them off though, be aware that they can destroy scrolls with their attacks, so drop any good ones before attempting to do so. They have high EV, so a wand of cold will often miss them. Use a wand of paralysis or polymorph instead.