Wallaroo

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A wallaroo, z, is a type of monster that appears in SLASH'EM, SlashTHEM, SpliceHack, and Hack'EM. It is a herbivorous zouthern animal that possesses a stronger kick attack and bite attack than the wallaby.

Generation

Randomly-generated wallaroos can appear in small groups, and may be generated as peaceful towards neutral characters.

Strategy

Wallaroos can appear disturbingly early: it is not unheard of to see them as early as the Mall level, and they may become a common sight by the Oracle level. They are even faster than the dreaded soldier ant and also appear in small groups, while dealing similar amounts of damage. Thankfully, a wallaroo's defenses are poor: their AC is near-minimal, and like all zouthern animals they lack any monster magic resistance.

Ranged attacks and spells that can slow or immobilize them are most ideal, particularly in post-NetHack 3.4.3 variants such as SpliceHack and Hack'EM where the speed system increases their threat level and potential damage, especially against poorly-armored characters.

Origin

The wallaroo is a common name used for several species of moderately large macropods that are intermediate in size between the kangaroos and the wallabies. The word "wallaroo" comes from the Dharug word walaru, but is commonly mistaken as a portmanteau of the words "kangaroo" and "wallaby". Wallaroos are typically distinct species from kangaroos and wallabies with the exception of the antilopine wallaroo: large ones are commonly known as antilopine kangaroos when large, and antilopine wallabies when small).