| Cat lord | |
| f | |
 | |
| Location | Either D:35 or D:36 |
|---|---|
| Monster type | Humanoid |
| Alignment | Neutral |
| Unique? | Yes |
| Sees invisible? | Yes |
| Sees in the dark? | Yes |
| Magic resistance | High |
| Picks up items? | ? |
| 1.1.1 KPL | N/A |
The cat lord — also known as the "lord of cats" or "the master cat" — is a unique NPC found roaming in either level 35 or 36 of the Caverns of Chaos (whichever one the player gets the message "This level seems removed from the rest of the world." upon entering).
The cat lord represents something that experienced players recognize as "kitty karma": if the PC has never killed any cats the cat lord will give them an artifact; but if the PC has killed any cats he will be hostile and not give his ring (although if the PC has killed exactly one cat, he may not notice the PC). It is worth noting that this effect seems to be applied only once, when the cat lord is generated — if the PC reaches the cat lord's level without killing cats, but then kills cats before talking to the cat lord, he will usually still reward the PC.
Cat respecting PCs that want to obtain his ring should be very careful not to accidentally attack him, seeing as he tends to wander around invisible; attacking him will have the catastrophic effects of a hostile cat lord and a lost artifact. Thankfully, in ADOM v. 1.2.0 the PC will be prompted before attacking non-hostile invisible monsters[1].
In battle, the cat lord tends to be a very powerful opponent. He is fast, tough, has several attacks per turn that appear to always penetrate armor, and is capable of turning invisible. Using weapons and/or ammo of humanoid slaying against him (poisoned, if possible) is certainly recommended; and magic doesn't fare too badly either. The cat lord is vulnerable to paralyzation rays (though he can sometimes shrug them off); one will render him completely helpless for several turns, allowing the PC to chip away at his health risk free... provided he panics rather than going berserk when he regains movement. Prior to version 1.2.0 using webs against him was also a very effective tactic; according to some observation, efficiency of webs was decreased in 1.2.0 (possibly according to this RFE).
As well as having high speed, the cat lord also appears to have lower movement energy cost; often allowing him to outrun monks, beastfighters and wearers of seven league boots. It is possible that this movement cost decreases the more cats the player kills. The cat lord level is a no teleport level, removing another escape option. (He does follow the PC up and down the stairs, so it may be a worthwhile strategy to lure him away from the level, so that teleporting away is a possibility in case of emergency. However, this will require the PC to tank the cat lord for at least one or two turns.)
The cat lord can be sacrificed on an altar, although his preference for diagonal movement can make this difficult. If you have a wand of door creation you can create two doors horizontally or vertically adjacent to an altar in order to force the cat lord to move over it. He will not sacrifice you, so it is safe for you to step on the altar. Alternatively, you can dig out one of the squares by the entrance of the altar room such that his diagonal movement will take him over the altar.
Special abilities
- Immune to death rays
- Often shrugs off bolts and other resistible magic
- Penetrating melee attack
- Casts Invisibility
- Diagonal movement
- Fast movement
- Can break down doors
- Unique monster abilities
- Immune to polymorphing, petrification, and djinni strangling
- Unaffected by Calm Monster
- Cannot be swapped with
Common stats
The cat lord is said to grow more powerful with every cat that the PC kills: testing seems to show an increase in the cat lord's stats similar to the effects of one level gained per cat killed, even though his actual level doesn't always seem to increase by such.
More testing is required here.
0 cats killed = DV: 60, PV: 5, Hits: 800, Attacks: 3, Damage: 12-40, Speed: 129.
1 cat killed = DV: 60, PV: 5, Hits: 820, Attacks: 3, Damage: 12-40, Speed: 129.
2 cats killed = DV: 60, PV: 5, Hits: 846, Attacks: 3, Damage: 12-40, Speed: 129.
3 cats killed = DV: 60, PV: 5, Hits: 860, Attacks: 3, Damage: 12-40, Speed: 129.
11 cats killed = DV: 60, PV: 5, Hits: 1020, Attacks: 3, Damage: 64-80, Speed: 130.
24 cats killed = DV: 60, PV: 5, Hits: 1240, Attacks: 3, Damage: 12-138?, Speed: 146.
Corpse effects
The cat lord seems to seldom leave his corpse when killed. Eating seems to always doom the PC, usually increase his/her Dexterity (possibly only up to 25), and possibly increase other attributes such as Mana or speed.
Monster memory
It is to this magnificent creature that all the cats of Ancardia pledge loyalty, and it is him who will avenge their wrongful deaths. He is tall and lean, walking upright, and covered in short, tawny fur. A set of claws emerges from one paw, and his tufted tail begins to twitch. His brilliant yellow eyes grow cold as he looks at you, perhaps looking for his subjects' blood upon your hands.