# Purple worm

w baby purple worm 

Difficulty

9

Attacks

Bite 1d6

w baby purple worm 

Difficulty

9

Attacks

Bite 1d6

Base level

8

Base experience

113

Speed

3

Base AC

5

Base MR

0

Alignment

0 (neutral)

Frequency (by normal means)

0 (Not randomly generated)

Genocidable

Yes

Weight

600

Nutritional value

250

Size

Large

Resistances

None

Resistances conveyed

None

A baby purple worm:

 has no limbs.

 is an animal.
 has a serpent body.

 is carnivorous.

 is normally generated hostile.

Reference

monst.c#line915

w purple worm 

Difficulty

17

Attacks

Bite 2d8, Engulf 1d10 digest

w purple worm 

Difficulty

17

Attacks

Bite 2d8, Engulf 1d10 digest

Base level

15

Base experience

474

Speed

9

Base AC

6

Base MR

20

Alignment

0 (neutral)

Frequency (by normal means)

2 (Quite rare)

Genocidable

Yes

Weight

2700

Nutritional value

700

Size

Gigantic

Resistances

None

Resistances conveyed

None

A purple worm:

 has no limbs.

 is an animal.
 has a serpent body.

 can lay eggs.

 is carnivorous.

 is normally generated hostile.

 is nasty.
 is strong.

Reference

monst.c#line928

The purple worm is a monster in NetHack.  It is a popular pet due to its engulfing attack, which can kill any monster that is large or smaller in one hit ("Burrrrp!").
Purple worms will eat shriekers on sight; the reason given for this is that purple worms enjoy eating shriekers. [1]
When polymorphed into a purple worm, you sense shriekers on the level.

Contents

1 Generation
2 Strategy

2.1 Combat
2.2 Leaving pets near purple worms
2.3 As pets
2.4 Polymorph

3 Encyclopedia entry
4 References

Generation
1/13 of the monsters a shrieker summons with its shriek are purple worms; this can rarely cause a purple worm to appear very early in the dungeon.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

Baby purple worms now appear in place of adult purple worms when the latter would be out of depth. Baby purple worms also sense shriekers.
Strategy
Combat
Purple worms tend to be dangerous if you are unprepared. This is because the purple worm can engulf you, and as soon that happens it will start to digest you ("The purple worm digests you!"). If you are not able to kill the purple worm fast, it will kill you. To ensure survival after being engulfed, immediately zap a wand of digging. The purple worm will have its health points dropped to 1, so one hit will get rid of it. See also engulfing. If you are wielding a cockatrice or chickatrice corpse, stoning the purple worm while inside will give the message: "You jump through an opening in the new statue of a purple worm."
Wearing a ring of slow digestion will prevent a purple worm from killing you via engulfing, causing it to spit you out near-immediately.
Ranged attacks are of course also an option.

Leaving pets near purple worms
Be careful when leaving pets around purple worms, as they will run up to the worm and promptly be engulfed. Pets that are engulfed die instantly. This is a good way to lose a very powerful pet. This does not apply to pets that are being ridden. However, if a purple worm engulfs you while you are riding, it will force you to dismount and your pet will be vulnerable.

As pets
Purple worms make powerful pets, as they can instantly kill things by engulfing them. Unfortunately, they are extremely vulnerable to shapeshifters because engulfing them alive or eating their corpse will polymorph the worm.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

Pets will no longer eat shapeshifter corpses unless they are starving or on the verge of untaming.
Pet worms can level quickly and reach levels beyond their normal maximum by engulfing wraiths.
In addition, some players reverse-genocide purple worms when they get to the Astral Plane, tame them, and send them out (usually with a wand of teleportation) to thin the hordes.

Polymorph
Polymorphing yourself into a purple worm allows you to dispatch even elusive and powerful enemies, such as the dreaded arch-lich, in a single turn by engulfing and digesting them -- so long as you are not wearing a ring of slow digestion. The lack of limbs, however, impedes prolonged progress in this state, and you must take special care not to swallow deadly prey such as a cockatrice.  Note that when you engulf a wraith, you only get the normal XP for the kill, and do not gain a level like a pet does.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

The hero may get the normal secondary effects from eating a corpse, including intrinsics and/or level gain from wraith corpses, from swallowing a foe in a purple worm polyform.
Encyclopedia entry

A gargantuan version of the harmless rain-worm, the purple worm poses a huge threat to the ordinary adventurer.  It is known to swallow whole and digest its victims within only a few minutes.  These worms are always on guard, sensitive to the most minute vibrations in the earth, but may also be awakened by a remote shriek.

 

References

↑ src/mon.c in NetHack 3.6.0, line 1391

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