# Edderkop

h edderkop 

Difficulty

17

Attacks

Touch 4d8 black web shadow, Arrow 1d1 black web shadow, Passive 1d4 poison (strength)

h edderkop 

Difficulty

17

Attacks

Touch 4d8 black web shadow, Arrow 1d1 black web shadow, Passive 1d4 poison (strength)

Base level

11

Base experience

353

Speed

13

Base AC

0

Base MR

0

Alignment

11 (lawful)

Frequency (by normal means)

1 (Very rare)

Genocidable

Yes

Weight

1450

Nutritional value

400

Size

medium

Resistances

poison, petrification

Resistances conveyed

poison

An edderkop:

 has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso.

 can see invisible creatures.

 is poisonous to eat.
 is carnivorous.

 is normally generated hostile.

 is nasty.

 has infravision.

 appears only in Gehennom.

 normally appears in small groups.

 may turn against you when tame.
 cannot be tamed.

Edderkops are a deceptively dangerous humanoid that can be encountered in dNetHack.  Their shadow-based attacks ignore most forms of AC, meaning that they hit often and for high damage each time.  Their ranged attack is also more dangerous than that of other monsters, as the shadow bolts appear in your square and therefore will never be blocked by another monster that happens to be in the edderkop's line of fire.  Additionally, the shadow bolts leave behind a web trap in your square, potentially leaving you trapped.  As they are capable of firing a bolt every turn, they will cheerfully sit back out of your reach and blast you to death with shadow bolts.
Edderkops, as the servants of the Black Web Entity, will fight with any drow they encounter.  Edderkops tend to be able to defeat drow in these conflicts.
Edderkops are not related to Keystone Kops, which do not appear in dNetHack. The name is derived from the archaic English word attercop, meaning spider.

Strategy
Use powerful ranged attacks. It is best to kill edderkops from a distance, as their high damage melee attack is not mitigated by negative AC.
Wield Sting. Sting can be used to cut the webbing left by the shadow bolts, restoring your freedom of movement.
Read a scroll of earth. In a pinch, this scroll can be used to break line-of-sight from an Edderkop stun-locking you with shadow bolts.