Serpent of Hell (Tartarus): Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 07:55, 6 October 2026

Version 0.34: This article is up to date for the latest stable release of Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.

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

Serpent of Hell (Tartarus) D
HP	213-430
HD	17
XP	6689
Speed	14
AC	16
EV	12
Will	180
Attack¹	35 (bite: drain experience)
Attack²	35 (bite: drain experience)
Attack³	35 (bite: drain experience)
Attack⁴	25 (trample: trample)
Resistances	rC++ rPois+ rMiasma rN+++ rTorm
Vulnerabilities	Holy
Habitat	Land
Intelligence	Human
Uses	Uses nothing
Holiness	Demonic
Size	Giant
Type	dragon, Serpent of Hell
Flags	See invisible Flying Unique Crashes doors Tall tile Named with the Evil

Seemingly three pairs of lurid magenta eyes hanging in the darkness, the outline of a vast, sinuous dragon is just barely perceptible behind. Its malice is palpable.

Useful Info

The Serpent of Hell is a unique dragon whose elemental affinity varies based on which branch of Hell you encounter it in. When faced in Tartarus, the Serpent is capable of breathing negative energy, vile miasma, and acid at you.

Spells

Name	Damage	Range	Flags
Miasma Breath	3d13	5	Natural flag, Breath flag, Noisy flag
Summon Dragon	—	—	Magical flag, Noisy flag
Ghostly Fireball	3d21	5	Natural flag, Breath flag, Noisy flag
Poison Arrow	3d24	6	Natural flag, Breath flag, Noisy flag

Tips & Tricks

Visiting Tartarus without rN++ or better is just asking for aggravating and disabling levels of draining, and that applies while facing the Serpent of Hell. Even with a full three ranks however, the Serpent's Miasma blasts will still damage, poison, and slow you unless you are immune to poison or miasma. As this simply isn't available to most characters, try to take out this unique fast, and try not to stand around in miasma if you don't have to.
- If you happen to be carrying one, a scarf of cloud immunity will render you immune to miasma.
You'll also want rCorr here, as this version of the Serpent of Hell is one of the few sources of acid damage in the hells.

History

Prior to 0.32, this Serpent of Hell had Bolt of Draining and Corrosive Bolt.
In 0.16, it got a third breath attack in Corrosive Bolt.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{version014}}
+{{version034}}
-{{no-bot-monster
-|name=Serpent of Hell
-|glyph={{DarkGrey|D}}
-|flags={{Spellcaster flag}}<br>{{Flying flag}}<br>{{Sense invisible flag}}<br>{{Evil flag}}
-|resistances=Standard: {{Poison resistance}}, {{Rot resistance}}, {{Negative energy resistance}}, {{Torment resistance}}
-|vulnerabilities={{Holy vulnerability}}, {{Dragon slaying vulnerability}}
-|max_chunks=0
-|meat={{No corpse}}
-|xp=7390
-|holiness={{Demonic}}
-|magic_resistance=186
-|hp_range=102 - 143
-|avg_hp=119
-|armour_class=16
-|evasion=12
-|habitat=land
-|speed=14
-|size={{Huge}}
-|item_use={{Open doors}}
-|attack1=35 ({{Bite type}}: {{Plain flavour}})
-|attack2=15 ({{Claw type}}: {{Plain flavour}})
-|attack3=15 ({{Trample type}}: {{Plain flavour}})
-|attack4=
-|hit_dice=20
-|base_hp=4
-|extra_hp=4
-|fixed_hp=0
-|intelligence={{High intelligence}}
-|genus=serpent of hell
-|species=serpent of hell
-}}
 {{list of | dragons}}
-{{Flavour|A pair of lurid magenta eyes hang in the darkness before you. You can just barely trace the outline of a vast, sinuous dragon. Its malice for you is palpable.}}
+{{monster info}}
 ==Useful Info==
-The '''Serpent of Hell''' is a [[unique]] dragon whose elemental affinity varies based on which branch of [[Hell]] you encounter it in. When faced in [[Tartarus]], the Serpent is capable of breathing [[negative energy]] and vile [[miasma]] at you.
+The '''Serpent of Hell''' is a [[unique]] dragon whose elemental affinity varies based on which branch of [[Hell]] you encounter it in. When faced in [[Tartarus]], the Serpent is capable of breathing [[negative energy]], vile [[miasma]], and [[acid]] at you.
-<!--spl-bot-begin-->
+{{monster spells}}
-==Spells==
-{{Spellcaster
-|number=Tartarus
-|slot1=[[Bolt of Draining]] (3d24)
-|slot2=[[Miasma (monster spell)|Miasma]] (3d15)
-|slot3=''none''
-|slot4=[[Bolt of Draining]] (3d24)
-|slot5=[[Miasma]] (3d15)
-|slot6=''none''
-}}
-{{clear}}
-<!--spl-bot-end-->
 ==Tips & Tricks==
-*Visiting Tartarus without rN++ or better is just asking for aggravating and disabling levels of [[draining]], and that applies while facing the Serpent of Hell. Even with a full three ranks however, the Serpent's Miasma blasts will still damage, [[poison]], [[slow]], and [[rot]] you unless you have rot resistance. As this simply isn't available to most characters, try to take out this unique fast before it gets a chance to rot you much.
+*Visiting Tartarus without rN++ or better is just asking for aggravating and disabling levels of [[draining]], and that applies while facing the Serpent of Hell. Even with a full three ranks however, the Serpent's Miasma blasts will still damage, [[poison]], and [[slow]] you unless you are immune to poison or miasma. As this simply isn't available to most characters, try to take out this unique fast, and try not to stand around in miasma if you don't have to.
+**If you happen to be carrying one, a [[scarf]] of [[cloud immunity]] will render you immune to miasma.
+*You'll also want [[Acid#Corrosion Resistance|rCorr]] here, as this version of the Serpent of Hell is one of the few sources of acid damage in the hells.
+==History==
+*Prior to [[0.32]], this Serpent of Hell had Bolt of Draining and Corrosive Bolt.
+*In [[0.16]], it got a third breath attack in [[Corrosive Bolt]].