Bestiary/Hell Cat

« Back to the Bestiary

Hell Cat
General
The smaller hell cat. Infobox values are for this one; see the tables for the predator hell cat.
Type	Animal (fire)
Category	Animals
Alignment	Evil
Karma	−1,000
Fame	1,000
Behavior	Attacks on sight
Speed	Medium
Stats
Strength	51–100
Dexterity	52–150
Intelligence	13–85
Hit points	48–67
Stamina	52–150
Mana	13–85
Damage	6–12
Armor	30
Taming
Tameable	Yes
Min. skill	71.1
Control slots	1
Bondable	Yes
Rideable	No
Favorite food	Meat
Resources
Carving	10 spined hides

The Hell Cat is a fire-breathing cat that attacks on sight. There are two kinds with the same in-game name: the smaller hell cat (71.1 Animal Taming) and the larger, tougher predator hell cat (89.1).

Overview

In-game name: both kinds are called a hell cat and leave a hell cat corpse. You can tell them apart by size.
Looks: the smaller hell cat uses the house-cat body in one of six fiery colors. The predator hell cat uses the larger big-cat body (body 127).
Behavior: it attacks the nearest target it sees and fights in melee.

Hell cat
Predator hell cat

Stats

Stat	Hell cat	Predator hell cat
Strength	51–100	161–185
Dexterity	52–150	96–115
Intelligence	13–85	76–100
Hit points	48–67	97–131
Stamina	52–150 (same as its Dexterity)	96–115 (same as its Dexterity)
Mana	13–85 (same as its Intelligence)	76–100 (same as its Intelligence)
Melee damage	6–12	5–17
Armor rating	30	30
Fame / Karma	1,000 / −1,000	2,500 / −2,500

Skills

Skill	Hell cat	Predator hell cat
Magic Resistance	45.1–60.0	75.1–90.0
Tactics	40.1–55.0	50.1–65.0
Wrestling	30.1–40.0	50.1–65.0

Abilities

Fire breath

Both kinds breathe fire at their target.

Chance: 50% each time it gets a chance to act in combat, then it waits 30–45 seconds before it can breathe again.
Damage: 5% of the cat's current hit points. A full-health hell cat deals about 2–3; a full-health predator hell cat about 4–6. A wounded cat's breath does less damage.
Range: it needs line of sight to you, and it can reach as far as it can see.
It stands still for about a second while it breathes.
A peacemade (pacified) hell cat can't breathe fire.
A tamed hell cat keeps its fire breath and uses it for you.

Taming

Requirement	Hell cat	Predator hell cat
Minimum Animal Taming	71.1	89.1
Control slots	1	1
Maximum owners	5	5
Bonding	Yes	Yes
Rideable	No	No
Favorite food	Meat	Meat

Below the minimum Animal Taming you have no chance. Each previous owner makes it harder to tame.

Success chance. For a first-time tame:
- Hell cat: your chance of success at the end of an attempt is about 58% at 100.0 skill, and it improves as your skill rises.
- Predator hell cat: your chance of success at the end of an attempt is about 22% at 100.0 skill, and it improves as your skill rises.
- Every previous owner adds 6 points to the difficulty.
Don't hurt it. If it takes any damage during your attempt, taming fails with "The animal is too angry to continue taming."
Stay close. You must stay within 6 tiles of it and keep a clear path to it.
Obedience. Once tamed:
- Hell cat: how often it obeys depends on your Animal Taming and Animal Lore (taming counts four times as much as lore). With both at 71.1 it obeys about 70% of the time, and at about 76.0 it reaches the 99% maximum. Below 71.1 the chance drops quickly, to as low as 22%.
- Predator hell cat: how often it obeys depends on your Animal Taming and Animal Lore (taming counts four times as much as lore). With both at 89.1 it obeys about 70% of the time, and at about 94.0 it reaches the 99% maximum. Below 89.1 the chance drops quickly, to as low as 22%.
Re-taming. If you've owned this one before, taming it again always succeeds ("That wasn't even challenging.").
After its first tame, its skills drop to 90% of their wild values, or 86% if it was paralyzed while you tamed it. Its stats don't drop.

Pack instinct

Hell cats hunt better in groups. When several of your pets from the same pack group (the feline group: cats, cougars, panthers, snow leopards and hell cats) attack the same creature while standing next to it (within 1 tile), each gets extra melee damage:

2 pets: +25%
3 pets: +50%
4 pets: +75%
5 or more: +100%

All the pets must have the same owner. The bonus only applies against other creatures, not against players.

Bonding

Only the owner can bond with a hell cat, and they need at least 71.1 Animal Taming (base skill). Feed it to start bonding, then feed it again after 7 days to finish. When you see "Your pet has bonded with you!", it's done.

Loot

Hell cat

Every hell cat carries:

Gold: about 30–75 in total (from its "Meager" loot)

It may also carry:

A magic weapon, armor, shield or jewelry (up to 2 chances, from about 1% down to 0.2% each)
A musical instrument (well under 1%: about 0.1%)

Predator hell cat

Every predator hell cat carries:

Gold: about 60–150 in total (from its "Average" loot)

It may also carry:

A magic weapon, armor, shield or jewelry (up to 3 chances, from about 5% down to 0.5% each)
A musical instrument (well under 1%: about 0.4%)

Carving

Use a blade on the corpse to get:

10 spined hides

Location

The Deceit brazier: double-clicking it from within 2 tiles summons one creature picked at random from a list of about 90, and this is one of them. The brazier warns players who step next to it ("Heed this warning well, and use this brazier at your own peril"). It works once every 15 minutes and places the creature within 5 tiles. The summoned creature is set to attack the closest target, even if it would normally leave you alone, and it stays within 5 tiles of the brazier. Both kinds of hell cat (the regular and the predator hell cat) are on the list.

Tips

Check which kind it is before you start: the small one needs 71.1, the large predator 89.1.
Both attack on sight, so be ready to fight back while you tame.
Their fire breath is weak (5% of their current hit points); it's their melee that matters.
Hell cats count as felines for the pack instinct bonus.
Carve either kind for 10 spined hides.