The Aumtlich
Rumors of unknown monsters are common in any society that sets great store on daring deeds done. Most can simply dismissed as 'The roach that got away;' but the most experienced smitemasters know that there is a grain of truth in every rumor. Some of these ancient rumors describe a species that exists in the deepest dungeons - one with a burning hatred of all people, a burning hunger for slaughter, and a burning gaze that instills a petrifying fear into everything it sees. It is believed that these gaunt beasts have been extinct for many generations, if they exist at all. Other people claim that they still live, lurking under the beds of naughty children who refuse to finish their leaf juice.
Recently, the journal of the noted dungeon-fauna-documentary producer Jaato Scrikely was discovered, which gives some weight to this rumor. Though badly burned, the last few pages were barely legible. The last recorded entry ends with: "The citizens called this area 'The Aumtlich Training Grounds.' There are thin beasts that are working on focusing their gaze into a steady, firey gaze. I mustn't let them see me; some of what they looked upon was starting to smoulder! Though I wonder, what is the proper plural form? Aumtlich? Aumtliches? Aumtlichen - Hah, that sounds like some kind of plant. Wait, did I say that out loud? They're turning towards me, and aren't looking happy. I should get" -
The rest of the entry is badly burned and beyond recognition. Many Smitemasters hope this journal is fake made in poor taste, as no such creatures have been seen. Almost all Smitemasters, though, have taken to checking under their beds each evening - just to be safe.
Detailed Behaviour Analysis
Here's some stuff we have learned. Similar to most other monsters, Aumtlich determine which of their eight adjoining squares is closest to the player and attempt to move there. Unlike most, if blocked vertically or horizontally, these monsters can sidestep the obstacle by moving diagonally around it. If given the choice, they will chose to move north over south, and west over east. If blocked diagonally, they use the same algorithm as seep.
Aumtlich differ from most enemies (with the exception of guards) in that they care about the direction they are facing, and take one turn for each 45 degrees they rotate. Unbrained, they will never move unless facing within 45 degrees of the direction they want to move in.
An Aumtlich always wants to will face orthogonally if the distance to the player in one of the orthogonal directions is greater than twice the distance than the other orthogonal direction: for example, if the target is 5 North and 2 West from the Aumtlich, then the Aumtlich will face North (since it's over twice as large than the West distance), instead of Northwest. If they are not facing the direction they want, they will turn towards that direction , preferring to turn clockwise instead of anti-clockwise if both take the same amount of time. The Aumtlich has one last movement quirk - it can sidestep the player! If the aumtlich is adjacent to the player (or other target), orthogonally, but cannot step onto the player (e.g. due to force arrows), it can step around its target diagonally to get into another position. This can cause the aumtlich to get stuck in a loop, if the target remains unkillable.
The Aumtlich fires a beam in the direction it is facing which can freeze the player, stalwarts, soldiers and mimics at the end of the turn. An Aumtlich gaze will also damage Cracked Orbs and destroy Broken Orbs and light fuses.
If an Aumtlich gazes into a mirror or a sword perpendicular to it, the beam is reflected back and it will freeze itself.
Brained aumtlich use standard brain pathmapping, but still obey the rules governing the direction they face in and rotation.