Bees Hate You

There are some vague or non-exact figures and information on this page. Some spading is required. How much stronger do monsters become when there is a "b" in their name?

Bees Hate You is the Summer 2011 special challenge path, introduced on May 17, 2011, alongside the Valhalla revamp. Players may select this path in Valhalla, instead of a dietary challenge path.

Monsters of the unranked taxon Anthophila will attack you during the run, items which contain a certain letter in their name are rendered unusable, and pieces of equipment with the same property are rendered... painful.

Rules

• Items: You cannot use or consume any items with names that contain the letter "b".
  • This extends to such things as housing, disassembled clovers, chefs-in-the-box or bartenders-in-the-box. (Regular ten-leaf clovers are unaffected.)
  • This applies to items used from your inventory through the "inv_use.php" or "multiuse.php" scripts. Items that have a "b" in their name but invoke something different can be used. For example, an ebony wand or marble wand can be used to zap items.
  • Certain quest items are exceptions to this rule (see exceptions below). However, this only applies to necessary items, not optional items such as a bottle of used blood.
  • Use of combat items with a "b" in their name is also completely prohibited.
• Equipment: You are allowed to equip items with the letter "b" in their names, but you will take damage at the beginning of combat amounting to 10% of your max HP per occurrence of the letter "b" (rounded up).
  • Wearing "b" items while encountering a non-combat will not cause you to lose HP.
• Familiars: You cannot use a familiar that has the letter "b" in its species name (e.g. Obtuse Angel, Blood-Faced Volleyball, Sabre-toothed Lime), nor can you place it into a Crown of Thrones. You also cannot adventure with a Comma Chameleon familiar in the form of a familiar with a "b" in its name.
• Monsters: Monsters are significantly stronger (thought to be +20% (needs verification)) for every "b" in their name. Unlike most ML increases, you will not gain any extra experience points for this increased difficulty.
• Actual friggin' bees: You will encounter a wandering bee enemy in intervals of approximately 15-20 adventures. The monster type is based on the level of the zone (seems to use the same variable as Turtle Taming does):
  • Low Level (Drop 1 handful of honey max):
    • beebee gunners
    • moneybee
    • mumblebee
  • Mid Level (Drop 2 handfuls of honey max):
    • beebee queue
    • bee swarm
    • buzzerker
  • High Level (Drop 3 handfuls of honey max):
    • Beebee King
    • bee thoven
    • Queen Bee
• Bee enemies cannot be copied or CLEESHed.
• Bee enemies cannot have Transcendent Olfaction used on them.
• Bee enemies can be fought while falling down drunk.
• The Float Like a Butterfly, Smell Like a Bee effect will stop the wandering bees from attacking.
• Upon breaking the Prism, all restrictions are removed, and you will no longer encounter bee enemies.

Usable Familiars

• For a detailed list of usable familiars, please see this page.

Divergences

• The Big Book of Pirate Insults is replaced by the Massive Manual of Marauder Mockery.
• The Reassembled Blackbird is replaced by the Reconstituted Crow. The crow is assembled from different components, but is obtained and used in a way that is functionally similar to its counterpart.
• The NS Lair gates are missing. The Gate of Bees stands in their place. You need the Float Like a Butterfly, Smell Like a Bee effect to pass through.
• ALL of the monsters in the Sorceress' Tower are giant bees. To offset this, vacationing at the Tropical Island Getaway (sometimes) gives you a packet of orchid seeds, rather than a single tropical orchid.
• The Sorceress chooses from a pool of only three possible familiar challenges, avoiding the two that would require the player to use a prohibited familiar.
• The final form of The Naughty Sorceress is, ummm, replaced by The Guy Made Of Bees, so prepare accordingly. The Wand of Nagamar is not necessary, but having one adds flavor to the encounter text.
• There is no bonus 15 fullness from Feast of Boris although the FoB Special Monsters will appear.

Exceptions

• A select few items with the letter "b" can be used, in order to make beating the game possible:
  • Cobb's Knob map
  • Enchanted bean (Note, though, the bean can be planted without the [use] link by clicking instead on the giant pile of coffee grounds. Planting the bean in this manner will not result in the HP loss penalty for using a "b" item.)
  • Ball polish
  • Black market map
• You will get the following message:

You overcome your fear of Bs and use the item, but the Bs take it out on you.

You lose all hit points.

You acquire an effect: Beaten Up (duration: 3 Adventures)

• Orcish Frat House blueprints are usable but do not give the "fear of Bs" message, take away HP, or give turns of Beaten Up.
• IOTM foldables will similarly cause pain if used in a form containing a "b", such as pairs of Loathing Legion rollerblades or Spooky Putty balls. Fixed-gear bicycle is still unusable, though, as is makeshift turban (locking out the rest of the towel folds).

Strategy

• See this page for tips & strategies.

Rewards

• Finishing a Bees Hate You run while it is still the current special challenge path will give players 100 (in HC) or 50 (in SC) extra karma points the next time they visit Valhalla.
• Players will receive a Thwaitgold bee statuette.