Difference between revisions of "Archon"
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Archons are exceedingly popular as pets due to their power: they are inediate, hard-hitting and have far more capabilities compared to a tamed arch-lich. Archons are too large for body armor, but can wear other armor (i.e., [[gloves]], [[helm]]s, [[boots]], and [[shield]]s), and will pick up and use a variety of items. Getting an Archon to drop their starting weapon can be difficult; applying a [[bullwhip]] towards them can strip them of their current weapon, allowing you to hand them another weapon or enchant their initial one before handing it back. | Archons are exceedingly popular as pets due to their power: they are inediate, hard-hitting and have far more capabilities compared to a tamed arch-lich. Archons are too large for body armor, but can wear other armor (i.e., [[gloves]], [[helm]]s, [[boots]], and [[shield]]s), and will pick up and use a variety of items. Getting an Archon to drop their starting weapon can be difficult; applying a [[bullwhip]] towards them can strip them of their current weapon, allowing you to hand them another weapon or enchant their initial one before handing it back. | ||
| − | Archons are permanently [[fast]] after they cast [[haste self]] | + | Archons are permanently [[fast]] after they cast [[haste self]] and will use their blinding gaze frequently against enemies (though it does not stun them in exactly the same way it would stun you). Additionally, an Archon's [[monster magic resistance|MR score]] of 80 allows it to always ignore [[conflict]] from a ring once it reaches level 25, or level 30 for a weapon; a level 32 or higher Archon will also be immune to [[polymorph trap]]s. However, there is no way to make an Archon immune to [[level teleporter]]s, so beware if an Archon runs into one - they will likely be untamed by the time you find them again. |
====Obtaining a pet Archon==== | ====Obtaining a pet Archon==== | ||
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==Origin== | ==Origin== | ||
| − | ''Archon'' | + | In the early literary period of ancient Greece, the word ''Archon'' (Greek: ἄρχων, ''arkhon'') was used to mean "ruler" and frequently occurred in the title of a specific public office, e.g. the chief magistrates of various Greek city states were called ''archontes''. The Archon as a monster is derived from the celestial archons introduced in the 2nd Edition of ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' - these are distinct from "elemental archons", worshipers of an elemental lord who gained the powers of one of the four elements. Celestial Archons came in nine distinct varieties: Hound, Justice, Lantern, Sword, Tome, Throne, Trumpet, Warden, and Word. Throne archons were the second highest in rank of the archons that occupied a hierarchy, and served the higher-ranking Tome archons. |
| + | |||
| + | The Archons of ''NetHack'' are most closely modeled after Throne archons, particularly their high resistance to magic and weapons as well as their "penitentiary gaze" (analogous to the is blinding and stunning gaze attack in ''NetHack'' Archon) This gaze overwhelmed any creature that was not lawful good with remorse for their sins; it could even manifest the guilt of evil creatures as painful boils, and produced highly realistic and draining visions in creatures that were more chaotic. A Throne archon that was forced to fight used this gaze to exhaust foes into submission before attempting to decapitate them with their greatswords. | ||
==Variants== | ==Variants== | ||
Revision as of 14:39, 10 December 2022
A archon 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 26 |
| Attacks |
Weapon 2d4, Weapon 2d4, Gaze 2d6 blinding and stunning, Claw 1d8, Spell-casting |
| Base level | 19 |
| Base experience | 730 |
| Speed | 16 |
| Base AC | −6 |
| Base MR | 80 |
| Alignment | 15 (lawful) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 1450 |
| Nutritional value | 400 |
| Size | Large |
| Resistances | Fire, Cold, Shock, Sleep, Poison |
| Resistances conveyed |
None |
|
An Archon:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line1106 |
The Archon, A, is a powerful monster that appears in NetHack.
Archons are the most powerful of the angelic beings, and have the second highest difficulty level of all randomly generated monsters after the arch-lich. They can attack five times per turn, including monster spells and an active gaze attack that blinds and stuns you.
Contents
Generation
In terms of random generation, Archons have such high difficulty that even for a level 30 player, they cannot appear before dungeon level 22. Since the Dungeons of Doom end around level 29 and Archons cannot be generated in Gehennom, most characters will not see one before finding the Amulet of Yendor. There are two particular locations of note that an Archon can appear in:
- The random angelic being generated when using the second version of Medusa's Island can be an Archon, but the odds are quite low.[1]
- Vlad's Tower is not technically part of Gehennom, making it possible for one to generate, though its chaotic bias makes them exceedingly rare.
Once you have the Amulet, your effective dungeon level is at least 45, so Archons may be randomly generated from the Castle up.
Archons will always generate as peaceful for lawful characters of non-negative alignment record, and cannot be selected for genocide or polymorph. A randomly generated Archon will always have a rustproof long sword and a shield of reflection - if neither Demonbane nor Sunsword have been created in that game, the long sword will be converted to either of the two artifacts.[2]
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.
Demonbane is now a mace, but Archons still only receive a long sword, so they can no longer generate with Demonbane.Strategy
Archons are among the most difficult non-unique monsters to take on in a straight fight - an Archon's guaranteed shield will reflect any kind of spell including death rays. In most cases, it is wiser to avoid them and keep moving, which can be aided by exploiting their inability to unlock doors; peaceful Archons are considered a significant advantage of being lawful.
For others, beyond possessing magic resistance, the best way to fight an Archon is to use a footrice corpse and blind yourself to protect against their gaze; wearing the Eyes of the Overworld also prevents you from being stunned or blinded by this attack. Another option is to try using Vorpal Blade, which can still decapitate them.
Archonstorm
Excessive use of genocide may lead to an "Archonstorm", a scenario in which overwhelming numbers of hostile Archons begin to appear in the endgame in place of other high-level monsters that have been genocided. NPlayers can keep the chances of such a scenario low by using genocide sparingly; while lawful humans incur a −1 alignment penalty for each genocide, associated with it.
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.
Summon nasties can no longer create monsters of equal or higher difficulty than the caster (preventing, e.g., arch-liches or Archons from summoning more of themselves).As pets
Archons are exceedingly popular as pets due to their power: they are inediate, hard-hitting and have far more capabilities compared to a tamed arch-lich. Archons are too large for body armor, but can wear other armor (i.e., gloves, helms, boots, and shields), and will pick up and use a variety of items. Getting an Archon to drop their starting weapon can be difficult; applying a bullwhip towards them can strip them of their current weapon, allowing you to hand them another weapon or enchant their initial one before handing it back.
Archons are permanently fast after they cast haste self and will use their blinding gaze frequently against enemies (though it does not stun them in exactly the same way it would stun you). Additionally, an Archon's MR score of 80 allows it to always ignore conflict from a ring once it reaches level 25, or level 30 for a weapon; a level 32 or higher Archon will also be immune to polymorph traps. However, there is no way to make an Archon immune to level teleporters, so beware if an Archon runs into one - they will likely be untamed by the time you find them again.
Obtaining a pet Archon
The easiest way to obtain a pet Archon is to apply a blessed figurine of an Archon; wishing for this figurine is a common pacifist goal. However, an Archon from a figurine will not generate with its standard inventory of a longsword and shield of reflection, and without reflection it is vulnerable to death rays and disintegration breath. The figurine also has a 10% chance of spawning a hostile Archon, so try to have an escape item handy in case.
As an alternative to the figurine, a lawful character might wish for a statue of an Archon, stone to flesh it, and then cast charm monster. Although this is more difficult and requires a fairly advanced spellcaster, the Archon will never come to life as hostile for a lawful character with positive alignment record, making this a safer option.
Another alternative is for a high-level character to tame a randomly-generated Archon with a charm monster spell, but this will often require several attempts due to its high monster magic resistance, which can be painful if the Archon is hostile. The most difficult portion of this may well be finding a random Archon: on top of requiring a high experience level, the Castle and Vlad's Tower are the likeliest areas, and the latter has a bias towards generating chaotic monsters. The create monster spell can be used to create many monsters quickly, but be sure not to expend so much energy that you cannot cast charm monster afterward. Once you find an Archon, draining their level will make the spell more reliable - the best tools for this are the Staff of Aesculapius or Stormbringer, as other level-draining methods will take far longer. If there is a magic trap nearby, you might consider repeatedly triggering it and hoping for the taming effect, which ignores monster MR.
History
The Archon first appears in NetHack 3.1.0.
From 3.1.0 to NetHack 3.4.3, a figurine of an Archon would generate the monster with its usual starting inventory.
Origin
In the early literary period of ancient Greece, the word Archon (Greek: ἄρχων, arkhon) was used to mean "ruler" and frequently occurred in the title of a specific public office, e.g. the chief magistrates of various Greek city states were called archontes. The Archon as a monster is derived from the celestial archons introduced in the 2nd Edition of Dungeons & Dragons - these are distinct from "elemental archons", worshipers of an elemental lord who gained the powers of one of the four elements. Celestial Archons came in nine distinct varieties: Hound, Justice, Lantern, Sword, Tome, Throne, Trumpet, Warden, and Word. Throne archons were the second highest in rank of the archons that occupied a hierarchy, and served the higher-ranking Tome archons.
The Archons of NetHack are most closely modeled after Throne archons, particularly their high resistance to magic and weapons as well as their "penitentiary gaze" (analogous to the is blinding and stunning gaze attack in NetHack Archon) This gaze overwhelmed any creature that was not lawful good with remorse for their sins; it could even manifest the guilt of evil creatures as painful boils, and produced highly realistic and draining visions in creatures that were more chaotic. A Throne archon that was forced to fight used this gaze to exhaust foes into submission before attempting to decapitate them with their greatswords.
Variants
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, because the dungeon is much deeper, there is a higher probability of encountering you'll encounter them before the castle. They remain a stellar choice for pets, especially since SLASH'EM uses 3.4.3 rules for figurines and monster starting inventory; Solars make even better pets.
Take into account that here you will need a +4 weapon to hit them, e.g. using firearms (which by-passes their reflection) requires +4 bullets.
dNetHack
Archons in dNetHack are split into 7 varieties. The counterpart to the vanilla Archon is a Throne Archon. In addition, as the #loot command can now take items from pets, it's much easier to remove Sunsword or Demonbane and give them a different artifact or a non-artifact enchanted weapon.
Encyclopedia entry
Archons are the predominant inhabitants of the heavens.
However unusual their appearance, they are not generally
evil. They are beings at peace with themselves and their
surroundings.
