Nalzok

& Nalzok
Difficulty	23
Attacks	Weapon 8d4, weapon 4d6, spell-casting, claw quest-artifact-stealing 2d6

& Nalzok
Difficulty	23
Attacks	Weapon 8d4, weapon 4d6, spell-casting, claw quest-artifact-stealing 2d6
Base level	16
Base experience	585
Speed	12
Base AC	−2
Base MR	85
Alignment	−127 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means)	Unique
Genocidable	No
Weight	1450
Nutritional value	400
Size	Large
Resistances	Fire, poison, stoning
Resistances conveyed	None
Nalzok: can fly. can see invisible creatures. is poisonous to eat. does not eat. (*) is not a valid polymorphable form. is a demon. is normally generated hostile. can follow you to other levels. is nasty. is strong. can pick up weapons and food. wants your quest artifact. waits for you to come. has infravision. can be seen through infravision. never leaves a corpse.
Reference	monst.c#line3267

Nalzok, &, is the Priest quest nemesis. He is almost identical to the Minion of Huhetotl, the Archeologist quest nemesis. The only differences are his stronger chaotic alignment and his slightly higher MR. As a major demon quest nemesis, he shares the usual immunities to fire, poison, level draining, and stoning.

Strategy

Since Nalzok is almost identical to the Minion of Huhetotl, some of the strategies that apply there will also apply to him: Nalzok hates silver and respects Elbereth and a grounded scroll of scare monster, and can summoning nasties much like the Minion.

Unlike the Minion, clearing out the surrounding area of monsters beforehand should be far easier, especially with the #turn command making short work of most zombies and wraiths. An AC of around −15 with a source of magic resistance is advisable, as is the usual strategy of standing on/blocking/teleporting to the upstair and engaging Nalzok remotely - be mindful of the lava plain and the fire traps during the fight, as one misstep can easily end the game.

A blessed and enchanted silver and/or artifact weapon (e.g. Frost Brand, Grayswandir, Magicbane, etc.) should be enough to make the fight against Nalzok easier - priests should have no shortage of holy water to bless both the weapon and enchant weapon scrolls with.

Of note is that chaotic Priests will get a smaller alignment record bonus from killing him than cross-aligned Priests will.

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.

The scroll of scare monster on the ground no longer scares any unique monster.

Encyclopedia entry

Nalzok is Moloch's cunning and unfailingly loyal battle
lieutenant, to whom he trusts the command of warfare when he
does not wish to exercise it himself. Nalzok is a major
demon, known to command the undead. He is hungry for power,
and secretly covets Moloch's position. Moloch doesn't trust
him, but, trusting his own power enough, chooses to allow
Nalzok his position because he is useful.