Difference between revisions of "Orcus"

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(undo: Orcus barely _has_ status attacks, especially since he'll waste turns zapping you into your magic resistance. This is just another rambling digression.)
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(Undo revision 128319 by Pinkbeast (talk) Yeenoghu and Demogorgon have stunning and confusion attacks, Orcus can summon them. Fighting all three is a nightmare.)
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Orcus does physical damage and some spell damage, both of which you should be ready for. He also [[Monster_starting_inventory|carries]] a [[wand of death]], although for any character with [[magic resistance]], the main problem this poses is how to relieve him of it without him wasting too many charges.
 
Orcus does physical damage and some spell damage, both of which you should be ready for. He also [[Monster_starting_inventory|carries]] a [[wand of death]], although for any character with [[magic resistance]], the main problem this poses is how to relieve him of it without him wasting too many charges.
  
As a [[chaotic]] [[demon prince]], Orcus can [[demon summoning|summon]] [[Demogorgon]] and [[Yeenoghu]] (who can also summon Demogorgon), and cannot be [[bribe]]d.
+
As a [[chaotic]] [[demon prince]], Orcus can [[demon summoning|summon]] [[Demogorgon]] and [[Yeenoghu]] (who can also summon Demogorgon), and cannot be [[bribe]]d. Players may also have extreme difficulty fighting Demogorgon, Yeenoghu and Orcus all at once, due to multiple status attacks.
  
 
== Strategy ==
 
== Strategy ==

Revision as of 01:39, 22 September 2019

Orcus, &, is one of the demon princes, guaranteed to appear in Orcus Town in Gehennom.

Orcus does physical damage and some spell damage, both of which you should be ready for. He also carries a wand of death, although for any character with magic resistance, the main problem this poses is how to relieve him of it without him wasting too many charges.

As a chaotic demon prince, Orcus can summon Demogorgon and Yeenoghu (who can also summon Demogorgon), and cannot be bribed. Players may also have extreme difficulty fighting Demogorgon, Yeenoghu and Orcus all at once, due to multiple status attacks.

Strategy

It is desirable to get Orcus's wand of death with as many charges as possible, and to kill him before he can summon Demogorgon. Like any covetous monster, he warps to the upstairs to heal when damaged, so if you allow him to react to your attack, you give him turns to summon and to use up wand charges.

He is not immune to stoning, so hitting him with a cockatrice corpse will instantly kill him. Another option is to use potions of paralysis to paralyze him (but make sure you won't paralyze yourself in the process). A mounted Knight can also easily joust Orcus with the lance repeatedly until dead; the stunning component of the joust prevents him from getting away.

If fighting him directly is your only option, you need to get onto an upstairs yourself so he can't escape. This is most easily done by using the downstairs in Orcus's room when Orcus is adjacent to you. You might arrange to be in this situation by coming up these stairs, either by digging down when it becomes clear you are at Orcus-town, or because you are mapping Gehennom from the bottom.

Origin

Orcus in this form comes from Dungeons and Dragons, a representation originally inspired by a Roman god of the underworld.

He physically appears as a fat humanoid with a goat's head and legs, the horns of a ram, bat wings and a poisonous reptilian tail.

Encyclopedia entry

Orcus, Prince of the Undead, has a ram's head and a poison
stinger. He is most feared, though, for his powerful magic
abilities. His wand causes death to those he chooses.

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