Orcus
- This article is about the demon prince. For the chaotic god of the Undertaker pantheon, see Orcus (god).
& Orcus 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 36 |
| Attacks |
Weapon 3d6, claw 3d4, claw 3d4, spell-casting 8d6 (mage), sting poisonous 2d4 |
| Base level | 30 |
| Base experience | 1445 |
| Speed | 9 |
| Base AC | -6 |
| Base MR | 85 |
| Alignment | -20 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | Unique |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 1500 |
| Nutritional value | 500 |
| Size | Huge |
| Resistances | Fire, poison |
| Resistances conveyed |
None |
|
Orcus:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line2684 |
Orcus, &, is one of the demon princes that appears in NetHack. He is tied for the fifth-highest monster difficulty with Geryon, and has the seventh-highest base experience in the game.
Orcus possesses infravision, see invisible and flight, and like all demon lords and princes he is covetous. Orcus has a weapon attack, two claw attacks, a clerical spell attack, and a poison sting; as a chaotic demon prince, he cannot be bribed.
Contents
Generation
Orcus is guaranteed to appear in Gehennom, where he is found residing on the down stair of his self-named lair, Orcus-town. He will always generate with a wand of death.
Strategy
For characters without magic resistance, Orcus poses a dual threat of instant death through both his wand and the touch of death spell; reflection can deflect rays from the former, but cannot protect against the latter. For any character with magic resistance, the main priority is often relieving Orcus of his wand without destroying it or letting him waste several charges, especially if you plan to use it against non-immune threats like the Wizard of Yendor. Orcus can also use his melee attack and the summon nasties spell to summon either Demogorgon or Yeenoghu (who can also summon Demogorgon) - the possibility of Demogorgon arriving is often the prime motivator to kill Orcus as fast as possible in either case, or else avoid fighting him directly in melee.
While skipping Orcus is technically possible, it is more ideal to dispose of him if at all possible. If you cannot avoid fighting him directly, then your options to block the up stair and prevent him escaping are as follows:
- As with most covetous monsters, use the down stair in Orcus-town when Orcus is adjacent to you; the up stair is always on the opposite end of the map, and the level is no-teleport. This is most easily arranged by digging down upon reaching the level, then taking the up stair - it is also easier if you chose to map Gehennom starting from the bottom.
- Move a boulder, e.g. from a scroll of earth, onto the square stair - this will not prevent him teleporting near it, but stops him from traveling upward. It is therefore best combined with the next listed approach:
- Create a boulder fort on or near the stair, then get the attention of Orcus, e.g. with a cursed potion of invisibility; missile weapons are the most ideal offense for this strategy, as spells and wands will be blunted by his MR score of 85.
Orcus is not immune to stoning or disintegration - hitting him with a footrice corpse or egg will instantly kill him, and Orcus may summon a cockatrice alongside other nasties; the breath attack of a black dragon will also wipe him out instantly if you can get him in the line of fire, and may be best done with a tame black dragon. Another option is to wield a potion of paralysis and strike with it while wearing a ring of free action, then try to finish Orcus as quickly as possible; though he has a low 9 speed, this may likely require multiple potions. Finally, a Knight on a steed with high Luck and Expert skill in lance can potentially joust Orcus to death, with the stun from jousting preventing him getting away.
History
Orcus was introduced with the other demon lords and princes in NetHack 3.0.0.
Origin
Orcus is derived from Dungeons & Dragons, which takes the name and general association with undeath from the god whose domain was the Estrucan and later Roman underworld, and acted as a punisher of broken oaths. As with Hades, Orcus's name was also used for the underworld itself; in later Roman tradition, he was conflated with Dis Pater (who inspired the Dispater of Dungeons & Dragons). Like many other deities associated with death and the underworld, his name was used for demons and other underworld beings such as the Dungeons & Dragons demon prince.
Orcus is among the most well-known and mighty demon princes of the Dungeons & Dragons settings - he physically appears as a fat and immense humanoid demon anywhere between 15-20 ft (4.6-6.1 m) in size, with the horned, tusked and decayed skull of a ram for a head; Orcus also has the legs and hooves of a goat, the wings of a bat, and a long and spiny poison-tipped tail. Orcus is immune to His most iconic artifact by far is the "Wand of Orcus": a skull-topped wand with the power to slay any living being, represented by the literal wand of death he holds in NetHack.
As Prince of the Undead, Orcus seeks to extinguish life throughout all universes, and is at constant war for the Abyss with rivals such as Demogorgon; among the ranks of his armies and followers are zombies, vampires and shades (referred to as shadows). Orcus is one of the Abyssal powers most often worshipped as a deity, and has attained actual divinity once previously: after doing so, he eventually abandoned the war for the Abyss and become lazy and careless, culminating in his death at the hands of the ambitious drow demi-goddess, Kiaransalee. Despite her efforts, Orcus was eventually resurrected by one of his foremost high priests in a blasphemous ritual and took back his wand and the title of Prince of the Undead once more, resuming his war for the Abyss.
Variants
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, while Orcus is still capable of summoning Demogorgon, each demon lord and prince has their own lair within Gehennom - as a result, you will eventually face Demogorgon yourself sooner or later.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, Orcus is one of the demon princes whose lair can appear as the second Abyss level.
Orcus is similar to his vanilla incarnation, but with a few notable differences: his MR score is boosted even further to 99, rendering several spells and wands all but useless against him, and he favors the raise dead monster spell when casting in combat. Furthermore, the wand of death he always generates with is now a huge-sized intelligent chaotic artifact that he uses as a melee weapon: it drains levels on hit as a wand and a weapon and uses the mace skill in melee; the Wand also cannot be wrested or broken, can be recharged indefinitely, and is even capable of zapping death rays without any charges depending on its invoke timer.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, Orcus is always among the four demon lords and princes whose lair you encounter in Gehennom; the other three are chosen from a set pool of lairs for each tier. Orcus-town is most likely to be the third demon ruler lair in order of appearance.
The Wand of Orcus is an artifact always generated in his possession, and cannot be wished for since it is guaranteed to appear in every game. Its base item is an ornate gemstone rod, and it has +1d5 to-hit and +1d6 damage bonuses. Living monsters hit by the Wand will have their maximum hit points drained, and those without magic resistance have a small chance to be killed outright. Moreover, the Wand of Orcus can never be picked up by the player in EvilHack and will harm them if they try; only another NPC demon is capable of even touching the Wand.
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.
