Valkyrie

Valkyries are based on the valkyries of Norse legend who would carry the spirits of fallen warriors to the afterlife.

All valkyries are female, except when polymorphed or an amulet of change becomes involved. Females can lay eggs when polymorphed into another creature. Other than that they have no advantages or disadvantages over males. Valkyries are one of the easier roles for a new player. The guidebook describes them like this:

              Valkyries are hardy warrior women.  Their upbringing in  the
         harsh  Northlands  makes  them strong, inures them to extremes of
         cold, and instills in them stealth and cunning.

Starting inventory

Each valkyrie starts with the following:

• a +1 long sword
• a +0 dagger
• a +3 small shield
• a food ration
• an oil lamp (16.7% chance)

Intrinsics

Valkyries gain intrinsics at these experience levels:

• Level 1: cold resistance
• Level 1: stealth
• Level 7: speed

Skills

Valkyrie skills
Max	Skills
Basic	Weapons: scimitar, saber, quarterstaff, trident, sling Spells: attack, escape
Skilled	Weapons: pick-axe, short sword, broadsword, polearms, spear, lance Combat: two weapon combat, riding
Expert	Weapons: dagger, axe, long sword, two-handed sword, hammer Combat: bare hands

Quest

Main article: Valkyrie quest

Strategy

• Valkyries are powerful melee fighters and have substantially high HP growth; they are also able to #twoweapon. Under normal circumstances, the only strategy needed is to attack enemies directly.
• Valkyries start with a relatively high Armor Class, but are carrying only a small shield as armor. They can improve their AC immensely by collecting all the armor they find, using a pet to make sure items are not cursed, and putting on anything that their pet indicates is OK. A brief sortie into the Gnomish Mines can yield a good deal of armor, even if the character is not strong enough for a serious expedition down into the mines.
• It is still important, especially in the early stages of the game, to monitor hit points and not get in over your head. Be prepared to engrave Elbereth and lick your wounds for a while if you get into trouble. Find an escape item if you can and don't be afraid to use it.
• Because valkyries start with long swords, if one is Lawful, it is exceptionally easy to get Excalibur from a fountain once the character is level 5. Be careful, because you may get a rusty longsword and a water demon for your trouble instead! Dipping for Excalibur only has a 1/6 chance of success per try, and fountains can both damage your sword and dry up from dipping, so it is a good idea to find several fountains before dipping. Fortunately, the Oracle level always has four of them--and if you've made it to the Oracle, you may be strong enough to risk the Water demon.
• Sacrificing is more beneficial to valkyries than for other classes, because their first sacrifice gift is guaranteed to be Mjollnir if it has not already been generated in the game. This is a useful weapon against major demons, but some consider it nearly useless in the end-game.
• Valkyries with strength 25 can throw Mjollnir, and have a 99% chance of it returning to them immediately. The thrown Mjollnir is one of the most powerful projectile attacks, except against shock-resistant monsters. Even aginst such monsters, the ability to throw Mjollnir multiple times before the enemy closes can be decisive. The Riders, although shock resistant, can still be beaten down before they close to melee range and use their speical attacks. Because of this, gauntlets of power are a high-priority item for wishing, perhaps even above SDSM. It is also vital to acquire shock resistance.
  • There are some downsides to throwing Mjollnir, however, as when returning from being thrown it has a 0.5% chance of striking the thrower. (This increases to 50% if the thrower is stunned, confused, hallucinating, fumbling, or blind) Since Mjollnir strikes with lightning and lightning explodes rings and wands, it is an extremely dangerous weapon. Even if you don't have anything that can be destroyed, and you have shock resistance, valuable monster equipment may still be destroyed.
• Taken together, Excalibur and Mjollnir, enchanted to the maximum safe level, and paired with shock resistance and gauntlets of strength, provide plenty of firepower to win the game. They may not be the greatest weapons in the game, but they are good enough, and they are easy to get. If you are carrying both of them, consider wielding Excalibur as your primary weapon, and switching to Mjollnir for special occasions. Excalibur provides automatic searching and level-drain resistance; Mjollnir can be thrown when you need a distance weapon, and does good damage to non-shock-resistant monsters, at the risk of destroying their magical items. With a Wand of death for important insta-kills, you are well-equipped.
• Valkyries can also become expert at daggers. This fact should not be neglected. Enhancing daggers before long sword is recommended by many experienced players. Daggers become extremely powerful because you can throw up to 3 at once at expert level, doing double the base damage on average per turn. The resultant shower of daggers can substitute for Mjollnir as a stand-off weapon, without the downsides. Throwing daggers with expert skill is better than two weaponing, unless one has a double damage artifact.
• The Valkyrie's Quest is a fairly easy Quest, with one exception: the first level is mostly ice, and has randomly-placed fire traps. As a result, do NOT walk on the ice. You may trigger a fire trap, which will melt the ice, and you will fall in the water. If you're burdened or surrounded, you'll drown; either way, scrolls and spellbooks not in a bag will be blanked. You'll likely see several quest friendlies die to this. Also, put scrolls and potions into a container as soon as you pick them up, to avoid losing them to the fire traps. Read up on drawbridges before attempting the quest, as there are two on the lowest level. They are not dangerous if you know how to handle them, but can be deadly to the unprepared. It has been observed that drawbridges may kill more Valkyries than Lord Surtur does. In general, the quest is so easy, and the Orb of Fate is so powerful, that a Valkyrie should probably go on the quest as soon as possible. Fire resistance is the only really important intrinsic to have, and this probably can be obtained on the (easy) first level of the quest by eating corpses.
• Valkyries are not at all good spellcasters, and wearing armor generally compromises their limited abilities. Feel free to experiment with spells if you like, but it is not unusual for a Valkyrie to ascend without ever casting a single spell.

Encyclopedia entry

The Valkyries were the thirteen choosers of the slain, the
beautiful warrior-maids of Odin who rode through the air and
over the sea.  They watched the progress of the battle and
selected the heroes who were to fall fighting.  After they
were dead, the maidens rewarded the heroes by kissing them
and then led their souls to Valhalla, where the warriors
lived happily in an ideal existence, drinking and eating
without restraint and fighting over again the battles in
which they died and in which they had won their deathless
fame.
        [ The Encyclopaedia of Myths and Legends of All
                Nations, by Herbert Robinson and Knox
                Wilson ]