Wraith

W wraith
Difficulty	8
Attacks	Touch 1d6 drain life

W wraith
Difficulty	8
Attacks	Touch 1d6 drain life
Base level	6
Base experience	120
Speed	12
Base AC	4
Base MR	15
Alignment	-6 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means)	2 (Quite rare)
Genocidable	Yes
Weight	0
Nutritional value	0
Size	Medium
Resistances	Cold, Sleep, Poison, Stoning
Resistances conveyed	Gain level
A wraith: can fly. does not breathe. has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso. does not have a solid form. does not eat. (*) is undead. is normally generated hostile. can follow you to other levels.
Reference	monst.c#line1888

For the monster class, see wraith (monster class).

A wraith, W, is a type of monster that appears in Nethack. Wraiths are capable of draining levels from you if they hit, but are valuable encounters due to a fresh wraith corpse causing you to gain an experience level - however, there is a ¹⁄₇ chance the corpse will "rot away completely" and provide no experience; its beatitude has no effect on this probability.

Generation

In addition to normal generation and graveyards

If a player is slain by a member of the wraith monster class - which also includes barrow wights and Nazguls - that player rises from the grave as a wraith rather than a traditional ghost if bones are left.

Strategy

The level gained from eating a wraith's corpse makes them a popular choice for reverse genocide, and the corpses provide zero nutrition, heavily reducing the risk of overeating; however, an oversatiated character can still choke on them. Wraith corpses cannot be tinned, but they can be kept fresh in an ice box.

Those discovering the bones of a player killed by a W will have to contend with the tougher spirit of the former player, as wraiths can use wands and read scrolls - on top of using the former inventory, the wraith can still drain levels as well.

Like all undead, wraiths killed on a level with a graveyard (or the Castle, which counts as a graveyard level for this purpose) are much less likely to leave a corpse, with a ¹⁄₁₈ chance if killed by the player or ¹⁄₆ if killed by anything else. To get around this, a player may lure the wraith up or down a stairway before dispatching it, or else level teleport or branchport while the wraith is adjacent.

Either MC3 or drain resistance is highly recommended for a player transporting wraiths: Magic cancellation will not completely prevent level drain, but decreases the odds of being drained of a second level before one can gain a single experience point (e.g. by killing the wraith) and regain the previously drained one. Alternatively, graveyard wraiths can be saved for a pet purple worm, whose engulfing attack is not subject to the odds of a corpse dropping; this does not work for players polymorphed into purple worms.

Origin

"Wraith" is a Scottish word that describes a ghost, spectre or apparition; the word has no commonly accepted etymology. It appeared in Scottish Romanticist literature, and has acquired the more general or figurative sense of "portent" or "omen"; in 18th- and 19th-century Scottish literature, it also applied to aquatic spirits. An association with the verb "writhe" was the etymology favored by J. R. R. Tolkien, whose use of the word in naming the creatures known as the Ringwraiths (or Nazgul) has influenced its later usage in fantasy literature.

The wraiths of Nethack originate from Dungeons & Dragons, where they are undead creatures born of evil and darkness, despising light (particularly natural sunlight, which rendered them powerless) and all living things. Wraiths could drain the life from living creatures, turning them into new wraiths upon death; they appeared as a sinister, spectral figure, robed in darkness and often lacking distinct features or appendages save for glowing red eyes. Wraiths were similar to wights, which were also able to drain creatures of their life energy; both could only be harmed by either silver or enchanted weaponry.

Variants

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, wraiths need a +1 weapon to hit. They also frequently wear robes. Wraith corpses also have different effects if eaten:

Possibility	Effect	Message
10%	You lose experience.	"You feel that was a bad idea."
10%	Your maximum HP and Pw decreases.	"You don't feel so good ..."
20%	Nothing happens.	"You feel something strange for a moment."
10%	Your maximum HP and Pw increases.	"You feel physically and mentally stronger!"
50%	You gain experience.	"You feel that was a smart thing to do."

Encyclopedia entry

Immediately, though everything else remained as before, dim and dark, the shapes became terribly clear. He was able to see beneath their black wrappings. There were five tall figures: two standing on the lip of the dell, three advancing. In their white faces burned keen and merciless eyes; under their mantles were long grey robes; upon their grey hairs were helms of silver; in their haggard hands were swords of steel. Their eyes fell on him and pierced him, as they rushed towards him. Desperate, he drew his own sword, and it seemed to him that it flickered red, as if it was a firebrand. Two of the figures halted. The third was taller than the others: his hair was long and gleaming and on his helm was a crown. In one hand he held a long sword, and in the other a knife; both the knife and the hand that held it glowed with a pale light. He sprang forward and bore down on Frodo.

[ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ]