Alignment quest

The alignment quests are set of three alignment-themed quests found in SLASH'EM and dNethack. The inclusion of alignment quests in dNethack was inspired by the alignment quests in SLASH'EM, but the quests themselves are quite different. In both variants, the quests yield alignment keys and alignment artifacts.

Location

• In SLASH'EM, portals to each are found between levels 15 and 19.
• In dNethack, portals to each are found on dedicated branch levels found between dungeon levels 12 and 20.

Properties

The quests all share some common properties in both variants:

• They are all accessed by portals found in the main dungeon; two alignment quest portals will never be found on the same level, nor on the same level as the quest.
• They have no quest leaders or specific quest friendlies.
• Anyone may embark on any of them.
• You can't wish for the alignment quest artifacts or the alignment keys("For a moment, you feel something in your hands, but it disappears!"), same behavior with your own quest artifact.

SLASH'EM Properties

• They are all one level long.
• They all have one unique, covetous enemy who must be killed for their alignment key.
• This enemy will also yield a unique artifact, specifically a body part, if killed in a manner that would normally leave a corpse. Disintegration and digestion are therefore not recommended.

dNethack Properties

• They are all multiple levels long, and divided into roughly three parts.
• They have multiple unique enemies that serve as guardians.
• They each have three alignment keys associated with them, but the precise means of obtaining the keys varies between quests.
• They all contain multiple artifacts related to the theme of each quest. Most of these artifacts are associated with one of the unique enemies in the quest.

Necessity

Necessity in SLASH'EM

The central six doors in the top level of Vlad's Tower have been made indestructible in SLASH'EM, and each requires a specific alignment key to open. Because of the configuration of the doors, you will always need two keys to reach Vlad; therefore, you only need to do two of the alignment quests to easily reach him. And of course, you can't wish for the keys. However, it is still possible to obtain the Candelabrum of Invocation without the alignment keys. There are two main ways to do this:

• Wake up Vlad yourself: Similar to waking up the Wizard, one can do this with a charged drum of earthquake or a polyselfed or pet mind flayer's psychic blast. Vlad is covetous, and so will teleport to meet the player.
• Let somebody else do your dirty work: Specifically the Wizard of Yendor; he wants the Candelabrum as much as you do, and so will teleport to meet Vlad if you lure him up to the top level of Vlad's Tower. However, he cannot get past Vlad's +3 enchantment resistance, but he will at least wake him up for you. Alternately, filling the area with pets via a combination of create monster and confused taming, or by simply spamming flame sphere or a similar spell, it's possible for a pet to end up next to Vlad and wake him up.

Necessity in dNethack

The three doors in the Valley of the Dead have been made indestructible in dNethack, and each requires an alignment key to open. Any alignment key can be used to open any of these doors, but the key is destroyed in the process. Therefore, you will need three alignment keys to gain access to Gehennom (Note that it is impossible to level teleport past the Valley in dNethack before descending into Gehennom via the Valley stairs). Because there are three alignment keys associated with each quest in dNethack, this means you will need either complete one alignment quest completely or multiple alignment quests partially.

The SLASH'EM Quests

Chaotic

The Chaotic Quest sees you fighting Vecna for his hand and key. He is surrounded by an army of L, V, W and Z, and has a very high base level himself, making the Chaotic Quest both the hardest and the most rewarding of the alignment quests, especially given that the level also contains a large number of chests, scrolls and spellbooks. Be aware that the portal might take you right next to Vecna himself, so be prepared with a good permanent source of Elbereth.

Neutral

The easiest quest but also the least rewarding, the Neutral Quest is filled mostly with gas spores and a few random monsters, with the Beholder at the end. Be sure to have magic resistance, reflection, or a source of blindness before entering the level, and be mindful of the fact that the Beholder is represented by the same glyph as all of his attendant gas spores. A ranged weapon is also advisable, although for a strong character not an absolute necessity. The reward, the Eye of the Beholder, is not terribly useful overall.

Lawful

The Lawful Quest plays vaguely like something out of a horror movie. It is filled with numerous illusions, including deceptively #named items made to look like ascension kit items or artifacts, doors which lead nowhere, a false temple, and more. Beneath its illusions, it does always contain a coaligned altar and cursed -9 gray dragon scales (which you will likely have to fight an arch-lich to obtain, stoning is very handy here). It often, but not always, contains an amulet of flying as well. The quest nemesis, Nightmare, inflicts surprising amounts of damage but is otherwise unremarkable. She drops the moderately useful Nighthorn and the Key of Law when killed.

The dNethack Quests

Chaos

The Chaos Quest is a tribute to the original Final Fantasy, and sees you descending through the Temple of Chaos. The unique quest enemies are the Nightmare, Sir Garland, the four fiends, and the demon Chaos.

Neutral

The Neutral Quest is a hybrid quest inspired by D&D and the Cthulhu Mythos, and sees you traveling across the Outlands, and then descending through the Lethe Waterway and the Gulf of N'Kai. The latter portion of the Neutral Quest is based on the Lethe patch. The unique quest enemies are the Argentum golems, the Alhoons, and Great Cthulhu. The Outlands portion of the quest contains a branch to the Shrouded dispensary, where Illurien of the Myriad Glimpses can be found. There are also numerous map inclusions that are eligible for generation in the Outlands portion of the Neutral Quest, some of which contain unique artifacts.

Law

The Law Quest is inspired by D&D, and sees you traveling up through the Paths of Law, across the woodlands of Arcadia, and then ascending a fortress and tower (note that the quest branches into two paths here). The unique quest enemies are Axus, the Arsenal, and Lady Oona. In dNethack 3.16.1 and later, there are also numerous map inclusions that are eligible for generation in the Paths of Law and Arcadia woodlands portions of the Law Quest.