Itlachiayaque

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Itlachiayaque
Author L
Download link
NetHack PatchDB unknown
[   Itlachiayaque   Shield of reflection.png
Base item shield of reflection
Affiliation
When carried
When worn
When invoked
Base price 3000 zm
Weight 50

Itlachiayaque is an artifact introduced in L's Itlachiayaque Patch, where it acts as a replacement for the Archeologist quest artifact, the Orb of Detection. Itlachiayaque replaces the Orb of Detection in UnNetHack, dNetHack, Fourk, xNetHack, and SlashTHEM. It is lawful for wishing purposes, and its base item is a shield of reflection.

Effects

When carried, Itlachiayaque confers ESP, fire resistance and half spell damage—additionally, it does not inhibit spellcasting for an Archeologist wearing it. When invoked, it duplicates the effects of a blessed scroll of stinking cloud, allowing the player to create a temporary seven-tile diameter mass of poison clouds. Archaeologists invoking the artifact in UnNetHack and xNetHack can center it on a designated visible tile—other roles will end up being the "target" of the resulting cloud.

In xNetHack, Itlachiayaque has quite a few differences from other variants—it is made out of gold and confers warning and fire resistance while carried, rather than ESP and half spell damage. When invoked, it prompts the player to choose from two different effects: they can create a poison cloud as normal, or gaze into the surface to look for an object, monster, or furniture symbol just like a crystal ball.

Strategy

Itlachiayaque effectively exchanges the Orb's magic resistance for reflection, but at the cost of blocking the player's off-hand for twoweaponing Archeologists and other roles. Fire resistance, telepathy and half spell damage are welcome, though the former can easily be acquired intrinsically before the quest in most variants. The invoke ability is an improvement on the Orb's invisibility—the stinking cloud is efficient in clearing masses of enemies that lack poison resistance, and should be useful in barracks and treasure zoos.

Players should be warned that the quest nemesis, the Minion of Huhetotl, is almost guaranteed to put on the shield and subsequently benefit from its reflectio—avoid using ray attacks that can be reflected back at you.

Origin

Itlachiayaque is the name of an object, either a mirror or a shield, carried by the Aztec god Tezcatlipoca (whose name literally translates to "fiery mirror").

Encyclopedia entry

Tezcatlipoca (Fiery Mirror) was undoubtedly the Jupiter of the
Nahua pantheon. He carried a mirror or shield [ Itlachiayaque ],
from which he took his name, and in which he was supposed to see
reflected the actions and deeds of mankind. The evolution of this
god from the status of a spirit of wind or air to that of the
supreme deity of the Aztec people presents many points of deep
interest to students of mythology.

[ The Myths of Mexico and Peru, by Lewis Spence ]