Bone devil
& bone devil 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 13 |
| Attacks |
Weapon 3d4, sting poisonous 2d4 |
| Base level | 9 |
| Base experience | 285 |
| Speed | 15 |
| Base AC | -1 |
| Base MR | 40 |
| Alignment | -9 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 2 (Quite rare) |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 1450 |
| Nutritional value | 400 |
| Size | Large |
| Resistances | Fire, poison |
| Resistances conveyed | None |
|
A bone devil:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line2620 |
A bone devil, &, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. The bone devil is a major demon that has infravision and can be seen via infravision, will pick up and collect items, and can follow a character to other levels if they are adjacent.
A bone devil has a weapon attack and a poisonous sting, and possesses fire resistance and poison resistance like other major demons.
Bone devils are poisonous to consume, which primarily comes up if they are digested by another monster.
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.
As of commit f0698e1d, bone devils summon skeletons instead of summoning demons.Contents
Generation
Bone devils are only randomly generated in Gehennom, and randomly-generated bone devils are always created hostile. Normally-created bone devils may appear in small groups.
In addition to random generation, bone devils can be gated in by other chaotic demons, and may also appear as minions of Moloch or a chaotic god.
A bone devil never leaves a corpse upon death.
Strategy
Bone devils are decently fast, with a weapon attack and a sting that can drain strength from characters without poison resistance - they are generally not much of a threat to a character capable of reaching Gehennom, especially since their AC of -1 and MR score of 40 pales in comparison to some other major demons. However, polymorph traps and other sources of polymorph make them a nasty surprise for less-prepared characters in earlier stage of the game, with their weakness to silver and cold attacks still providing an important edge.
As a potential pet, a bone devil is a decent candidate, although their MR score may interfere with further attempts to change its form.
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.
Bone devils can be more of an annoyance and may even be problematic if the skeletons they generate manage to sap intrinsic speed from a character.History
The bone devil is introduced in NetHack 3.0.0, which differentiates all demons from each other.
Origin
The bone devil originates from Dungeons & Dragons, where they make their debut in the 1977 first edition Monster Manual. Bone devils (known in later editions as osyluths) populate the lower planes of Hell, particularly the fifth one known as Stygia; they tend to prefer cold to heat unlike many other devils. Bone devils appear as tall, skeletal beings with gaunt and emaciated frames and sickly "stretched" skin, and possess skull-like heads and scorpion-like stingers. They can see light in the ultra-violet spectrum and can also see in complete darkness as well.
Though portrayed as "lesser devils", bone devils act as Hell's "law enforcement", serving as taskmasters and interrogators with the authority to enforce the realm's standards of lawful evil. Bone devils are malicious sadists that revel in the act of inflicting physical and mental pain on lesser beings, even as they also display the zealous vigilance and vicious cunning required of their position - while obedient if not fanatically loyal, they were simultaneously envious of their superiors' status. Bone devils are hated among devilkind due to their methods of punishment: any devils guilty of breaking infernal law are sent to the Pit of Flame for 101 days of torture - a criminal that attempts to kill a bone devil and is caught in the act will be permanently demoted to a lemure.
Bone devils attack with hooked polearms (not necessarily bill-guisarmes) made of bone in order to snare and wound opponents, then subject the trapped foe to stinging from their tails; they can also generate an aura of fear, create illusions, fly, become invisible, detect invisible, and can create a wall of ice once per day.
Variants
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, tame bone devil minions are an eligible sacrifice gift for chaotic characters at experience level 25 or higher.
A bone devil is generated in The Temple of Moloch at level creation. Nine bone devils are generated in the lair of Dispater at level creation.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, bone devils are lawful.
Bone devils have a stronger stinger attack and an additional strong claw attack. They may generate as minions of Kurtulmak or Moloch, and may appear as prisoners in a throne room ruled by an Aurumach Rilmani.
xNetHack
In xNetHack, bone devils are lawful.
In addition to demon gating, bone devils are capable of summoning skeletons at will, and a hostile one can fill an area with skeletons if left alone long enough - characters with intrinsic speed are at very high risk of losing the property if they are overwhelmed by bone devil summons. Cancellation will prevent a bone devil from summoning or gating.
Encyclopedia entry
Bone devils attack with weapons and with a great hooked tail which causes a loss of strength to those they sting.
