The Tentacle Rod
| ) Tentacle Staff (No tile) | |
|---|---|
| Base item | flail |
| Damage vs. small | 1d6 +1 |
| Damage vs. large | 1d6 +1 |
| To-hit bonus | +1d7 |
| Bonus versus | all |
| Weapon skill | flail |
| Size | one-handed |
| Affiliation | |
| When carried |
(none) |
| When wielded |
|
| When invoked |
(none) |
| Base price | 5000 zm |
| Weight | 15 |
| Material | iron |
The Tentacle Rod is one of two renegade drow artifacts in dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack. It is the quest artifact for drow Priests, Rangers, Rogues, and Wizards of both genders that betray Eclavdra, the Drow Racial quest leader. It is an unaligned intelligent artifact, and its base item type is a flail.
Generation
The Tentacle Red cannot be wished for, though it can be left behind as part of a bones level.
The Tentacle Rod is always generated in in the inventory of Eclavdra and may be obtained at any point by killing her, but can also be obtained as part of the traitorous path for both quests. In either case, it is generated cursed with a random enchantment between +1 and +6, typically +4.
Traitor quest
A drow hero on the Drow Racial quest that betrays Eclavdra and sides with their quest nemesis will find that the Tentacle Rod becomes their "quest artifact": it will change alignment to lawful, and completing the new quest involves bringing it back to the original quest nemesis, who becomes the new quest leader - this is Seyll Auzkovyn for female drow heroes and Daruth Xaxox for hedrow heroes.
Description
The Tentacle Rod has +1d7 to-hit and +1 damage bonuses, but only receives half the normal damage bonus from the hero's strength, and receives no damage bonus from their skill or its enchantment - to-hit bonuses are applied as normal. While wielded, The Tentacle Rod absorbs curses similar to Magicbane and improves spellcasting rates as a worn robe does. When wielded or held in the offhand slot (even when not two-weaponing), the Rod has a 1⁄4 chance of lashing out against each adjacent hostile monster if any are nearby - only one monster can be attacked this way per turn.
Attacking with the Tentacle Rod via any means performs up to 7 strikes per swing, with varying effects depending on how many hits land:
- If it hits 3 or more times, it blinds, stuns or confuses the target.
- If it hits 6 or more times, it additionally slows the target, paralyzes them, or drives them insane.
- If it hits all 7 times, it also deals +d7 damage for each resistance property that the target lacks out of the following: shock resistance, acid resistance, poison resistance, drain resistance, and magic resistance. It also deals +2d7 if the monster only resists one element out of both fire and cold, resulting in a maximum damage bonus of +7d7.
There is no difference in the artifact between traitor quests, but once retrieved and brought to the new leader, it can be swapped for another quest artifact: the artifact will be Crescent Blade for female drow traitors, or Webweaver's Crook for hedrow traitors.
Strategy
For "proper" drow traitors that become lawful, remember that The Tentacle Rod will react with artifact blasts on contact if their alignment record is poor or they later change alignments. Obtaining The Tentacle Rod by completing the quest normally and killing Eclavdra afterward will not change its alignment, and the primary downside is a hit to alignment record if the player character angers her, as well as a far larger one if they kill her directly. Drow characters that want to fill their offhand slot or desire The Tentacle Rod as a weapon may consider this form of betrayal - those that choose to go for it will benefit from a strong pet that can finish the job for them in order to avoid the worst penalties.
In all cases, the artifact is not tied to a specific role, and will not evade the grasp of the hero even if it blasts them.
