Golem (dNetHack)

The variant dNetHack introduces several new golems.

Some of these golems, along with existing ones, are likely to be found early in the Neutrality Quest branch, around the golem level Sum of All.

New golems

Living lectern

' living lectern (No tile)
Difficulty	10
Attacks	Claw 3d4 physical, Claw 3d4 physical, Magic 0d4 magic missiles

' living lectern (No tile)
Difficulty	10
Attacks	Claw 3d4 physical, Claw 3d4 physical, Magic 0d4 magic missiles
Base level	7
Base experience	114
Speed	6
Base AC	2
Base MR	0
Alignment	0 (neutral)
Frequency (by normal means)	0 (Not randomly generated)
Genocidable	No
Weight	900
Nutritional value	0
Size	large
Resistances	sleep, poison
A living lecturn: can survive underwater. does not breathe. is mindless. has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso. has a thick hide. does not eat. (*) is neither male nor female. is normally generated hostile. never leaves a corpse. resists death magic. cannot be tamed. does not naturally regenerate HP.

A living lectern is an animated spellbook on a wooden stand. When destroyed, it drops 2d3 clubs and a random spellbook.

Although the identity of the spellbook is randomized, the living lectern always uses the same magical attack: magic missiles.

One living lectern is guaranteed to appear in a ruined library at the top of the Lost Cities segment of the Neutrality Quest. There is a 25% chance of a second appearing there as well. In addition, 1d4 living lecterns are placed in waterlogged libraries.

Spell golem

' spell golem
Difficulty	12
Attacks	Claw 1d10 physical, Cast 0d0 mage spell

' spell golem
Difficulty	12
Attacks	Claw 1d10 physical, Cast 0d0 mage spell
Base level	10
Base experience	221
Speed	12
Base AC	5
Base MR	90
Alignment	0 (neutral)
Frequency (by normal means)	1 (Very rare)
Genocidable	Yes
Weight	400
Nutritional value	0
Size	large
Resistances	sleep, poison
A spell golem: can survive underwater. does not breathe. is mindless. has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso. does not eat. (*) is neither male nor female. is normally generated hostile. appears only in Gehennom. never leaves a corpse. resists death magic. cannot be tamed. does not naturally regenerate HP.

A spell golem may be thought of as a paper golem with writing on it. When destroyed, it drops 1-8 random scrolls.

Spell golems are able to cast spells.

Treasury golem

' treasury golem
Difficulty	16
Attacks	Claw 2d6 physical, Claw 2d6 physical, Breath weapon 4d6 poison (strength)

' treasury golem
Difficulty	16
Attacks	Claw 2d6 physical, Claw 2d6 physical, Breath weapon 4d6 poison (strength)
Base level	12
Base experience	301
Speed	9
Base AC	0
Base MR	100
Alignment	9 (lawful)
Frequency (by normal means)	0 (Not randomly generated)
Genocidable	No
Weight	450
Nutritional value	0
Size	large
Resistances	sleep, poison, acid
A treasury golem: can survive underwater. does not breathe. is mindless. has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso. has a thick hide. does not eat. (*) is neither male nor female. is normally generated hostile. likes gold. likes gems. can pick up magical items. never leaves a corpse. resists death magic. cannot be tamed. does not naturally regenerate HP.

A treasury golem may be thought of as a more advanced gold golem that contains precious stones as well.

When destroyed, a treasury golem drops 2d4 random gems and a Luck-dependent amount of gold (up to 400, twice the maximum for a gold golem).

Treasury golems have a poisonous breath attack.

A large number of treasury golems are found in the treasure rooms in Nessus.

Argentum golem

' argentum golem
Difficulty	21
Attacks	Weapon 4d8 physical, Arrow 4d1 silver

' argentum golem
Difficulty	21
Attacks	Weapon 4d8 physical, Arrow 4d1 silver
Base level	18
Base experience	509
Speed	9
Base AC	6
Base MR	100
Alignment	0 (neutral)
Frequency (by normal means)	0 (Not randomly generated)
Genocidable	No
Weight	1000
Nutritional value	0
Size	large
Resistances	fire, cold, sleep, shock, poison
An argentum golem: can survive underwater. does not breathe. is mindless. has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso. has a thick hide. is poisonous to eat. does not eat. (*) is normally generated hostile. is strong. can pick up weapons and food. waits for you to come. never leaves a corpse. resists death magic. cannot be tamed. does not naturally regenerate HP.

Argentum golems are rare silver golems. (Argentum = the metal silver, or something made of silver.)

When destroyed, argentum golems drop 1d3 stacks of 5d10 silver slingstones. In addition, they are generated with a silver dagger, which has a 1-in-6 chance of being replaced with a silver saber, and a large stack of silver arrows, which they will fire in volleys. Any silver arrows fired in this manner are destroyed.

Like iron golems, argentum golems are slowed by lightning and healed by fire attacks.

Eight argentum golems appear in the Sum of All level of the Neutrality Quest.

To paraphrase a particularly wise prime, the rilmani are an
enigma cloaked in a riddle, wrapped in a mystery. Who can
question their motives or their actions? They keep their own
counsel. They're sworn never to come when called, but always
to be there when needed; never to answer questions put to
them, but always to provide what information is necessary; to
aid and abet good, evil, law, and chaos alike in order to maintain
the Balance, regardless of the cost or repercussions.
[ Planescape Monstrous Compendium II, by Rich Baker ]

Retriever

' retriever
Difficulty	25
Attacks	Claw 2d8 physical, Claw 2d8 Amulet theft, Gaze attack 4d8 random elemental gaze, Claw 1d8 abduction

' retriever
Difficulty	25
Attacks	Claw 2d8 physical, Claw 2d8 Amulet theft, Gaze attack 4d8 random elemental gaze, Claw 1d8 abduction
Base level	20
Base experience	628
Speed	10
Base AC	-10
Base MR	80
Alignment	-6 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means)	1 (Very rare)
Genocidable	Yes
Weight	2000
Nutritional value	0
Size	large
Resistances	fire, cold, sleep, shock, poison, petrification
A retriever: can survive underwater. does not breathe. is mindless. has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso. has a thick hide. is poisonous to eat. does not eat. (*) is normally generated hostile. is strong. can pick up weapons and food. wants the Amulet of Yendor. wants your quest artifact. wants the Amulet of Yendor, the Bell of Opening, the Book of the Dead, the Candelabrum of Invocation, and your quest artifact. appears only in Gehennom. never leaves a corpse. resists death magic. may turn against you when tame. does not naturally regenerate HP.

Unique golems

There are some unique golems in dNetHack:

• Arsenal, guardian of the Second Key of Law
• The ford guardian, which is a type of golem found only on the Mordor chaos variant's ford level.
• Warmachine, found on Tiamat, the Fiend of Wind's level, is not actually a unique golem but instead a named retriever.

Changes to existing golems

• Straw golems drop sheaves of hay when destroyed (as in the biodiversity patch and NetHack brass).
• Iron golems may drop iron bars in addition to iron chains. They are generated with lances, war hammers, or glaives.