Elvenking
@ elvenking 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 11 |
| Attacks |
Weapon 2d4, weapon 2d4 |
| Base level | 9 |
| Base experience | 196 |
| Speed | 12 |
| Base AC | 10 |
| Base MR | 25 |
| Alignment | -10 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 800 |
| Nutritional value | 350 |
| Size | Medium |
| Resistances | Sleep |
| Resistances conveyed | Sleep (60%) |
|
An Elvenking:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line2346 |
An Elvenking, @, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. The Elvenking is the strongest of the elves and shares a colored glyph with the Wizard of Yendor.
Elvenkings have two weapon attacks, and possess sleep resistance like all elves.
Eating an Elvenking corpse or tin has a 3⁄5 chance of conveying sleep resistance, which is the second-most among elves.
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.
The Elvenking has been renamed to the elven monarch; male elven monarchs are Elvenkings, while female elven monarchs are called Elvenqueens.
As part of resolving issue #679 regarding congruence between non-player monsters and their player counterparts, commit b6a3d4b9 makes it so that elven monarchs and other strong elven polyforms are capped at 18 strength as elven heroes are.Contents
Generation
Randomly-generated Elvenkings will be peaceful towards chaotic elven players, and are occasionally peaceful towards chaotic humans. Elf-lords can grow up into Elvenkings.
In addition to normal random generation, hostile Elvenkings can be found in throne rooms occupying the throne itself, which becomes more likely the deeper the throne room is within the dungeon. Elvenkings can also be generated by the summon nasties monster spell. A hostile Elvenking with a pick-axe is guaranteed to appear on the Plane of Earth.
Elvenkings are eligible for offensive, defensive and miscellaneous items, and are generated with elven equipment like other elves:[1]
- They have a 1⁄2 chance of generating with either an elven mithril-coat or an elven cloak, and a 1⁄2 chance of generating with an elven leather helm; if they do not generate with the helm, they have a 1⁄4 chance of generating with elven boots.
- They have a 1⁄2 chance of generating with an elven dagger.
- They will also generate with one of the following sets of items, with an equal chance of each set:
- An elven bow and set of elven arrows, a 1⁄4 chance of an elven shield and a 2⁄3 chance of an elven short sword.
- An elven broadsword and a 1⁄2 chance of an elven shield.
- A 1⁄2 chance of an elven spear and accompanying elven shield.
In addition, they have a 2⁄3 chance of generating with a pick-axe, and a 1⁄50 chance of generating with a crystal ball.[2] Elvenkings that rule over throne rooms will always generate with a mace.[3]
As Elvenkings are overlords to their kind, any weapons they generate with will be at least +1, and any armor will be at least +0.
Strategy
Elvenkings represent a nasty threat for an early game player that stumbles upon one presiding over a throne room - this can occur as early as the fifth dungeon level, and throne room Elvenkings can deal surprising amounts of damage with their mace. Furthermore, they ignore Elbereth like most elves, requiring players that cannot match them in melee to pick them off with projectiles, spells or wands. In the later stages of the game, characters are more likely to both encounter random Elvenkings and be prepared for them; their primary threat at this stage comes from being generated by the summon nasties monster spell and ignoring Elbereth, which is typically used to drive off said nasties.
If the Wizard of Yendor summons nasties while a character is fighting him, be sure to far look any @ that appear to identify potential Elvenkings: it is common practice to zap the Wizard with a death ray at the first opportunity, so ensure that it finds the right target.
The pick-axe from the Elvenking on the Plane of Earth can be used to navigate through the level, but only consider this if there are little to no other options available - most characters should have several digging wands on hand alongside a digging tool of their own by the time they reach the Elemental Planes, and the minotaur that also appears will provide another wand of digging.
As a polyform
Elvenkings are solidly powerful as polyforms for non-elven players - they are strong (which sets player strength to 18/**), can wear all armor and have two weapon attacks that add +2d4 damage and enable twoweaponing in that form.[4][5]
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.
The changes to elven monster strength detailed above make them less reliable to lean on as a source of exceptional strength, though they are still more than solid enough in all other aspects to remain quite useful.History
The Elvenking first appears in NetHack 3.0.0.
Origin
The rare possibility of Elvenkings generating with a crystal ball is an allusion to the palantír, a magical artifact from J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth novels. Palantíri are indestructible crystal balls used for communicating and viewing past and future events in other parts of the realm, and were made by the Elves of Valinor in the First Age. Elves are the only race of hero in NetHack that can naturally reach an Intelligence of 20, which allows them to apply crystal balls with no chance of failure.
Messages
- You feel very comfortable here.
- You sat on a throne while polymorphed into an Elvenking or other "royal" monster.
Variants
Some variants make adjustments so that female counterparts to the Elvenking can generate and are properly named.
GruntHack
In GruntHack, Elvenkings are replaced by the king and queen racial monsters, which can be elven.
UnNetHack
In UnNetHack, the "Ozymandias' Tomb" random vault has a statue trap of an Elvenking.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, the Elvenking is significantly stronger, with better defenses and six weapon attacks (including two offhand ones). The Elvenqueen is a distinct monster from the Elvenking, rather than a simple female counterpart.
An Elvenking may appear as the ruler of a randomly-generated throne room - his court can contain elf-lords, elf-ladies, Grey-elves, Green-elves, Woodland-elves, quicklings, dryads, naiads, Coure Eladrin, Noviere Eladrin, Bralani Eladrin, Firre Eladrin, Shiere Eladrin, doppelgangers, and wood trolls.
The River Ford level in the Mordor Ruins Quest has a 3⁄4 chance of generating an Elvenking in the forest on the west side.
SpliceHack
In SpliceHack, the monster is renamed to an elven royal, with male monarchs called "elven kings" and female monarchs called "elven queens".
EvilHack
In EvilHack, the monster is renamed to an "elven royal" as in SpliceHack.
SlashTHEM
In SlashTHEM, an Elvenking presiding over a throne room will always generate with an ornate mace.
Hack'EM
In Hack'EM, the monster is renamed to an "elven royal" as in SpliceHack and EvilHack. Additionally, elven royals cannot generate as throne room rulers on or above dungeon level 10.
References
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 222: Default equipment for elves
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 253: additional equipment for Elvenkings
- ↑ src/mkroom.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 258
- ↑ src/uhitm.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 2396
- ↑ include/mondata.h in NetHack 3.6.7, line 131
