Paper golem

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A paper golem, ', is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. The paper golem is one of the weakest types of golem in the monster class, and is likely to be the first one a hero encounters.

Paper golems have a claw attack, and possess sleep resistance and poison resistance like all golems. A paper golem that is subjected to stoning will become a stone golem.[1] Fire damage that sets a paper golem aflame can cause them to burn up completely;[2][3][4] paper golems that take damage from fire traps, the fire effect of magic traps, and the fire effect of container traps can lose maximum HP up to a value equal to that maximum plus one.[5] A hero polymorphed into a paper golem can also burn up if they take fire damage and can lose the same amount of their current form's maximum HP plus one from the same traps;[6] dying from burning up returns them to normal form, even if they are wearing an amulet of unchanging.[7]

Generation

Randomly-generated paper golems are always created hostile. Paper golems are always generated with 20 HP.[8]

Paper golems can generate as a result of polypiling if there are enough paper objects in a pile of items.[9]

Paper golems leave behind 1-4 scrolls of blank paper upon death instead of a corpse, unless they are burnt up completely by fire damage.[10] They are not a valid target for genocide.

Strategy

Hostile paper golems are not especially threatening with their weak claw attacks, unless the hero is low on HP and struggling to gain distance from one. In a pinch, any available source of fire damage (such as a wand of fire or a lit potion of oil) can be used to instantly destroy one. Paper golems can provide a useful source of blank paper for writing other scrolls with a magic marker.

History

The paper golem first appears in NetHack 3.3.0.

Messages

<The paper golem> burns completely!
A paper golem was hit with fire damage that destroyed it instantly.
You smell burning paper.
As above, while you are blind.

Variants

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, paper golems are always generated with 36 HP.[11] This also applies to SlashTHEM.

dNetHack

In dNetHack, notdNetHack, notnotdNetHack, spell golems are stronger versions of paper golems that drop random scrolls upon death in place of a corpse.

References