White horse (SpliceHack)
| u white horse (No tile) | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 21 |
| Attacks |
Kick 2d8 physical, kick 2d8 physical, bite 1d6 poison (strength) |
| Base level | 18 |
| Base experience | ? |
| Speed | 24 |
| Base AC | 0 |
| Base MR | 70 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 0 (Not randomly generated) |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 1800 |
| Nutritional value | 350 |
| Size | Large |
| Resistances | cold resistance, poison resistance |
| Resistances conveyed | None |
|
A white horse:
| |
| Reference | SpliceHack 1.2.0 - src/monst.c, line 1444 |
- For the monster in EvilHack, see White Horse (EvilHack).
A white horse, u, is a type of monster that appears in SpliceHack. The white horse is an undead horse that serves as the steed of Pestilence: it is strong, capable of flight and can be seen via infravision.
A white horse has two kick attacks that deal physical damage and a bite attack that inflict strength-draining poison. It has cold resistance and poison resistance.
Generation
White horses are always generated hostile, and are not a valid polymorph form or genocide target.
Only one white horse is encountered on the Astral Plane, where Pestilence is generated riding atop it during level creation.
Origin
The "white horse" is one of the steeds of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (or the Riders of the Apocalypse) that appear in The Book of Revelation, the last book of most common versions of the Christian Bible. The sixth chapter of the book has verses describing the Riders as they appear when the Lamb (representing Jesus) opens six of the seven seals of the Apocalypse—these quotes serve as the encyclopedia entry for the Riders and their steeds in NetHack and its variants, and are cited from the New International Version. The passage describing the White Horse and its rider is as follows:
- I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.
- Revelation 6:1-2.
The White Horseman's identity tends to vary widely with the translation of the passages—he is sometimes given the moniker of Conquest, and other times he is identified as Pestilence, with the latter being far more commonplace in allegories and portrayals within contemporary literature and popular media. While the description given in the chapter's first two verses is closer to the idea of Conquest, the phrasing of the verse following their introductions does give some credence to the idea of Pestilence being one of the Horsemen.
That said, it is a matter of debate as to whether this passage refers to the fourth rider only, or to the four riders as a collective—among information cited to support the Conquest interpretation includes the later appearance of Christ mounted on a white horse in Revelation 19; the recurring motifs of the color white representing righteousness and the idea of Christ as conqueror throughout the Bible as a whole; and the literal conquest of the early Christian community by the Roman Empire and/or Parthian forces (associated with both archery and white horses).
Vicente Blasco Ibáñez's 1916 novel, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, provides an early well-known interpretation of the White Horseman as Pestilence: "The horseman on the white horse was clad in a showy and barbarous attire. ... While his horse continued galloping, he was bending his bow in order to spread pestilence abroad. At his back swung the brass quiver filled with poisoned arrows, containing the germs of all diseases."[1] NetHack is among the works that make use of this latter interpretation, which also extends to its variants, and other roguelikes such as ToME also utilize this interpretation.
Encyclopedia entry
[Pestilence:] And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals,
and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four
beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white
horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given
unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
[War:] And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the
second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another
horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon
to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one
another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
[Famine:] And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the
third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black
horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his
hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say,
A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley
for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
[Death:] And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the
voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and
behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death,
and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over
the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with
hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
References
- ↑ Ibáñez, Vicente Blasco (1916). The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (ch V).
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