Baalzebub
& Baalzebub 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 45 |
| Attacks | |
| Base level | 41 |
| Base experience | 2333 |
| Speed | 9 |
| Base AC | -5 |
| Base MR | 85 |
| Alignment | 20 (lawful) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | Unique |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 1500 |
| Nutritional value | 500 |
| Size | Large |
| Resistances | Fire, poison |
| Resistances conveyed |
None |
|
Baalzebub:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line2713 |
Baalzebub, &, is a demon prince who appears in NetHack. He is guaranteed to appear in Gehennom.
Generation
Under normal circumstances, Baalzebub will be encountered in his lair, situated in a passage at the very back next to the stairs. The lair is eligible to leave bones.
Strategy
As with Asmodeus before him, Baalzebub will appear before you once you attract his attention; if you were not wielding Excalibur upon entering the lair, he will demand a portion of your visible gold as payment for safe passage. If you were wielding Excalibur at the time of level creation, refuse the bribe when he asks, or else he fails to see where you are, Baalzebub will become hostile.[1][2]
Giving Baalzebub the desired gold will cause him to disappear from the level, allowing you to continue forward; this is the ideal strategy if you are in a hurry or else want to conserve resources. As always, unwield Excalibur or Demonbane before walking down to his lair if you plan to pay him off.
Baalzebub is quite easy to defeat, especially compared to Asmodeus; while he is almost as magic-resistant, Baalzebub's primary methods of attack are his poisonous sting and stunning gaze attack, which can be easily countered. Blindfolding yourself protects from his somewhat annoying gaze, and most players will have poison resistance by the time they encounter him, or else have other ways to render strength loss a non-issue. Fighting him on the up staircase with your best weapons is usually enough.
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.
Demonbane will now have the same effect as Excalibur on Baalzebub and other princes when wielded.Origin
Baalzebub is borrowed from Dungeons and Dragons (which uses the spelling Baalzebul), and in turn is inspired by Christian demonology. Beelzebub was the name of a Philistine god formerly worshipped in Ekron, whose name was associated with the Canaanite god Baal; he was later adopted by some Abrahamic religions as a major demon. In some predominantly-Christian theological sources, Beelzebub is another name for Satan.
Baalzebub is known in demonology as one of the seven princes of Hell. The Dictionnaire Infernal describes Beelzebub as a being capable of flying, known as the "Lord of the Flyers", or the "Lord of the Flies". This is considered to be the result of mistranslating of the Hebrew Ba'alzevuv (Greek Beelzebub), and as the encyclopedia entry hints, the name may have been mis-transliterated in turn.
Beelzebub is generally depicted as a demonic fly; this is reflected by both his default tile and the shape of his lair in NetHack, which resembles a fly. The encyclopedia entry comes from the novel Lord of the Flies, named for Baalzebub.
In D&D, Baalzebul appears as a giant slug-like creature which trails feces and garbage wherever he goes. Flies crawl over his body at all times, and his arms are tiny and malformed. He also has a dark-skinned humanoid form with compound insect eyes, which is said to be his initial form prior to being transformed as a punishment by Asmodeus.
Encyclopedia entry
The "lord of the flies" is a translation of the Hebrew Ba'alzevuv (Beelzebub in Greek). It has been suggested that it was a mistranslation of a mistransliterated word which gave us this pungent and suggestive name of the Devil, a devil whose name suggests that he is devoted to decay, destruction, demoralization, hysteria and panic...
