Binder (dNetHack role)

The Binder is a new role added directly to dNethack. Binders are a new type of spellcaster, that conduct rituals and follow special conducts in return for power. They face a difficult early game, though they can eventually achieve great power.

Binders always follow the gnostic alignment: no creatures are naturally friendly towards them. They can be of any race.

              Binders are peasants who have come under the influence of
         the spirits of the outer void. The begin with substandard weapons
         and a small supply of stolen food. Over time, they can gain 
         significant power.

Binders are poor fighters initially, starting with poor quality weapons and low ability scores. The spirits they bind give them great flexibility in the mid-to-late game.

Spirits

Preliminary Spirit page (This was the planning document version of the spirits)

Binders are almost completely dependent on the spirits they bind. As Binders level up, both the maximum number of spirits bound and the damage dealt by the typical offensive spirit power increase:

Level	Title	Max Spirits Bound	Die Size
1-2	Exile	1	1
3-5	Heretic	2	d2
6-9	Cultist	2	d3
10-13	Binder	3	d4
14-17	Akousmatikoi	3+1	d5
18-21	Mathematikoi	4+1	d6
22-25	Doctor	4+1	d7
26-29	Unbinder	5+1	d8
30	Gnostikos	5+2	d9

The possible seals are:

Ahazu	Amon	Andrealphus	Andromalius
Astaroth	Balam	Berith	Buer
Chupoclops	Dantalion	Echidna	Eden
Enki	Eurynome	Eve	Fafnir
Huginn and Muninn	Iris	Jack	Malphas
Marionette	Mother	Naberius	Orthos
Ose	Otiax	Paimon	Shiro
Simurgh	Tenebrous	Ymir	Dahlver-Nar
Acererak	Cosmos	Miska	Nudziarth
The Alignment Thing	The Unknown God	The Council of Elements	Numina

Binders automatically learn these seals as they level up. The order in which seals are learned is random:

Level	Total Seals Known
1	3
2	5
3	7
4	10
5	12
6	14
7	17
8	19
9	21
10	24
11	26
12	28
13	31

Starting inventory

Each binder starts with the following:

• a +0 rusty pole cleaver
• a +0 rusty knife
• a +0 leather cloak
• a cram ration (with the usual chance of getting a stack)
• a stack of apples
• a stack of tripe rations
• a small stack of rocks
• a flint stone

Intrinsics

Binders do not receive intrinsics from leveling up, nor do they receive intrinsics from crowning. Many spirits, however, grant intrinsics while bound.

Intrinsic	Spirit
Acid resistance	Echidna
Blindness resistance	Dantalion
Cold resistance	Amon
Confusion resistance	Numina
Death resistance	Ose
Disease resistance	Iris
Disintegration resistance	Orthos
Drain resistance	Tenebrous
Engulf resistance	Ahazu
Fast healing	Buer
Fire resistance	Fafnir
Free Action	Eurynome
Half-magic damage	Balam
Half-physical damage	Eve
Hallucination resistance	Huginn and Muninn
Invisible	Shiro
Life Saving	Jack
Magic resistance	Mother
Poison resistance	Ymir
Punishment resistance	Malphas
Reflection	Eden
Resist ability damage	Dahlver-Nar
Resist leg injuries	Acererak
See invisibility	Naberius
Shock resistance	Astaroth
Sleep resistance	Chupoclops
Stealth	Shiro
Stoning resistance	Marionette
Stun resistance	Numina
Teleport control	Andrealphus
Theft resistance	Andromalius
Thick skin	Enki

Skills

Binders can advance in no skills innately, their bound spirits again determine what their abilities are.

Most spirits unrestrict one or more skills. While that spirit is bound, the binder receives a +1 skill rank bonus in the noted skill, and can advance the skill to Skilled (for a cumulative maximum score of Expert).

Skills are permanently unrestricted, but if the binder advances beyond Basic they loose access to those additional skill ranks while not bound to the spirit. The special level 30 spirit Numina allows access to all skills, but does not grant bonuses to any skill.

Skill	Spirit
Attack Spells	Naberius
Axe	Marionette
Boomerang	Enki
Bow	Eve
Broad Sword	Dantalion
Cleric Spell	Amon
Club	Ymir
Crossbow	Astaroth
Dagger	Andromalius
Dart	Enki
Divination Spells	Mother
Enchantment Spells	Simurgh
Escape Spell	Andrealphus
Flail/Heavy Iron Ball	Ahazu
Hammer	Enki
Harvest	Eve
Healing Spell	Buer
Javelin	Enki
Knife	Chupoclops
Lance	Berith
Long Sword	Eden
Mace	Tenebrous
Matter Spell	Iris
Pickaxe	Fafnir
Polearms	Shiro
Quarterstaff	Naberius
Riding	Berith
Saber	Berith
Scimitar	Dantalion
Short Sword	Enki
Shuriken	Astaroth
Sling	Enki
Spear	Huginn and Muninn
Trident	Ose
Two Handed Sword	Dantalion
Unarmed Strike	Eurynome
Unicorn Horn	Buer
Whip	Balam

Active Powers

Binders also receive active powers from their spirits. Each power may be used once per 25 turns, but requires no energy.

Ability	Spirit	Effect
Abduction	Ahazu	Attempt to remove single adjacent monster from the game. You must have injured the monster with a melee attack or a thrown or fired projectile.
Fire Breath	Amon	Breath a ray of fire.
Transdimensional Ray	Andrealphus	Fire an invisible beam that passes through walls, teleports struck monsters, and moderately damages them.
Teleport	Andrealphus	Hungerless teleport.
Jester's Mirth	Andromalius	Immobilize single adjacent monster with laughter.
Thief's Instincts	Andromalius	Detect nearby secret doors, traps, etc.
Astaroth's Assembly	Astaroth	Projects an invisible beam up to 5 spaces in the chosen direction. A electrical explosion centers on the first target struck. This explosion looses 1 die of damage per square traveled. You gain increase AC in inverse proportion to the damage dealt by the explosion.
Astaroth's Shards	Astaroth	Fires a barrage of shuriken along random ranks. You take damage as well.
Icy Glare	Balam	Deals ice damage in a ~45 degree wedge. Blinds you for 5 turns.
Balam's Anointing	Balam	Makes an ice-damage touch attack against a single adjacent creature. Target may be killed outright (10% chance).
Blood Mercenary	Berith	Fires an invisible beam in a chosen direction. Damage is non-elemental, but must be financed by your visible gold.
Sow Discord	Berith	Monsters on the level attack each other for a short period of time.
Gift of Healing	Buer	Heal single adjacent target. May also be used to heal yourself.
Gift of Health	Buer	Clear most status ailments from single adjacent target. May also be used to remove status ailments from yourself.
Throw Webbing	Chupoclops	Throw a ball of webbing in a chosen direction.
Thought Travel	Dantalion	Teleport to chosen creature you can sense telepathically.
Dread of Dantalion	Dantalion	Cause all monsters in line-of-sight to flee from you.
Earth Swallow	Shiro	Targets one adjacent square. Digs a pit and then fills it with a boulder.
Echidna's Venom	Echidna	Spit acid in the chosen direction.
Suckle Monster	Echidna	Attempt to suckle chosen adjacent monster on your blood. You take damage equal to the target monster's level +1. Monsters must not be mindless and must be an animal or monstrous (snake-like or have no hands).
Purifying Blast	Eden	Powerful multi-hit attack. Deals 10d damage with a 25 square knockback, followed by a 10d fireball fired along the same line. The blast must charge for 5 turns after the direction is specified, during which the character is immobile.
Recall to Eden	Eden	Attempts to remove 1 adjacent target from the game. Probability of success is based on your relative HP totals.
Stargate	Eden	Branchport. Drains your energy.
Walker of Thresholds	Enki	Teleport to a chosen doorway.
Vengance	Eurynome	Damage all adjacent creatures that have damaged you with their attacks.
Shape the Wind	Eurynome	Creates a number of temporary pets.
Thorns and Stones	Eve	Creates a small stack of ammunition for your currently wielded ranged weapon.
Barrage	Eve	Fire a large number of your currently quivered items.
Breath Poison	Fafnir	Create a stinking cloud centered on a chosen point.
Ruinous Strike	Fafnir	Destroy single adjacent wall or trap. Damage single adjacent nonliving monster or destroy single adjacent golem.
Raven's Talons	Huginn and Muninn	Damage and blind single adjacent sighted monster, or moderately damage sightless monster.
Horrid Wilting	Iris	Moderately damage single adjacent monster, and heal yourself for a like amount.
Horrid Rainbow	Iris	Turn away of slay nearby humanoids and animals.
Refill Lantern	Jack	Add fuel to a wielded oil lamp.
Hellfire	Jack	Subtract fuel from a lit, wielded oil lamp to invoke a moderately damaging fireball at a chosen point.
Call Murder	Malphas	Create a tame crow.
Root Shout	Marionette	Dig out a line and moderately damage creatures caught in the blast.
Yank Wires	Marionette	Fling yourself around the dungeon. Distance is based on strength.
Disgusted Gaze	Mother	Heavily damage one target monster with a bolt of lightning. May paralyze a nearby target. You drop your wielded weapons.
Bloody Tongue	Naberius	Frighten one adjacent target.
Silver Tongue	Naberius	Pacify one adjacent target.
Exhalation of the Rift	Orthos	Fire a line of wind in a chosen direction. Wind throws back creatures and damages them.
Querient Thoughts	Ose	Potentially damage and put to sleep all hostile, non-mindless creatures on the current level. Power is guaranteed to affect telepathic creatures.
Great Leap	Ose	Level teleport. Costs a lot of nutrition.
Master of Doorways	Otiax	Open a door through just about anything. If targeted at a creature, deals damages them, with a chance of causing instant death.
Read Spell	Paimon	Cast a spell from a wielded spellbook. This spell is not subject to spell failure and does not require magical energy.
Unite the Earth and Sky	Simurgh	Fill target adjacent pit with water, or grow a tree in target open square.
Hook in the Sky	Simurgh	Rise up to the dungeon level above you.
Enlightenment	Simurgh	Cast enlightenment.
Damning Darkness	Tenebrous	Spread darkness in nearby squares. Damage monsters standing on lit squares, and moderately damage creatures standing on unlit squares.
Touch of the Void	Tenebrous	Drain a level from one adjacent creature.
Echos of the Last Word	Tenebrous	Remove single adjacent life-drain or genocide resistant creature from the game.
Poison Gaze	Ymir	Damage single target creature with a poisonous gaze.
Gap Step	Ymir	Begin levitating. The natural duration of the levitation effect is equal to 5+Ymir's remaining binding period. You can also cease levitating with '>'.
Moan	Dahlver-Nar	Frighten and confuse nearby creatures.
Swallow Soul	Acererak	Kill single adjacent creature.
Identify Inventory	Numina	Identify items in your pack.
Clairvoyance	Numina	Map nearby area via clairvoyance.
Find Path	Numina	Detect the presence of nearby magic portals.

What Spirits are Good?

Early Game

In the early game you want spirits with offensive powers that do not require attack rolls, as the early game binder is pretty weak and has difficulty hitting targets. Your limited resources will also make some binding conditions difficult to meet. Of course, there is no guarantee that you will start the game knowing any of these, but the odds of knowing or quickly learning at least one are pretty good.

Spirit	Binding Notes	Other Notes
Amon	There must not be an altar on the same level as you. The first mines level can be a good place to bind this spirit.	Amon's taboo is prayer; also, you can hurt yourself with reflected fire breath.
Andrealphus	Very easy, all you need is the corner of a room.	Very good for increasing your survivability, not so good for killing enemies. Probably the best level 1 spirit.
Astaroth	Very easy, all you need is the rusty equipment you start out with.	Relatively short-range attack.
Buer	Very easy, just draw the seal anywhere	No offensive powers, but most low-level enemies can't out-damage Buer's HP regeneration rate.
Echidna	Can be bound on the first mine level.	Her offensive power requires a to-hit role; her reflexive attack is low-damage but early-game enemies don't have a lot of HP.
Eden	You need a fountain to bind Eden, minetown or the Oracle level may therefore be required.	Eden's offensive power is strong, but works best on slow targets. In all perhaps better as a second spirit than as a first spirit. He also grants the very useful Reflection intrinsic.
Huginn and Muninn	Just draw the seal anywhere	Their melee power doesn't require an attack role, but blinds the target, rendering them immune to wards.
Mother	You need a way to blind yourself, which is RNG-dependent	Her gaze attack is powerful, and paralyzes close targets. She also grants magic immunity.
Shiro	You need 8 rocks to bind him, which is 3 more than you start with.	He grants invisibility and stealth, which are useful for avoiding foes, and his stone choir ability augments the offensive power of early game characters fairly well. He can also be used to cheat at Sokoban, by using his Earth Rend power to fill the holes.
Ymir	You need the rotting corpse of a poisonous monster, so any kobold with do (wait at least 50 turns unless the corpse is from a zombie).	His mark isn't visible until at least 5000 turns have past, so he does not block the use of any early shops you may find.
Tenebrous	Any corridor can be used to bind Tenebrous	Tenebrous's mark is difficult to hide, as it requires you to stand in darkness.

Mid Game

At this point in the game, you will find that the damage output of your offensive spirit powers starts to lag behind enemy hp totals. Spirits' secondary powers, as well as the skills they grant, become correspondingly more important. By this point, you can probably bind any spirit you want.

Spirit	Notes
Eden	Since this spirit grants reflection, it may be necessary to keep it bound until you can find an alternate source of reflection.
Mother	Likewise, this spirit grants magic resistance.
Tenebrous	This spirit grants drain resistance. His Echos of the Last Word power is also useful for countering Ls and Vs

Late Game

At this point, you should probably have mastered an additional means of fighting, beyond your spirit powers.

Melee Binder

Perhaps the most natural endgame strategy, the Melee Binder favors spirits that improve close-range combat.

• Six spirits -Amon, Chupoclops, Iris, Nabirius, Otiax, and Simurgh- grant extra melee attacks.
• Additionally, Echidna, Eden, Eurynome, and Fafnir grant retaliatory attacks against foes that strike you in melee.
• Marionette causes your weapon attacks to strike two squares instead of one.
• Finally, Ahazu effectively reduces enemy HP by 10% in melee combat.

Hand-to-Hand Binder

A subset of Melee Binders, Hand-to-Hand Binders favor spirits that improve unarmed attacks.

• Buer grants regeneration, improves you hand-to-hand attacks to martial arts, and grants skill in hand-to-hand fighting.
• Eden causes your unarmed attacks to count as silver.
• Eurynome increases the size of your unarmed attack's damage-dice and grants skill in hand-to-hand fighting.
• Marionette provides stoning resistance, protecting you from c-related YASDs.
• Dahlver-Nar increases the damage dealt by your unarmed attacks as you take damage.

Spellcasting Binder

The spellcasting binder chooses spirits that grant access to magic skills and enhance spellcasting

• Being able to advance at least one of the magic skills is probably important:
  • Attack spells: Naberius
  • Clerical spells: Amon
  • Divination spells: Mother
  • Enchantment spells: Simurgh
  • Escape spells: Andrealphus
  • Healing spells: Buer
  • Matter spells: Iris
• Other spirits grant useful abilities
  • Huginn and Muninn: Adjust both Int and Wis to 25, although binding them does drain 1 point from your true ability scores.
  • Paimon
    • When bound into the Pen of the Void, Paimon grants 1 or 2 energy per successful melee attack with the Pen.
    • When bound normally, Paimon can increase the lifespan of spellbooks by draining enemies' lives into the books. Paimon can also be used to cast spells directly from books, without using energy.

Projectile Binder

• Andrealphus's Teleport power allows you to easily relocate yourself, and his Transdimensional Ray can send away monsters that get too close for comfort.
• Dantalion's Dread of Dantalion power frightens nearby enemies, potentially giving you some additional breathing room. He also improves the damage dealt by ranged weapons.
• Eve's barrage power allows you to put a lot of ammo in the air when it counts. Her Thorns and Stones power creates ammo for your current weapon.
• Orthos's Exhalation of the Rift knocks back targets in a 3-square wide line, allowing you to keep your targets at range.