Cyclops
H Cyclops 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 23 |
| Attacks |
Weapon 4d8, weapon 4d8, claw quest artifact-stealing 2d6 |
| Base level | 18 |
| Base experience | 662 |
| Speed | 12 |
| Base AC | 0 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | -15 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | Unique |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 1900 |
| Nutritional value | 700 |
| Size | Huge |
| Resistances | Stoning |
| Resistances conveyed |
None |
|
The Cyclops:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line3236 |
The Cyclops, H, is the Healer quest nemesis. He wields the Staff of Aesculapius.
As with other giant corpses, eating the Cyclops's corpse has a 50% chance to increase your strength.
Strategy
The Cyclops is a very dangerous quest nemesis; fighting him one-on-one is not advised, as he is faster than a normal giant and gets two very strong weapon attacks, and this is before reckoning with the fact that the Staff is guaranteed to drain a level each time it hits you. Even if disarmed with a bullwhip (which requires a minimum dexterity of 16 for a chance of snatching the weapon), he can still hit for damage in the 70s.
As with other quest nemeses, the Cyclops respects the scroll of scare monster, and can be easily beaten if you engage him on the stairs with one on the floor. Fortunately, if you lack one the Cyclops is also susceptible to most magical attacks, due to his monster MR of 0. The wand of sleep is guaranteed to work on him, although the ray may miss a few times due to his AC of 0. A wielded potion of sleeping is more likely to hit easily put him out, and a wielded potion of polymorph or a zapped wand of polymorph (which can't miss) will potentially leave him in an easy-to-decimate form. Healers lucky enough to find a wand of death have a fairly safe means of ending the Cyclops quickly.
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.
The scroll of scare monster on the ground no longer scares any unique monster.Encyclopedia entry
And after he had milked his cattle swiftly,
he again took hold of two of my men
and had them as his supper.
Then I went, with a tub of red wine,
to stand before the Cyclops, saying:
"A drop of wine after all this human meat,
so you can taste the delicious wine
that is stored in our ship, Cyclops."
He took the tub and emptied it.
He appreciated the priceless wine that much
that he promptly asked me for a second tub.
"Give it", he said, "and give me your name as well".
...
Thrice I filled the tub,
and after the wine had clouded his mind,
I said to him, in a tone as sweet as honey:
"You have asked my name, Cyclops? Well,
my name is very well known. I'll give it to you,
if you give me the gift you promised me as a guest.
My name is Nobody. All call me thus:
my father and my mother and my friends."
Ruthlessly he answered to this:
"Nobody, I will eat you last of all;
your host of friends will completely precede you.
That will be my present to you, my friend."
And after these words he fell down backwards,
restrained by the all-restrainer Hupnos.
His monstrous neck slid into the dust;
the red wine squirted from his throat;
the drunk vomited lumps of human flesh.
