High priest
@ high priest 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 30 |
| Attacks |
Weapon 4d10, Kick 2d8, spell-casting (clerical), spell-casting (clerical) |
| Base level | 25 |
| Base experience | 1054 |
| Speed | 15 |
| Base AC | 7 |
| Base MR | 70 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | Unique |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 1450 |
| Nutritional value | 400 |
| Size | Human |
| Resistances | Fire, shock, sleep, poison |
| Resistances conveyed |
None |
|
A high priest:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line2408 |
A high priest, @, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. They act as the head of all religious activities related to a given deity.
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.
High priests are now referred to as "high clerics".Contents
Generation
Four high priests are guaranteed to appear in the game: the high priest of Moloch that tends to Moloch's Sanctum, and the three high priests for each deity of the player's pantheon, who appear in their High Temples on the Astral Plane. In addition to those four, aligned priests can grow up to become high priests.[1][2]
The high priests on the Astral Plane are always generated peaceful, and will remain that way unless you provoke them. The high priest of Moloch is likewise generated peaceful, but will become hostile upon your entering the temple.
Inventory
Like aligned priests, high priests are generated with a mace, small shield, 20–29 zorkmids, and one of the following cloaks: a robe (6⁄7 chance), cloak of protection (2⁄21 chance), or cloak of magic resistance (1⁄21 chance)[3] Those generated normally within temples additionally receive 2–4 spellbooks, and their cloaks are uncursed if the temple is co-aligned with you and cursed otherwise.[4]
Strategy
The high priest of Moloch holds the Amulet of Yendor, and it is extremely likely that killing them will be necessary to obtain the Amulet. This can be difficult, and players will tend to save a wand of death charge for the specific purpose of killing them; this will not work if the priest is generated with a cloak of magic resistance. As mentioned above, the high priest of Moloch is generated peaceful, but turns hostile once you step into the room holding the high altar of Moloch, so be prepared before opening the door. This also means that killing them before stepping in the temple counts as murder for lawful and neutral characters.
References
- ↑ src/mondata.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1008
- ↑ "funcrunch", Priest promoted to high priest? rec.games.roguelike.nethack, 17 April 2008.
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 689
- ↑ src/priest.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 259
