Hill orc
o hill orc 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 4 |
| Attacks |
Weapon 1d6 |
| Base level | 2 |
| Base experience | 22 |
| Speed | 9 |
| Base AC | 10 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | −4 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 2 (Quite rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 1000 |
| Nutritional value | 200 |
| Size | Medium |
| Resistances | None |
| Resistances conveyed |
None |
|
A hill orc:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line684 |
A hill orc, o, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. It is a stronger type of orcish monster encountered after the goblin and hobgoblin, and is usually one of the first monsters you will encounter in groups.
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.
As part of resolving issue #679 regarding congruence between non-player monsters and their player counterparts, commit b6a3d4b gives poison resistance to all orcs except the goblin and hobgoblin - this is done in order to distinguish them from other orcs.Contents
Generation
Some hill orcs may generate as peaceful towards orcish player characters. Hill orcs are often generated in large groups of 2-11 - the group will be smaller if some of them are generated peaceful.
Hill orcs may appear among the hostile o that generate in throne rooms, as well as the various monsters that can be randomly generated by looting a throne while confused and carrying gold (provided there is no chest on the level). A hill orc can grow up into an orc-captain.
A hill orc has a 1⁄2 chance of generating with an orcish helm, and a separate 1⁄2 chance of being given an orcish dagger or a scimitar, with an equal chance for each weapon.[1][2]
In a game that has Orcish Town, large numbers of named hill orcs will appear around and within the town walls - other named hill orcs can appear elsewhere in the Gnomish Mines and the main branch, carrying various looted items with them.[3][4]
Strategy
Hill orc hordes may pose a problem for weak or unprepared characters, but they are fairly easy to defeat individually. Groups of hill orcs usually mark one of the first instances where you will have to use crowd control strategies, such as drawing them into a corridor so that only one of them can attack you at a time. Be wary if any of them have scrolls or wands on hand. The scimitars that hill orcs may generate with can make a decent early weapon for roles that are able to advance the skill once they are curse-tested, especially if they generate blessed.
Hill orcs make a decent source of food for a starting character, providing 200 nutrition; their corpses also make decent fodder for sacrifice if you can keep them close enough to an altar. Orcish characters lack penalties for cannibalism and stand to gain a lot more from same-race sacrifice, including maximizing Luck and summoning peaceful demon lords and foocubi. The Orcish Town altar in particular is a good candidate for player orcs to use - be sure to convert it with a non-orcish corpse first, though, as same-race sacrifice does not convert an unaligned altar and you will take a -2 Luck penalty.
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.
As of commit 296a3ac2, the scimitar skill is merged into the saber skill.History
The hill orc is introduced in NetHack 3.0.0, where the various orcish monsters are first differentiated from each other.
Origin
The orcs in NetHack are derived from Dungeons & Dragons, which in turn are based on their portrayal in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien.
Variants
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, six hill orcs generate in the halls of Grund's Stronghold.
UnNetHack
In UnNetHack, 20-24 hill orcs will appear on the fourth level of the Ruins of Moria.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, hill orcs may appear in the court of a throne room ruled by an orc-captain.
Encyclopedia entry
Orcs, bipeds with a humanoid appearance, are related to the
goblins, but much bigger and more dangerous. The average orc
is only moderately intelligent, has broad, muscled shoulders,
a short neck, a sloping forehead and a thick, dark fur.
Their lower eye-teeth are pointing forward, like a boar's.
Female orcs are more lightly built and bare-chested. Not
needing any clothing, they do like to dress in variegated
apparels. Suspicious by nature, orcs live in tribes or
hordes. They tend to live underground as well as above
ground (but they dislike sunlight). Orcs can use all weapons,
tools and armors that are used by men. Since they don't have
the talent to fashion these themselves, they are constantly
hunting for them. There is nothing a horde of orcs cannot
use.
References
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 397: default orcish armor
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 426: default orcish weapons
- ↑ src/mkmaze.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 740
- ↑ src/mkmaze.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 797
