Ki-rin
A ki-rin 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 21 |
| Attacks |
Kick 2d4, kick 2d4, butt 3d6, spell-casting |
| Base level | 16 |
| Base experience | 552 |
| Speed | 18 |
| Base AC | −5 |
| Base MR | 90 |
| Alignment | 15 (lawful) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 1450 |
| Nutritional value | 400 |
| Size | Large |
| Resistances | None |
| Resistances conveyed |
None |
|
A ki-rin:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line1013 |
A ki-rin, A, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. They are capable of seeing invisible, flight, and spellcasting, and are the second strongest angelic beings after Archons.
Contents
Generation
Ki-rin are randomly generated very rarely, and will generate as peaceful for a lawful character with a good alignment record. They will not randomly generate in Gehennom, with the exception of Vlad's Tower. Ki-rin may first show up within the Castle, though they are often not seen until the ascension run.
Ki-rin serve as minions for lawful gods, who may send hostile ki-rin after you if you anger them (e.g. with excessive prayer) or rarely when you convert one of their altars through sacrifice. Ki-rin are not eligible forms for polymorph, and cannot be targeted for genocide.
Strategy
Hostile ki-rin are quite dangerous to face - a repertoire of mage monster spells, an AC of -5 and high monster magic resistance can render them a serious nuisance, especially if their level enough for them to summon nasties or even employ the touch of death. Furthermore, as angelic beings they do not respect sanctuary or Elbereth.
Fortunately, they also lack any actual resistances and can potentially be brought down from afar before getting into casting range - your best options for this may be high-enchanted missile weapons or an attack spell such as magic missile. Magic resistance, good AC and a well-enchanted weapon (typically an artifact weapon at the stage you encounter them) are highly recommended when facing a ki-rin in melee. Interestingly, an applied mirror can still scare them 80% of the time.
As pets
Ki-rin are highly sought-after pets for their flight, base 18 speed, fighting power, and -5 AC, to the point that some players will use a wish for a blessed figurine of one. Their MR of 90 makes them very difficult to tame normally, but also ensures they will never buck you off a saddle due to conflict unless they are level drained below 15. Additionally, ki-rin will cast haste self, giving them the same speed as an unhasted warhorse or unicorn.
Ki-rin also also among the best choice of steed for Knights and other roles capable of advancing the riding skill - they are also among the most likely to survive a trip through Gehennom. However, even a ki-rin will have trouble surviving the Elemental Planes, and their lack of resistances often spells doom on the Plane of Fire. Furthermore, they are inediate and thus cannot have their tameness raised – a charmed or tamed ki-rin ridden by any non-Knight will inevitably be untamed after being mounted, kicked, or whipped five times. Knights are thus the only role that can reliably keep a tame ki-rin for long amounts of time. Non-Knights should not dismount their ki-rin steed unless absolutely necessary, and should ideally have Basic riding skill before obtaining one.
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.
Ki-rin now have poison resistance, and are no longer considered animals. They also now have the ability to cure themselves using their horns, like unicorn horns. As they do not leave corpses, they do not drop their horns either. Pets that eat corpses can also gain intrinsics from them, making the inediate ki-rin a slightly weaker choice for a pet in the long term; fortunately, a ki-rin's survival chances are buffed due to their poison resistance and horns can aid them in surviving the Plane of Fire's gas plumes.History
The ki-rin, u, first appears in NetHack-- 3.0.10, where it was a part of the quadruped monster class. The ki-rin is introduced to vanilla NetHack alongside the other angelic beings in NetHack 3.1.0, and its glyph was changed to A; it retains this glyph for its appearance in NetHack-- 3.1.3.
From NetHack 3.4.1 to NetHack 3.4.3, including many variants based on these versions, ki-rin were able to wear amulets, boots, shields, and gloves despite being non-humanoid - this was bug C341-18, and is fixed in NetHack 3.6.0. Outfitting a ki-rin with an amulet or shield in these versions was a popular choice for pet-keeping players, both to augment their already-formidable AC and protect against rays from a wand of death.
Origin
The qilin, or kirin, is a chimerical quadruped creature that appears in Chinese folklore, and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler. The earliest references to the qilin occur in the 5th century BCE - its legendary image became associated with the image of the giraffe in the Ming dynasty after Zheng He's 15th-century voyage to East Africa. Qilin are described as quiet-hooved herbivores with a reputed ability to "walk on grass without disturbing it", which may be related to the giraffe's long, thin legs. The qilin is also described as having antlers like a deer and scales like a dragon or fish.
In modern times, "qilin" is sometimes translated into English as "unicorn" due to the qilin sometimes having a single horn. This can be misleading, as a number of different Chinese mythical creatures can be depicted with a single horn, and such a qilin would be called a "one-horned qilin" in Chinese. With this in mind, the qilin and unicorn are often given similar traits in contemporary and modern portrayals.
Variants
Variants based on 3.4.3 that intentionally leave bug C341-18 intact may allow a ki-rin to wear additional equipment.
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, tame ki-rin can be given as minions to lawful players at experience levels 13 to 19 via sacrifice or prayer, though minions cannot be saddled or ridden. SLASH'EM incorporates bug C341-18 as a feature, allowing ki-rin to wear amulets and non-body armor. Ki-rin can obtain reflection from an amulet or shield of reflection - they are not level-drain or stoning resistant, however, so an amulet of drain resistance or an amulet versus stone is also a good option for their amulet slot.
Ki-rin require a +3 weapon to hit, while their attacks hit as +3 weapons. This makes them even better as pets and steeds, rendering them immune to physical attacks from powerful minotaurs and even some demon princes - but it also makes them far more dangerous should you encounter a hostile one.
EvilHack
EvilHack introduces the eldritch ki-rin, a "fallen angel" ki-rin that serves as a chaotic counterpart. As such, they can appear in Gehennom and cannot be tamed by lawful Knights; they are an excellent steed choice for chaotic Knights, who can tame them (but not standard ki-rin).
Encyclopedia entry
The ki-rin is a strange-looking flying creature. It has
scales, a mane like a lion, a tail, hooves, and a horn. It
is brightly colored, and can usually be found flying in the
sky looking for good deeds to reward.
