Kobold shaman

k kobold shaman
Difficulty	4
Attacks	Magic spell-casting

k kobold shaman
Difficulty	4
Attacks	Magic spell-casting
Base level	2
Base experience	27
Speed	6
Base AC	6
Base MR	10
Alignment	-4 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means)	1 (Very rare)
Genocidable	Yes
Weight	450
Nutritional value	150
Size	Small
Resistances	Poison
Resistances conveyed	None
A kobold shaman: has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso. is poisonous to eat. is omnivorous. is normally generated hostile. can pick up magical items. has infravision. can be seen through infravision.
Reference	monst.c#line591

A kobold shaman, k, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. It has the highest monster difficulty among kobolds, and is likely one of the first spellcasting monsters you will encounter.

A kobold shaman possesses poison resistance like most kobolds, and can cast one mage monster spell per round of combat, though its low level makes it unlikely that it can do so successfully. A level 3 kobold shaman has a ¹⁄₃ chance of successfully casting psi bolt, cure self or haste self.

A kobold shaman's corpse is poisonous to eat.

Generation

Randomly-generated kobold shamans are always hostile.

Kobold shamans may appear among the various k generated in the courts of throne rooms and while looting thrones. A pair of kobold shamans occupy the room between the possible tool shop and deli in the College Town variant of Mine Town.

A kobold shaman has a ¹⁄₄ chance of generating with a stack of darts.

History

The kobold shaman first appears in NetHack 3.0.0.

Origin

Kobolds are creatures that appear in many fantasy-themed works and media, which often borrow significantly from Germanic folklore - Germanic kobolds are a form of sprite that are generally benevolent if treated with kindness, but will respond to disrespect with anything ranging from pranks to even outright attacking and killing offenders.

Dungeons & Dragons in particular - and by extension, NetHack and many of its variants - depicts the kobold as a race of small reptilian humanoids with long tails, distantly related to dragons; earlier editions gave kobolds more dog-like features, which lead to many depictions of kobolds in Japanese media leaning harder in that direction after the popularity of the anime franchise Record of Lodoss War. Fantasy kobolds are often considered weak "cannon fodder" monsters that can be cunning and strong in groups, similar to goblins.

Variants

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, two kobold shamans are generated alongside Kroo the Kobold King in the "town" variant of his special level on level creation.

GruntHack

In GruntHack, kobold shamans are replaced by racial monster mages and shamans, which kobolds are eligible to generate as.

UnNetHack

In UnNetHack, kobold shamans and other kobolds have a mutual grudge with elves.

dNetHack

In dNetHack, kobold shamans may appear in the court of a throne room ruled by a kobold lord.

xNetHack

In xNetHack, kobold shamans and other spellcasters have telepathy, and possessing telepathy will allow you to detect their position and vice versa. Eating a kobold shaman's corpse has a chance of conveying telepathy.

EvilHack

In EvilHack, kobold shamans and other spellcasters have telepathy, and possessing telepathy will allow you to detect their position and vice versa. Eating a kobold shaman's corpse is guaranteed to grant the player telepathy. Kobold shamans' spellcasting is also changed from mage to clerical, and they can cast the protection monster spell at their base level.

Encyclopedia entry

The race of kobolds are reputed to be an artificial creation
of a master wizard (demi-god?). They are about 3' tall with
a vaguely dog-like face. They bear a violent dislike of the
Elven race, and will go out of their way to cause trouble
for Elves at any time.