Ogre (monster class)
The ogre is a monster class that appears in NetHack, and is represented by an uppercase O glyph (O). Ogres are designated internally by the macro S_OGRE.[1]
The class contains the following monsters:[2]
Common traits
All ogres are chaotic, and may generate as peaceful towards chaotic player characters. They are large, carnivorous humanoids that can wield weapons and wear non-torso armor, and possess a single weapon attack. Stronger ogre monsters have a proportionally higher attack die, faster movement speed, and higher MR score; the ogre king notably has slightly worse AC compared to the ogre lord.
Ogresmasher has +1d5 to-hit and doubled damage against all ogres.
Generation
Ogres are generated with either a club or a battle-axe, and stronger ogres are more likely to generate with battle-axes.[3]
Ogres are the first quest monster class for the Barbarian quest, composing 14% of the monsters randomly encountered there. Random ogres are also generated on each level of the quest beyond the home floor at level creation: one each on the upper filler level, locate level and lower filler level(s), and two on the goal level.
Strategy
Ogres are quite strong, but generally slow and can easily be picked off from a distance, especially with projectile weapons. Characters that lack the AC and/or weaponry to best ogres in melee may usually prefer this latter approach, but beware that they can generate with offensive wands and other inconvenient items to use against you - ogre lords and kings in particular are eligible for a wand of death. This also makes ogres a good source of loot if you can dispatch them quickly and with little trouble, and their corpses are quite filling as well at a range of 500-750 base nutrition.
The frequency of ogres with wands may warrant a source of reflection for Barbarians on their quest, unless they have the means required to tank or resist wand attacks and protect their inventory.
Encyclopedia entry
Anyone who has met a gluttonous, nude, angry ogre, will not
easily forget this encounter -- if he survives it at all.
Both male and female ogres can easily grow as tall as three
metres. Build and facial expressions would remind one of a
Neanderthal. Its small, pointy, keen teeth are striking.
Since ogres avoid direct sunlight, their ragged, unfurry
skin is as white as a sheet. They enjoy coating their body
with lard and usually wear nothing but a loin-cloth. An elf
would smell its rancid stench at ten metres distance.
Ogres are solitary creatures: very rarely one may encounter
a female with two or three young. They are the only real
carnivores among the humanoids, and its favourite meal is --
not surprisingly -- human flesh. They sometimes ally with
orcs or goblins, but only when they anticipate a good meaty
meal.
