Player monster

A player monster is a monster representing one of the player roles.

Player monsters are not randomly generated, and are thus rarely seen. Some appear in the various quest branches, and a number of unusually tough and well-equipped hostile player monsters await the player on the Astral Plane. Using undead turning on a player corpse (from bones levels or the Valley of the Dead) or stone to flesh on a player statue (from bones or Medusa's Island) revives the corpse/statue as a player monster. Player monsters matching the player's role may also be summoned by reading a cursed scroll of genocide while confused.

Most player monsters encountered in the main dungeon turn out to be doppelgangers, which are shapeshifters capable of assuming the form of player monsters.

The various player monsters are:

• @ archeologist
• @ barbarian
• @ caveman
• @ cavewoman
• @ healer
• @ knight
• @ monk
• @ priest
• @ priestess
• @ ranger
• @ rogue
• @ samurai
• @ tourist
• @ valkyrie
• @ wizard

Equipment

Normally generated (i.e. not revived or reverse-genocided) player monster will be given a weapon, 1d3 random offensive items, 1d3 random defensive items and 1d3 random miscellaneous item. By default, the weapon will be a either a long sword or a random melee weapon (chosen according the standard random object generation odds) with equal probability. However, the various types of player monsters may, with varying odds, have the weapon replaced with one appropriate to their role. The overall weapon choice odds of different player monsters are:

• Archeologist: bullwhip (50%), long sword (25%) or random melee weapon (25%)
• Barbarian: two-handed sword (25%), battle axe (25%), long sword (25%) or random melee weapon (25%)
• Caveman / cavewoman: mace (75%), club (12.5%), long sword (6.25%) or random melee weapon (6.25%)
• Healer: quarterstaff (75%), unicorn horn (6.25%), scalpel (6.25%), long sword (6.25%) or random melee weapon (6.25%)
• Knight: long sword (87.5%) or random melee weapon (12.5%)
• Monk: no weapon
• Priest / priestess: mace (50%), long sword (25%) or random melee weapon (25%)
• Ranger: elven dagger (50%), long sword (25%) or random melee weapon (25%)
• Rogue: short sword (50%), long sword (25%) or random melee weapon (25%)
• Samurai: katana (50%), long sword (25%) or random melee weapon (25%)
• Tourist: long sword (50%) or random melee weapon (50%)
• Valkyrie: war hammer (50%), long sword (25%) or random melee weapon (25%)
• Wizard: quarterstaff (37.5%), athame (37.5%), long sword (12.5%) or random melee weapon (12.5%)

The weapon's enchantment will be random between +0 and +3 (or between +4 and +8 if on Astral), and it will be either erodeproof or greased (but not both) with 33.3% probability each.

Player monsters on the Astral Plane will have a 50% chance of having their weapon converted to an artifact if possible (i.e. unless all artifacts of that type have already been created). Wizards who receive Magicbane this way will have its enchantment reduced to between +1 and +4 (since Magicbane is supposed to be less effective if overenchanted).

Player monsters on the Astral Plane will also carry a Cheap plastic imitation of the Amulet of Yendor, 1d10 random objects, 1d1000 gold pieces, 1d3 (66.7%) or 1d16 (33.3%) random valuable gems and a set of armor (including dragon scale mail) representing an ascension kit. They may also carry a luckstone with 6.7% or a loadstone with 3.3% probability (but never both).

Strategy

On the Astral Plane, player monsters are a source of YASD, as they may be generated with Vorpal Blade, which can cause instadeath by beheading you. Be very wary of engaging one in melee until you are certain what it is wielding.

Player monsters cannot be tamed, but can be made peaceful.

Extinctionists will have a hard time finding a complete set. The best possibilities are:

• Perseus' statue is a knight,
• The quest has plenty of your own role,
• Corpses in the Valley of the Dead,
• Stoning and unstoning a doppelganger to make its morph stick,
• Wishing for statues.

See also

• race

References

This page may need to be updated for the current version of NetHack.

It may contain text specific to NetHack 3.4.3. Information on this page may be out of date.

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