Punisher

From NetHackWiki
Revision as of 07:01, 29 May 2023 by Umbire the Phantom (talk | contribs) (Sectioning and polish to fill in the gaps left behind\)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

The Punisher is a type of monster that appears in UnNetHack. Punishers are the only members of the new "statue" monster class in UnNetHack, which uses the same character (` as ordinary statues and boulders.

Punishers are stationary, but can cast powerful monster spell from a unique spell set that contains a selection of mage and clerical spells, with weighting to avoid repeated casting of summon nasties[1] Punishers can also cast a unique melee-range spell that attaches an iron ball to the player as with a scroll of punishment. [2][3] A Punisher possesses all forms of elemental resistance, except for acid resistance.

Generation

Punishers only appear in Sheol: upon level creation for each non-fixed floor in the branch, there is a 12 chance of a Punisher being created. A Punisher is also created by reading a cursed or uncursed scroll of punishment while confused.

Strategy

Despite being stationary, a Punisher possesses a speed of 25, allowing it to cast spells quickly and often. As they cannot be killed with most instadeath attacks and are otherwise troublesome to kill in straight-up combat, all but the most adventurous players are better off avoiding Punishers where possible.

You can blind yourself if you have telepathy and scan the level for a Punisher, then dig or melt the ice to craft an ideal path around its position. Levitation is advisable in the event a fire-breathing dragon or a monster with a wand of fire is among summoned nasties, which could lead to an unceremonious death if the ice is melted from under you.

Encyclopedia entry

Former wizards of the dark pits, the Punishers are immortal
statues of great magical abilities. Their most feared
ability is to conjure up a big, ugly and rusty iron ball
that is chained around adventurers; adding to the heaviness
of their duties.

References