Spirits (dNetHack)

Spirits are a mechanic specific to dNethack, and a core component of the Binder role, though other roles can often partially interact with them, allowing for additional flexibility and utility outside of the ordinary for that role.

A Spirit typically consists of the following:

• An engraved seal, used to bind the Spirit, and an associated binding ritual, which requires the player fulfill certain criteria to bind to a given Spirit.
• A taboo, a condition that must be true in order for the spirit to stay bound. Violating a taboo causes the associated Spirit to unbind and drain a level from the player, ignoring drain resistance.
• Zero or more skills (typically at least one), which are permanently unrestricted and which may be advanced further while the spirit is bound.
• Zero or more active powers (typically at least one), which may be used up to once every 25 turns by means of the command ^F or #power.
• Zero or more passive powers (typically at least one), which are used automatically.
• A mark which, if not concealed, will cause priests and shopkeepers to ban you from their establishments at minimum. A higher number of visible binding marks will cause shopkeepers to call the Keter Sephiroth, while priests may summon a number of servants from their deity to strike you down.

Almost all bindings expire after 5000 turns, requiring them to be bound again.

Most roles only have a single slot to bind a Spirit too, while Binders gain many more as they level up, and also possess several special slots to hold unique Spirits in.

Many active powers use a spirit die to determine the potency of their effects. Binders increase their spirit die as they level, while other roles ???.

Spirits

Spirits of the Near Void

The 31 Spirits of the Near Void are the most basic and common of the Spirits in dNethack. Binders passively learn all 31 seals as they level up (learning them all by level 13), while other roles can learn them from finding the seal on the ground, such as in a bones file, or by using artifacts such as The Book of Lost Names or the Necronomicon.

Ahazu, the Seizer

All shall feed the Shattered Night.

Ahazu exists within a starry void known as Shattered Night. He seeks to draw as many creatures as possible into the night with him.

Binding Ritual

Ahazu's seal must be drawn in a square containing a pit trap.

Taboo

You must not become weak with hunger while bound to Ahazu.

Mark

There is a starry void in the back of your throat.

This mark won't be detected from a distance, and can be hidden by wearing a mask.

Immunity

You are immune to engulfing attacks.

Skill

Flails, including iron balls.

Active Powers

• Abduction: Attempt to remove single adjacent monster from the game. You must have injured the monster with a melee attack or a thrown or fired projectile. You do not receive XP for the monster, and most of their inventory vanishes with them. However, your prayer timeout or god's anger is decreased as though you had sacrificed the victim, and you gain any beneficial effects that you would have gained from eating their corpse, while avoiding any harmful effects. You do not gain any nutrition from abducted creatures, though.

Passive Powers

• Engulf: Creatures you attack in melee will be abducted at 10% hp or less. This is meant to be as much a hindrance as a help.
• Shadow Well: Creatures you attack in melee have a 20% chance of losing their next move.
• Swallow: You can eat any meal in 1 turn. You still suffer any negative effects of the food (acidic, poisonous, etc.) unlike abduction.
• Hunger: You lose nutrition at an increased rate (1 extra point per 10 turns).

Amon, the Shadow Before the Altar

"You shall have no other gods before Me.

You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.

You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,

but showing loving kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

[ Deuteronomy 5:6-21 ]

Binding Ritual

Amon can be contacted from anywhere; however, if there is an altar on the level the contract is immediately broken.

Taboo

You must not pray or donate to priests.

Mark

You grow a large pair of horns.

The horns can easily be seen from a distance, but will merge with any metal helm to become disguised.

Immunity

You are immune to cold damage.

Skill

Amon grants skill in Clerical spellcasting.

Active Powers

• Fire Breath: Breathe a ray of fire, much like a red dragon. The ray deals 5 dice of fire damage to all creatures it hits, but requires to-hit rolls.

Passive Powers

• Horns: Your horns grant you an extra melee attack.
• See in Darkness: You can see perfectly in darkness (Reversed for drows who can see perfect in light instead).

Andrealphus, Marquis of Angles

"Angles and curves multiply about me. I perceive great segments of time through curves. There is curved time, and angular time. The beings that exist in angular time cannot enter curved time. It is very strange."

His voice had risen to a scream. "Frank, Frank, a terrible and unspeakable deed was done in the beginning. Before time, the deed, and from the deed—"

He had risen and was hysterically pacing the room. "The seeds of the deed move through angles in dim recesses of time. They are hungry and athirst!"

The Hounds of Tindalos, Frank Belknap Long 1929

Binding Ritual

Andrealphus exists in corners. His seal must be drawn in the corner of a room, and you must #chat to the seal such that the corner is across from you.

Taboo

You must not dig through walls. It is permissible to dig through rough stone.

Mark

Your shadow takes on the semblance of depth.

From a distance, the strangeness of your shadow can't be seen, and it can be hidden by standing in a dark square.

Immunity

You gain teleport control.

Skill

Andrealphus grants skill in Escape spells.

Active Powers

• Transdimensional Ray: Fire an invisible beam that passes through walls, teleports struck monsters, and deals 1d5 dice of damage to them.
• Teleport: Hungerless teleport.

Passive Powers

• Angle-fighter: Your AC increases when you stand in a corner.
• Strange angles: You can always fit through narrow openings.

Andromalius the Repentant Rogue

There is a legend.

Once, there was a rogue, the favorite servant of the Thief God. With his dying breath, the rogue renounced theft, thereby stealing his soul from the God.

Binding Ritual

Andromalius's seal must contain any two of the following: a sack, a silver key, a golden ring, a coin, a dagger, an apple, a scroll, a tin whistle, a mirror, an egg, a potion, a dead cave spider, a dead member of your own race, a dead elf/dwarf/gnome/orc/hobbit/human/or primate, a spellbook, a bell, a set of lockpicks, and a live sewer rat.

The chosen objects are removed from the game. In their place, Andromalius gives you a third item drawn from the list. You may receive a tame sewer rat as your third item.

Taboo

You must not make use of any item that was stolen from a shopkeeper, nor directly steal from a shop. Warning: the binder's starting food and weapons are stolen, so (for example) eating the starting food will immediately unbind Andromalius.

Mark

Your facial features take on the rigidity of a bad disguise.

Your odd face will not be noticed from a distance. You can also wear a mask or stay out of the light to disguise it.

Immunity

You are immune to theft.

Skill

Andromalius grants skill in daggers.

Active Powers

• Jester's Mirth: Immobilize a single adjacent monster with laughter for 1d5 + 1/10 levels. They will be vulnerable to sneak attacks while immobilized.
• Thief's Instincts: Detect hidden doors and traps.

Passive Powers

• Detect Thieves: You gain warning against all monsters with a theft attack. Which may be less useful than it sounds, given that they can't steal from you.
• Sneak attack: Sneak attack as a Rogue.
• Know Stolen: Can tell whether or not an item is stolen.

Astaroth, the Broken Clockmaker

He is very old. He is hurting very badly. He is underwater, in space, and everywhere else. He cannot get off his chair. He is stuck there forever because he is so badly hurt.

[ SCP-1348, SCP Foundation ]

…not afraid of The Lord, for He is as we are, broken and scattered. As we restore the body of God, so we restore ourselves. To join with the Lord is good. As we give honor and worship to the Lord, so does He honor us. To serve the Lord is good. As we guard the Lord from harm, so does He…

[ Church of the Broken God Bible Fragments, SCP Foundation ]

Binding Ritual

An eroded item (rusty, corroded, rotted, or burnt) item must be placed in the seal. The item is repaired as part of the ritual. Negative enchantment is also fixed, but a negatively enchanted item is not sufficient for the ritual to proceed, the item must be either rusty, corroded, rotted, or burnt.

Astaroth's ritual is different when binding him into the Pen of the Void. In the Pen's ritual, the Pen itself must be rusty or corroded.

Taboo

You must not deliberately break inventory items. Breaking non-inventory items such as doors and iron bars is permissible.

Mark

You weep tears of black oil.

Your tears can be easily seen from a distance, so you must wear a blindfold, towel, or a mask to keep them hidden.

Immunity

While Astaroth is bound to you:

• You have shock resistance
• You are breathless

Skill

Astaroth enables you to train your skill in:

• crossbow
• shuriken

Active Powers

• Astaroth's Assembly: Projects an invisible beam up to 5 spaces in the chosen direction. A electrical explosion centers on the first target struck. This explosion looses 1 die of damage per square traveled, causing a maximum of 5 dice of damage when centered in an adjacent square, and a minimum of 1 die of damage when centered in a square 5 spaces away. You gain 1 point of protection as per the spell for each square that the beam travels without exploding, to a maximum of 5 points. 1 point of this protection wears off every 5 turns.
• Astaroth's Shards: Fires a barrage of shuriken along random ranks. The barrage consists of shuriken equal to your die size + your level/10 + 1. You take damage equal to your die size. The barrage may be concentrated by activating it while standing in a corridor or other narrow space.

Passive Powers

• Rusting: You take 1 damage per turn from being underwater.

Balam, the Last Sacrifice

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?

[Psalm 22]

Binding Ritual

Balam's seal must be drawn on an icy square. You must wield a weapon when addressing Balam.

Taboo

You must not sacrifice intelligent creatures.

Mark

Freezing water leaks from deep wounds in your wrists, ankles, and neck.

Balam's mark can be seen at a distance, and is harder to disguise up close. A cloak or torso armor is sufficient at a distance, but up close you will also require gloves and boots to disguise it.

Immunity

You gain half spell damage.

Skill

Balam grants skill in whips.

Active Powers

• Icy Glare: Deals 5 dice of ice damage to the first target in the indicated direction, and half damage to all targets in a ~90 degree wedge centered on the chosen direction. Blinds you for 5 turns. Also freezes water in the wedge. This power's range is 1 square/2 levels.
• Balam's Anointing: Makes a touch attack (requiring a to-hit roll) against a single adjacent creature. Target takes 5 dice of cold damage. A target with a head and without thick skin may be killed outright (10% chance). A target with a head, eyes, and thick skin instead takes double damage and is blinded. Otherwise, this power has no extra effect.

Passive Powers

• Balam's Martyrdom: When you have negative AC, you roll twice for effective AC and use the lower result.

Berith, the Red Horseman

From Baal: God, and Berith: Covenant. The name of a deity worshiped in ancient Canaan, reviled as a demon by the early Israelites, and later the Christians.

Binding Ritual

Berith requires that his seal be drawn around a set of riding gloves, riding boots, a saddle, a saber, a longsword, a bow, or a lance.

Alternatively, the binder must wear a blessed silver ring on their left finger while chatting to the seal.

Taboo

You must not kill a pet or former pet.

Mark You appear drenched in blood, as does your mount (if any).

The blood can be easily seen from a distance. If you wear torso armor, gloves, boots, and a helm the red color will take the form of enamel, rather than blood. You must dismount from your steed, however.

Immunity

Your mount (if any) benefits from your resistances.

Skill

Berith grants skill in Lance, Sabers, and Riding, and increases your BAB to full (i.e. +1 to-hit per level).

Active Powers

• Blood Mercenary: Fires an invisible beam dealing 5 dice of damage in a chosen direction. Damage is non-elemental, but must be financed by your visible gold, ie, you loose gold equal to the total damage dealt by this attack.
• Sow Discord: Monsters on the level attack each other for 5 turns + your die size.

Passive Powers

• Blood-price: monsters may drop gold instead of corpses

Buer,who walks all places

Who are you, and where are you going?

Binding Ritual

There are no restrictions or requirements to bind Buer.

Taboo

You must not use death magic (wands of death and finger of death)

Mark

Your legs bifurcate into four cloven hooved feet.

Your strange feet can be seen from a distance, but they can be hidden by wearing boots.

Immunity

You gain hungerless regeneration.

Skill

Buer grants skill in Healing spells.

Buer grants skill in Martial arts.

Buer permanently teaches you martial arts.

Active Powers

• Gift of Healing: Heal single adjacent target of 5 dice of damage. May also be used to heal yourself. Is perhaps best used to keep your pets alive, as monster healing is MUCH slower than PC healing (1 hp per 20 turns).
• Gift of Health: Clear most status ailments from single adjacent target. May also be used to remove status ailments from yourself. Clears "leg injuries" also.

Passive Powers

• Food appraisal
• Increases failure chance when casting spells