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| | + | The beginning of a player's '''story''' is described in the [[Introduction]]: the player must give the [[Amulet of Yendor]] to their god or die trying. There are some points in the game that extend or even contradict the plot described in the Introduction. However even with those extra details the story is still simple, perhaps deliberately so. |
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| − | In NetHack, very few actions are mandatory, many features are randomized, and there are many ways to achieve almost anything. This adds to the strategic challenge and makes the game interesting to replay. As a side effect, there is almost no "story" in the sense of most other games.
| + | Instead of an elaborate written plot, NetHack has a series of unique levels that the player must visit to gain certain items or perform certain actions necessary for [[ascension]]. The exact layout of NetHack's levels is described in the [[Mazes of Menace]] article. |
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| − | The few actions that ''are'' mandatory have a bit of plot associated with them. However even these few actions don't necessarily have to be done in a particular order.
| + | == Plot beyond the Introduction == |
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| − | ==Introduction==
| + | * The player must be approved by their [[quest leader]] before going on the [[Quest]]. Failing to gain this approval may render the game [[unwinnable]], putting some limitations on how players can act prior the Quest. |
| | + | * The player can change their god using a cross-aligned [[altar]] or [[helm of opposite alignment]] |
| | + | ** The player cannot ever serve [[Marduk]], who is never mentioned after the Introduction. |
| | + | ** The player cannot ever serve [[Moloch]], in fact he kills players who [[Amulet of Yendor#Offering to Moloch|offer him the Amulet]]. |
| | + | * The [[Amulet of Yendor]] is described in the Introduction as "the most powerful of all the artifacts of the gods"; however, wearing it does not offer much power to the player. It is mainly only useful to the gods. |
| | + | * The player can [[Escaping the dungeon|escape the dungeon]] without offering the Amulet to their god. This is not considered a win. |
| | + | * The [[Astral Plane]] includes [[Riders#The_Four_Horsemen|the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]]. |
| | + | * The "good ending" to the player's story is [[ascension]]. |
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| − | {{main|Introduction}}
| + | == Why the plot is simple == |
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| − | Every game of NetHack begins with the following text:
| + | In NetHack, very few actions are mandatory, many features are randomized, and there are many ways to achieve almost anything. This adds to the strategic challenge and makes the game interesting to replay. As a side effect, there is almost no story in the sense of most other games. Indeed, a pre-written plot would hinder the random element of the gameplay. Without a script, the game is free to continue along any line the player wishes, with few actions having dramatic consequences. |
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| − | It is written in the book of (god X):
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| − | After the creation, the cruel god Moloch rebelled against the authority
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| − | of Marduk the Creator. Moloch stole from Marduk the most powerful of all
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| − | the artifacts of the gods, the Amulet of Yendor, and he hid it in the
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| − | dark cavities of Gehennom, the Under World, where he now lurks, and
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| − | bides his time.
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| − |
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| − | Your god (god X) seeks to possess the Amulet, and with it to gain deserved
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| − | ascendance over other gods.
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| − |
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| − | You, a newly trained (title X), have been heralded from birth as the instrument
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| − | of (god X). You are destined to recover the Amulet to your deity, or die in
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| − | the attempt. Your hour of destiny has come. For the sake of us all:
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| − | Go bravely with (god X)!
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| − | The fact that the text is pretty much the same for every character is a hint that each NetHack [[god]] is pretty much [[Convert#Converting yourself|interchangeable]], except for [[Moloch]].
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| − | The in-game introduction somewhat contradicts the introduction provided in the [[Guidebook]], which does not mention the player's god. The Guidebook instead claims that "you have begun to find yourself unfulfilled and distant in your daily occupation" and have started having dreams of adventure. The Guidebook introduction also implies that there is an inn just a few days of travel away from the [[Mazes of Menace]], full of people [[YAAP|exchanging stories]] about the [[Amulet of Yendor]].
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| − | The Guidebook's account of the situation has varied; in the past it has said you "have just finished your years as a student at the local adventurer's guild" and were sent to recover the amulet by the guildmasters. In later versions you are told that you have "exhausted your own meager financial resources, as well as those of your parents", compelling you to turn to adventuring.
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| − | ==Upper dungeons==
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| − | {{main|Dungeons of Doom}}
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| − | The start of the game is dominated by the search for food and equipment. The story is simply "survive".
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| − | Each dungeon is guaranteed to contain the [[Gnomish Mines]] and [[Sokoban]]. The player does not need to interact with any of them, but they provide helpful items and flesh out the setting. The mines are profitable enough to support an entire underground [[Minetown|town]]. Meanwhile in the main dungeon, there is apparently enough economic activity to support the [[Oracle]], several [[shop|shops]], and the [[Keystone Kop]]s.
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| − | ===Quest===
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| − | {{main|Quest}}
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| − | After gaining sufficient [[experience]], the player must return to their homeland to embark on a quest specific to their [[role]]. The [[quest nemesis]] carries the [[Bell of Opening]] in addition to the role-specific [[quest artifact]], making the quest mandatory.
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| − | The quest requires the player to live up to the [[alignment record|morals of their people]], and generally concludes with killing the quest nemesis and taking the artifact. However, it is entirely possible for player to let the nemesis live, take the Bell of Opening while leaving the quest artifact behind, or even kill the [[quest leader]]. This is usually tougher than just following the plot normally. In fact angering or killing the quest leader before obtaining the Bell of Opening can render the game [[unwinnable]].
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| − | ===Medusa's Island===
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| − | {{main|Medusa's Island}}
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| − | Somewhere below the Quest portal is a level full of [[pool|water]] and islands, one of which is inhabited by [[Medusa]]. Even if Medusa's Island is skipped by digging, the player will have to traverse it on the way back up. So the player must eventually have the resources to traverse water and get past Medusa. Her statue of [[Perseus]] suggests that their showdown did not follow the Greek legend.
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| − | ===Castle===
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| − | {{main|Castle}}
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| − | At the bottom of the [[Dungeons of Doom]], is a castle full of [[soldier]]s and monsters. They are guarding a [[wand of wishing]] and the trapdoors to Gehennom, among other things.
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| − | ==Gehennom==
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| − | {{main|Gehennom}}
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| − | Below the Castle is Gehennom, the fiery and [[maze|labyrinthine]] domain of Moloch. The player's god can't help them here, but usually at this point the player's [[ascension kit]] is almost complete.
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| − | ===Valley of the Dead===
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| − | {{main|Valley of the Dead}}
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| − | The Valley of the Dead is full of hordes of [[undead]] and a surprisingly polite [[aligned priest]] of Moloch. Despite being a servant of Moloch, the priest is peaceful and willing to provide the player with [[protection|divine protection]] in exchange for [[gold]]. What this says about the clergy and Moloch himself is left for the player to interpret.
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| − | ===Demon Princes===
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| − | {{main|Demon Prince}}
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| − | Gehennom has many high-level demons with entire lairs to themselves, many of whom are also willing to leave the player alone in exchange for a [[bribe]].
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| − | ===Vlad's Tower===
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| − | {{main|Vlad's Tower}}
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| − | [[Vlad the Impaler]] holds the [[Candelabrum of Invocation]], so facing him is mandatory. His tower is not strictly in Gehennom, but is accessed from Gehennom through a magic portal.
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| − | ===Wizard's Tower===
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| − | {{main|Wizard's Tower}}
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| − | Another mandatory foe is the [[Wizard of Yendor]] himself, a powerful sorcerer who lives in a tower with multiple aquariums, a [[beehive]] and a [[zoo]]. The Wizard holds the [[Book of the Dead]], and perhaps not coincidentally he also knows how to [[Wizard of Yendor#Harassment|rise from the dead]].
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| − | ===Vibrating Square and the Sanctum===
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| − | {{main|vibrating square}}
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| − | At the lowest level of Gehennom is a vibrating square, where the player must complete the [[Invocation ritual]] to access an even lower, even more secret level.
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| − | The floor shakes violently under you! The walls around you begin to bend and crumble! You are standing at the top of a stairwell leading down!
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| − | Here, in [[Moloch's Sanctum]], after pushing through hordes of monsters, priests and traps, the player sees the prize coveted by the gods themselves: the Amulet of Yendor.
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| − | ==Endgame==
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| − | ===Returning to the surface===
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| − | {{main|Ascension run}}
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| − | The player can try [[Amulet of Yendor#Offering to Moloch|offering the Amulet of Yendor back to Moloch]]. This is pointless, as Moloch already had the Amulet right at the start. He won't appreciate the gesture, either:
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| − | Moloch shrugs and retains dominion over <your god>, then mercilessly snuffs out your life.
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| − | Simply possessing the Amulet does not grant much power at all: definitely nothing that assists in combat. It is an artifact with little use to mere mortals. To really reap the rewards of the Amulet the player must leave the Dungeons of Doom. The player can't win by going home through the quest portal, and the quest leader will say so. For example, here is what [[Neferet the Green]] will tell a player holding the Amulet:
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| − | "Congratulations, <playername>. I always knew that if anyone could succeed
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| − | in defeating the Wizard of Yendor and his minions, it would be you.
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| − | "Go now, and take the Amulet to the astral plane. Once there, present
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| − | the Amulet on the altar of <Thoth|Anhur>. Along the way you shall pass through the
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| − | four elemental planes. These planes are like nothing you have ever
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| − | experienced before, so be prepared!
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| − | "For this you were born, <brother|sister>! I am very proud of you."
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| − | The [[Elemental Planes]] are only accessible by climbing all the way to the upstairs of dungeon level 1 while carrying the Amulet. The Planes are extremely hazardous: the player will have to dig, fly and perhaps even swim past a multitude of monsters, including a revived Wizard of Yendor, before reaching the final level of NetHack.
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| − | ===Astral Plane===
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| − | {{main|Astral Plane}}
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| − | You arrive on the Astral Plane!
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| − | Here the High Temple of (god X) is located.
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| − | You sense alarm, hostility, and excitement in the air!
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| − | On the Astral Plane, each of the gods has an army of [[angel|angels]], priests and even [[player monster|their own adventurers]] who are all ready to fight to the death for the Amulet. Even more dangerous are the [[Riders]]: Famine, Pestilence and Death. They have a more [[Riders#War|personal]] rivalry with the player.
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| − | If the player offers the Amulet to the wrong god, they "escape in celestial disgrace". However switching one's religion with the [[helm of opposite alignment]] makes things entirely fine with their new deity: as hinted at the beginning, the gods are ultimately interchangeable. Players who [[atheist|haven't interacted with their god at all]] have no alternate path to success, but their sense of independence won't be forgotten.
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| − | When at long last the player [[offer|offers]] the Amulet of Yendor on their god's [[high altar]], their story concludes with this:
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| − | You offer the Amulet of Yendor to [your god]...
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| − | An invisible choir sings, and you are bathed in radiance...
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| − | The voice of [your god] [booms out/booms/thunders/rings out]: "Congratulations, mortal!"
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| − | "In return to thy service, I grant thee the gift of Immortality!"
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| − | You ascend to the status of Demigod[dess]...
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| | ==See also== | | ==See also== |
| | + | * [[User:Tomsod/YANIs_and_patches/Infidel]], a patch adding an "Infidel" role with a significantly changed plot |
| | + | * [[Binder (dNetHack role)|Binder]] and [[Anachrononaut]], two [[dNetHack]] roles that also play with the game's premise |
| | * [http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2010/05/column_play_purposes_for_rando.php @Play: Purposes for Randomization in Game Design] | | * [http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2010/05/column_play_purposes_for_rando.php @Play: Purposes for Randomization in Game Design] |
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| | + | [[Category:Your character]] |
