Story

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.

That said, 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.

Introduction

Every game of NetHack begins with the following text:

It is written in the book of (god X):

After the creation, the cruel god Moloch rebelled against the authority
of Marduk the Creator. Moloch stole from Marduk the most powerful of all
the artifacts of the gods, the Amulet of Yendor, and he hid it in the
dark cavities of Gehennom, the Under World, where he now lurks, and
bides his time.

Your god (god X) seeks to possess the Amulet, and with it to gain deserved
ascendance over other gods.

You, a newly trained (title X), have been heralded from birth as the instrument
of (god X). You are destined to recover the Amulet to your deity, or die in
the attempt. Your hour of destiny has come. For the sake of us all:
Go bravely with (god X)!

The fact that the text is pretty much the same for every character is a hint that each NetHack god is pretty much interchangeable, except for Moloch.

The in-game introduction somewhat contradicts the introduction provided in the Guidebook, which does not mention the player's god at all. 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 exchanging stories about the Amulet of Yendor.

Early Game

Each dungeon is guaranteed to contain the Gnomish Mines and Sokoban. The player does not need to interact with any of them, but they do imply a lot about the setting. The mines are profitable enough to support an entire underground town. Meanwhile in the main dungeon, there is apparently enough economic activity to support the Oracle, several shops, and a rather ineffective police force.

This part of the game is dominated by the player's search for food and equipment. The story is simply "survive".

Quest

Eventually after gaining sufficient experience, the player must return to their homeland to embark on a quest specific to their role. For whatever reason, the quest nemesis carries the Bell of Opening in addition to the role-specific quest artifact, making the quest mandatory.

Going on the quest requires the player to live up to the morals of their people, and generally concludes with killing the quest nemesis. While that seems to be the intended plot, 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.

Medusa's Island

The player will eventually encounter a level full of islands and water. How the kelp fronds grow in an underground ocean is anybody's guess. At some point the player enters Medusa's lair because it has the only stairs to the next level, and one of them will probably kill the other.

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.

There is a statue of Perseus on the level, which suggests that his showdown with Medusa did not follow the Greek legend.

Castle

At the bottom of the Dungeons of Doom, or perhaps the top of Gehennom, is an underground castle full of soldiers and monsters. The castle inhabitants will fight to the teeth to defend their treasure, even if the player doesn't want it and simply needs to get to Gehennom.

Gehennom

Below the Castle is Gehennom, the fiery and confusing domain of Moloch. The player's god can't help them here, but usually at this point the player is powerful enough to survive the perils they encounter. This is because most of the hard work of gathering an ascension kit is probably already complete.

Right at the start of Gehennom is the Valley of the Dead, which is full of hordes of undead and a surprisingly polite aligned priest of Moloch. The priest is entirely okay with the player passing through, and is even willing to provide the player with divine protection in exchange for gold. What this says about the clergy and Moloch himself is left for the player to interpret.

Deeper in Gehennom are a number of demon princes, many of who are also willing to leave the player alone in exchange for a bribe. The main exception is Orcus, who also has an entire town of shades, skeletons and abandoned shops.

Another Gehennom denizen who cannot be reasoned with is the Wizard of Yendor himself, a powerful sorceror who lives in an underground tower with multiple aquariums, a beehive and a zoo. "Rodney" (as the Wizard is affectionately called) holds the Book of the Dead, and perhaps not coincidentally he also knows how to rise from the dead after being killed. Most players let him sleep right up until they need the Book of the Dead.

The player must also face Vlad the Impaler, who holds the Candelabrum of Invocation. His tower is not strictly in Gehennom, but is accessed from Gehennom through a magic portal. Since Vlad hasn't attached any candles to the candelabrum himself, one wonders if he actually uses it or is just keeping it safe on Moloch's behalf.

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.

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!

Here, in Moloch's Sanctum, after pushing through hordes of monsters, priests and traps, the player finally manages to grab it. The legendary artifact that the gods themselves have been coveting for millenia: the Amulet of Yendor.

Returning to the Surface

The player can try offering the Amulet of Yendor back to Moloch. This is of course pointless, as Moloch already had the Amulet right at the start of the story. To really drive this point home, Moloch will instakill players who offer him the Amulet.

Moloch shrugs and retains dominion over <your god>, then mercilessly snuffs out your life.

Simply possessing the Amulet does not grant much power at all: definitely nothing that assists the player in combat. The main ability it provides is clairvoyance. The Amulet also restricts the player's ability to levelport and branchport, while increasing the player's hunger and energy loss. Furthermore it attracts the Wizard of Yendor. Clearly, it is an artifact with little use to mere mortals.

To really reap the rewards of the Amulet player must leave the Dungeons of Doom. One obvious possibility would be to return home to through Quest portal. However, this is not the way to win the game, and the quest leader will say so. For example, here is what Neferet the Green will tell a player holding the Amulet:

"Congratulations, <playername>.  I always knew that if anyone could succeed
in defeating the Wizard of Yendor and his minions, it would be you.
"Go now, and take the Amulet to the astral plane.  Once there, present
the Amulet on the altar of <Thoth|Anhur>.  Along the way you shall pass through the
four elemental planes.  These planes are like nothing you have ever
experienced before, so be prepared!
"For this you were born, <brother|sister>!  I am very proud of you."

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.

Astral Plane

You arrive on the Astral Plane!
Here the High Temple of (god X) is located.
You sense alarm, hostility, and excitement in the air!

The player is not the only one who wants to offer the Amulet to their god. Each of the gods has an army of angels, priests and even 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 personal rivalry with the player, probably because as it turns out the player is one of them. The Riders have apocalyptic powers and can rise from the dead: however a player equipped for the Astral Plane is stronger still.

If the player offers the Amulet to the wrong god, they merely "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 haven't interacted with their god at all have no alternate path to success, but their sense of independence won't be forgotten.

When at long last the player offers the Amulet of Yendor on their god's high altar, their story concludes with this:

You offer the Amulet of Yendor to [your god]...
An invisible choir sings, and you are bathed in radiance...
The voice of [your god] [booms out/booms/thunders/rings out]: "Congratulations, mortal!"
"In return to thy service, I grant thee the gift of Immortality!"
You ascend to the status of Demigod[dess]... 

See Also

• @Play: Purposes for Randomization in Game Design

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