Difference between revisions of "The Oracle"
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Revision as of 11:43, 5 May 2009
The Oracle is a monster who resides on a special level called "The Oracle Level" (or Delphi). She can provide a consultation for a fee, which is supposed to be one of the main ways the player learns about the game. In practice, players read spoilers, such as this one.
Contents
Level
The Oracle Level is located between level 5 and 9 inclusive in the Dungeons of Doom. It is eligible to leave bones, and monster creation is biased towards neutral monsters. Immediately below the Oracle Level is the level with the entrance to Sokoban.
There are five rooms to the sides of the above area, containing the stairs (in separate rooms), five random monsters, three random traps, and six random items; they are linked to each other and to the above room by corridors. The Oracle is at the center of the three by three room (called Delphi), amid the fountains. Delphi has a random empty doorway in one wall. There are two random monsters generated in the area surrounding Delphi. The marked statues are:
- two forest centaurs (northwest and southeast)
- two mountain centaurs (northeast and southwest)
- four plains centaurs (north, west, south, and east).
Monster
@ Oracle 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 13 |
| Attacks |
Passive (level + 1)d4 magic missile |
| Base level | 12 |
| Base experience | 285 |
| Speed | 0 |
| Base AC | 0 |
| Base MR | 50 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | Not randomly generated |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 1450 |
| Nutritional value | 400 |
| Size | Medium |
| Resistances | None |
| Resistances conveyed |
None |
|
The Oracle:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line2393 |
The Oracle is a human @ , and always starts peaceful. Attacking her in melee causes a spray of magic missiles to hit you; she has no active attacks of her own.[1] Killing her with ranged attacks will net no penalty except that of murder, but it's generally a bad idea.
Consultations
The Oracle offers two services. Minor consultations are true rumors, like you get from a blessed fortune cookie. A major consultation is an extended description of some aspect of the game, for example:
Behold the cockatrice, whose diminutive stature belies its hidden might. The cockatrice can petrify any ordinary being it contacts--save those wise adventurers who eat a dead lizard or blob of acid when they feel themselves slowly turning to stone.
Major consultations can be found in the file Oracles.txt, for players that are not inclined to pay as they go.
Consultations cost money, but increase your score[2] and give experience points[3] for the first of each type:
| Type of consultation | Score | Experience points | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minor (if not yet major) | 21 | 5 | 50 |
| Minor (if already major) | 9 | 2 | 50 |
| Major (if not yet minor) | 210 + (21 * XL) | 50 + (5 * XL) | 500 + (50*XL) |
| Major (if already minor) | 90 + (9 * XL) | 20 + (2 * XL) | 500 + (50*XL) |
If you take a major consultation, but do not have enough money to pay for it, the Oracle will take all your money and give a special oracularity which references Oracle machine. You won't get any experience for this and will "use up" your one chance to get experience at the major level. Even the minor consultation will only give you 2 points afterwards. This can be trouble if you were relying on this for a pacifist character.
List of Consultations
These are the texts the Oracle can tell you, directly from the nethack-3.4.3\dat\oracles.txt
- !!Spoiler below this line!!
If thy wand hath run out of charges, thou mayst zap it again and again; though naught will happen at first, verily, thy persistence shall be rewarded, as one last charge may yet be wrested from it!
Though the shopkeepers be wary, thieves have nevertheless stolen much by using their digging wands to hasten exits through the pavement.
If thou hast had trouble with rust on thine armor or weapons, thou shouldst know that thou canst prevent this by, while in a confused state, reading the magical parchments which normally are used to cause their enchantment. Unguents of lubrication may provide similar protection, albeit of a transitory nature.
Behold the cockatrice, whose diminutive stature belies its hidden might. The cockatrice can petrify any ordinary being it contacts--save those wise adventurers who eat a dead lizard or blob of acid when they feel themselves slowly turning to stone.
While some wayfarers rely on scrounging finished armour in the dungeon, the resourceful know the mystical means by which mail may be fashioned out of scales from a dragon's hide.
It is customarily known among travelers that extra-healing draughts may clear thy senses when thou art addled by delusory visions. But never forget, the lowly potion which makes one sick may be used for the same purpose.
While the consumption of lizard flesh or water beloved of the gods may clear the muddled head, the application of the horn of a creature of utmost purity can alleviate many other afflictions as well.
If thou wouldst travel quickly between distant locations, thou must be able to control thy teleports, and in a confused state misread the scroll which usually teleports thyself locally. Daring adventurers have also performed the same feat sans need for scrolls or potions by stepping into a particular ambuscade.
Almost all adventurers who come this way hope to pass the dread Medusa. To do this, the best advice is to keep thine eyes blindfolded and to cause the creature to espy its own reflection in a mirror.
And where it is written "ad aerarium", diligent searching will often reveal the way to a trap which sends one to the Magic Memory Vault, where the riches of Croesus are stored; however, escaping from the vault with its gold is much harder than getting in.
It is well known that wily shopkeepers raise their prices whene'er they espy the garish apparel of the approaching tourist or the countenance of a disfavored patron. They favor the gentle of manner and the fair of face. The boor may expect unprofitable transactions.
SINKS
The cliche of the kitchen sink swallowing any unfortunate rings that contact its pernicious surface reflecteth greater truth than many homilies, yet even so, few have developed the skill to identify enchanted rings by the transfigurations effected upon the voracious device's frame.
The meat of enchanted creatures ofttimes conveyeth magical properties unto the consumer. A fresh corpse of floating eye doth fetch a high price among wizards for its utility in conferring Telepathy, by which the sightless may locate surrounding minds.
The detection of blessings and curses is in the domain of the gods. They will make this information available to mortals who request it at their places of worship, or elsewhere for those mortals who devote themselves to the service of the gods.
At times, the gods may favor worthy supplicants with named blades whose powers echo throughout legend. Learned wayfarers can reproduce blades of elven lineage, hated of the orcs, without the need for such intervention.
There are many stories of a mighty amulet, the origins of which are said to be ancient Yendor. This amulet doth have awesome power, and the gods desire it greatly. Mortals mayst tap only portions of its terrible abilities. The stories tell of mortals seeing what their eyes cannot see and seeking places of magical transportation, while having this amulet in their possession. Others say a mortal must wear the amulet to obtain these powers. But verily, such power comes at great cost, to preserve the balance.
It is said that thou mayst gain entry to Moloch's sanctuary, if thou darest, from a place where the ground vibrateth in the deepest depths of Gehennom. Thou needs must have the aid of three magical items. The pure sound of a silver bell shall announce thee. The terrible runes, read from Moloch's book, shall cause the earth to tremble mightily. The light of an enchanted candelabrum shall show thee the way.
In the deepest recesses of the Dungeons of Doom, guarding access to the nether regions, there standeth a castle, wherein lieth a wand of wishes. If thou wouldst gain entry, bear with thee an instrument of music, for the pontlevis may be charmed down with the proper melody. What notes comprise it only the gods know, but a musical mastermind may yet succeed by witful improvisation. However, the less perspicacious are not without recourse, should they be prepared to circumambulate the castle to the postern.
ELBERETH
The name of Elbereth may strike fear into the hearts of thine enemies, if thou dost write it upon the ground at thy feet. If thou maintainest the utmost calm, thy safety will be aided greatly, but beware lest thy clumsy feet scuff the inscription, cancelling its potence.
Mythology & History
The Oracle is primarily based on the Pythia, the priestess who presided over the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi; the NetHack Oracle will welcome you to "Delphi" when she spots you arriving at her abode. Some behavior is also in reference to the Internet Oracle from rec.humor.oracle, which first appeared in 1989, as did the Oracle in NetHack 3.0.0.
Both of these predate the Oracle in The Matrix film series, which is not referenced.
The Oracle-level sound effects reference several different oracles:
- "You hear a strange wind."
- The Oracle of Jupiter at Dodona
- "You hear convulsive ravings."
- The Oracle of Apollo at Delphi
- "You hear snoring snakes."
- The Oracle of Æsculapius at Epidaurus
The two hallucination sounds both reference the Internet Oracle:
- "You hear someone say "No more woodchucks!""
- In reference to the taboo question "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"
- "You hear a loud ZOT!"
- In reference to the traditional answer to this
Strategy
Pacifist characters should use the Oracle for levelling up.
The Oracle will not get angry if you dry up the fountains or destroy the statues.
Encyclopedia entry
Delphi under towering Parnassus, where Apollo's oracle was,
plays an important part in mythology. Castalia was its
sacred spring; Cephissus its river. It was held to be the
center of the world, so many pilgrims came to it, from
foreign countries as well as Greece. No other shrine rivaled
it. The answers to the questions asked by the anxious
seekers for Truth were delivered by a priestess who went into
a trance before she spoke.
[ Mythology, by Edith Hamilton ]
Source code references
External Links
- Wikipedia article on the Pythia
- Wikipedia article on the Internet Oracle
- rec.humor.oracle
This page is based on a spoiler by Dylan O'Donnell. The original license is:
Redistribution, copying, and editing of these spoilers, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
- The original contributors to any spoiler must continue to be credited.
- Any modifications to the spoiler must be acknowledged and credited.
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.
Editors: After reviewing this page and making necessary edits, please change the {{nethack-343}} tag to the current version's tag or {{noversion}} as appropriate.
