The Palantir of Westernesse

(   The Palantir of Westernesse
Base item	crystal ball
Affiliation	chaotic Elf (role) intelligent
When carried	regeneration half spell damage telepathy
When applied	selective object detection
When invoked	taming
Base price	{{{cost}}} zm
Weight	150

The Palantir of Westernesse was the Elf quest artifact that appeared in NetHack. It served as the prize for completing the Elf quest and defeating the quest nemesis, the Goblin King. It was chaotic for wishing purposes, and its base item is a crystal ball.

Description

When carried, the Palantir of Westernesse granted regeneration, telepathy, and half spell damage. When invoked, it tamed nearby creatures.

History

The Palantir was introduced in NetHack 3.1.0, and last appeared in NetHack 3.3.0 - it was rendered a defunct feature in NetHack 3.3.1, which introduced the choice of starting races, including the elf. The role itself was given a spiritual successor in the Ranger - the Ranger quest branch employs a somewhat similar structure, including using the exact same layout for the goal level, though the quest artifact is much different.

Origin

A palantír (/ˈpælənˌtɪər/; pl. palantíri) is a fictional magical artifact from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth novels. It appeared as an indestructible ball of crystal, used for communicating and viewing past and future events in other parts of Arda. The palantíri were made by the Elves of Valinor in the First Age - by the time of the setting of The Lord of the Rings, only a few remained in existence.

Various major character make use of palantíri, and a major recurring theme is that users had to "possess great strength of will and of mind" to direct the stone's gaze to its full capability. Others would find the stones unreliable, since it was unclear whether the events shown were from the past or future - users with sufficient power could take advantage of this if they chose to.

Elvenkings in current versions of NetHack have a small chance to generate with a crystal ball, likely alluding to palantíri.

Variants

In NetHack Plus, the Palantir of Westernesse was made lawful to reflect the Elf role being lawful instead of chaotic. SLASH 6 retained this while making the Elf role open to all alignments. Their successor SLASH'EM did not retain the role or its artifact.

Slash'EM Extended

In Slash'EM Extended, the Elph role is essentially a remake of the old Elf role, and the Palantir of Westernesse serves as the Elph quest artifact.

dNetHack

dNetHack retools the old Elf quest as the Elvish Racial Quest, where elven Nobles, Priests, Rangers, and Wizards face the Necromancer for the Palantir of Westernesse.

In dNetHack, the Palantir remains a chaotic, elf-favoring intelligent crystal ball. When carried, it grants x-ray vision, telepathy, warning, and reflection. Invoking it still allows you to tame nearby monsters.