Difference between revisions of "The Temple of Moloch"
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There are two spiked pits in the stair room. The X mark indicates a burned message reading "Those Not of Moloch, Begone!". | There are two spiked pits in the stair room. The X mark indicates a burned message reading "Those Not of Moloch, Begone!". | ||
| − | The niches on the sides of the temple each contain a statue gargoyle, and the main area contains a bone devil, a [[babau]], a barbed devil, a vrock, a horned devil, a hezrou, and 21 random Z. | + | The niches on the sides of the temple each contain a statue gargoyle, and the main area contains a bone devil, a [[babau]], a barbed devil, a vrock, a horned devil, a hezrou, and 21 random Z. Notably, the Z can include [[ghoul queen]]s, which are not randomly generated otherwise. |
The room on the far right contains nine piles of treasure, each composed of a chest, a wax candle, a random amount of gold, and three random objects. In dNetHack, the center chest also contains the [[scroll of consecration]]. | The room on the far right contains nine piles of treasure, each composed of a chest, a wax candle, a random amount of gold, and three random objects. In dNetHack, the center chest also contains the [[scroll of consecration]]. | ||
| + | ==Strategy== | ||
| + | |||
| + | Before you do anything else, use [[telepathy]] or [[monster detection]] to check for any ghoul queens: they possess dual spellcasting attacks, are capable of [[summon nasties|summoning nasties]], move at normal speed, and unlike [[covetous]] spellcasters will happily sit outside of the ring of monsters they have summoned, continually summoning more. They should be your first targets, even above the priests. When cutting through the random Z to reach any ghoul queens, try to avoid hitting [[ghoul mage]]s: their [[aggravate|aggravate monster spell]] can result in your retreat being quickly cut off. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Be cautious when attacking the priests of Moloch, as Moloch responds with divine lightning bolts, potentially blinding you even if you have reflection/lightning resistance. They also hit fairly hard in melee and ignore [[Elbereth]], and their [[summon insects|summoned insects]] are considerably stronger than in vanilla. | ||
==The altar== | ==The altar== | ||
Revision as of 09:43, 3 January 2023
The Temple of Moloch is a special level in SLASH'EM and dNetHack. In SLASH'EM, the Temple of Moloch is accessed by a stairway down located between levels 32 and 35, while in dNetHack the stairway appears between levels 5 and 25.
As the name implies, the entire level (except for the stair room and treasure room) is a temple dedicated to Moloch; the altar is marked and attended by four priests of Moloch.
The level
|.g.| |.g.| |.g.| |.g.| |.g.|
----------...---...---...---...---&&&|-| -----
|..^|.........ZZZZZZZ..................| |(((|
|.<X+.........ZZZZZZZ................_.S########S(((|
|..^|.........ZZZZZZZ..................| |(((|
----------...---...---...---...---&&&|-| -----
|.g.| |.g.| |.g.| |.g.| |.g.|
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
There are two spiked pits in the stair room. The X mark indicates a burned message reading "Those Not of Moloch, Begone!".
The niches on the sides of the temple each contain a statue gargoyle, and the main area contains a bone devil, a babau, a barbed devil, a vrock, a horned devil, a hezrou, and 21 random Z. Notably, the Z can include ghoul queens, which are not randomly generated otherwise.
The room on the far right contains nine piles of treasure, each composed of a chest, a wax candle, a random amount of gold, and three random objects. In dNetHack, the center chest also contains the scroll of consecration.
Strategy
Before you do anything else, use telepathy or monster detection to check for any ghoul queens: they possess dual spellcasting attacks, are capable of summoning nasties, move at normal speed, and unlike covetous spellcasters will happily sit outside of the ring of monsters they have summoned, continually summoning more. They should be your first targets, even above the priests. When cutting through the random Z to reach any ghoul queens, try to avoid hitting ghoul mages: their aggravate monster spell can result in your retreat being quickly cut off.
Be cautious when attacking the priests of Moloch, as Moloch responds with divine lightning bolts, potentially blinding you even if you have reflection/lightning resistance. They also hit fairly hard in melee and ignore Elbereth, and their summoned insects are considerably stronger than in vanilla.
The altar
Unlike the unaligned altars in Gehennom, the altar here can be converted to your alignment. This may be useful in games where very few altars generate, since along with the altar in the Lawful Quest, this is one of two guaranteed altars that is coaligned or can be made coaligned without angering the Minetown priest. This is important in SLASH'EM because the priest in the Valley of the Dead is generated hostile, making the Minetown priest the only guaranteed source of protection.
Conversely, the altar here is the earliest guaranteed cross-aligned altar. This can be useful for players looking to make unholy water.
See also
Reference
From source mtemple.des file
