Graz'zt
Graz'zt is a demon prince that appears within Gehennom in dNetHack and EvilHack, with his role differing depending on the variant.
Description
& Graz'zt 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 40 |
| Attacks |
Claw 1d6 seduction, Weapon 3d6 physical, Weapon 3d6 physical, Weapon 3d6 physical, Weapon 3d6 physical, Cast 6d6 mage spell |
| Base level | 66 |
| Base experience | 5694 |
| Speed | 18 |
| Base AC | -26 |
| Base MR | 66 |
| Alignment | -15 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 0 (Not randomly generated) |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 1500 |
| Nutritional value | 500 |
| Size | medium |
| Resistances | fire, poison |
| Resistances conveyed | |
|
Graz'zt:
| |
Generation
Graz'zt is one of the four demon princes whose lair can appear as the second Abyss level.
He will always generate with Doomscreamer, a chaotic and intelligent artifact weapon whose base item is a two-handed sword and deals double damage against monsters without acid resistance.
Details
Graz'zt will lead with a seduction attack that rolls against your charisma, constitution, and intelligence. If you fail the check, Graz'zt may steal some of your possessions or force harmful equipment upon you. The effects of passing the check vary with your character's gender:
- For women, Graz'zt will grant you a potential boon, up to and including monster genocides or even wishes.
- For men, Graz'at may also grant a boon - however, an additional check is triggered that rolls against your current charisma: the check used is
(ACURR(A_CHA) < rn2(35)), and failing this check causes Graz'zt to attack out of jealousy for heavy damage. He will still grant you the boon whether or not you pass the check, provided you survive his jealous attack - the check for it is coded in such a way that there is a significant chance of failure, even with the maximum of 25 charisma.
Graz'zt will then teleport away after the seduction attempt; similar to foocubi, if he approaches you while the attack is on cooldown, or else the attempt is blocked by chastity, he will then use his normal attack routine consisting of four weapon attacks and a spell per round.
Seeing Graz'zt directly will permanently inflict the "argent sheen" madness upon you: this intermittently causes other monsters to panic, lose turns, and gain reflection for a turn, while players deal reduced spell damage to monsters, take increased damage from male humanoids and centaurs, and intermittently lose turns by stopping to admire oneself in a mirror.
Strategy
Grazz't has a tendency to summon hordes of monsters that can quickly overwhelm a player, so warding the upstairs and preparing an escape route are important considerations as well. While his melee attack is manageable particularly with acid resistance, his extended seduction attack is extremely dangerous.| & Graz'zt
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 53 |
| Attacks |
Weapon 4d8, Claw 6d6 stun, Spell-casting 4d6 (clerical), Claw 3d6 steal item |
| Base level | 49 |
| Base experience | 3136 |
| Speed | 12 |
| Base AC | -9 |
| Base MR | 35 |
| Alignment | -20 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | Unique |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 1000 |
| Nutritional value | 500 |
| Size | Large |
| Resistances | fire,cold,poison,level drain |
| Resistances conveyed |
None |
|
Graz'zt:
| |
| Reference | EvilHack 0.8.1 - monst.c, line 3509 |
Generation
Graz'zt is one of the four third-tier demon princes whose lair can appear in Gehennom. He can also be gated in by other major demons.
If Graz'zt appears in a game where Dirge has not yet been generated, it will appear in his possession. He is always generated with a shield of reflection.
Details
Graz'zt has a weapon attack, a claw attack that can stun you, a clerical spellcasting attack, and finally a third claw attack that can steal items from your inventory; the theft attack will always succeed if it lands, and he will teleport away afterward similar to a nymph.
Strategy
Graz'zt's theft ability and covetous behavior makes avoiding melee range a priority for most players - boulder forts are the most consistent method to avoid being robbed blind, but beware of giants and other monsters carrying striking or polymorph wands! For ranged offense while within the fort, you should use missile weapons that can consistently hit through his -9 AC; ray-type attacks are useless against his shield of reflection. Weapons such as a tethered aklys or a stack of shuriken, especially those that can deal shock and/or silver damage, are among your better options. If the player can reach Skilled or higher in hammer, the Hammer of the Gods is a very effective option.
Another strategy is to zap a cancellation at him from within your fort: cancelling him nullifies his theft attack, making engaging him in melee much more feasible - be mindful about his magic saving throw of 35. A wand of cancellation in particular has a roughly 50/50 chance of affecting Graz'zt. You can check if cancellation has worked from a safe distance by zapping a wand of probing at him.
On very rare occasions, Graz'zt's theft may work in a player's favor; for example, he might steal a bag you are carrying and rifle through its contents, leaving him vulnerable to attack for several turns. However, this should not be relied on, especially if he steals your primary container and begins taking out your full healing potions, wands of cancellation/polymorph, and other dangerous or valuable items.
History
Graz'zt was infamously difficult among the demon princes in EvilHack, to the point that his MR score was nerfed in order to make melee strategies more viable.[1]
Encyclopedia entry
The figure standing before the throne is darkly handsome,
an ebon-skinned man nearly 9 feet tall. His slightly
pointed ears, yellow fangs, and six-fingered hands mark
him for the demon he is.
[ Hordes of the Abyss, by Ed Stark,
James Jacobs, and Erik Mona ]
