Grund the Orc King

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Grund the Orc King is a unique monster that appears in SLASH'EM, SlashTHEM and Hack'EM. He is a strong orc that has a single weapon attack, and possesses poison resistance.

Eating Grund's corpse or tin is guaranteed to convey poison resistance.

Generation

Grund the Orc King is generated in his own level, Grund's Stronghold, found via a second down staircase on dungeon level 12 or 13. He will always be placed on the throne in the large throne room at the west end of the level. A random wand, piece of armor, and amulet is placed on his square.

Grund has a 12 chance of generating with an orcish helm, and a separate 12 chance of being given an orcish dagger or a scimitar, with an equal chance for each weapon.[1]

Strategy

Depending on when a player chooses to tackle Grund's Stronghold, Grund himself may represent a considerable threat. While he has no special abilities and no resistances beyond poison, and is as slow as an Uruk-hai, his single weapon attack hits quite hard, especially if he picks up a high-damage weapon like a battle-axe or two-handed sword. The random items placed on his square give him the potential to be a threat as well, especially if those items or any others he comes across includes a wand of draining or even a wand of death.

A careful player should have little trouble taking him down, but an inattentive (and/or poorly-armored) player may find themselves badly mauled by him. Grund does respect Elbereth, although the high likelihood of him or any nearby hostiles generating with an attack wand somewhat reduces its effectiveness.

References