Itlachiayaque
[ Itlachiayaque 
| |
|---|---|
| Base item | shield of reflection |
| Affiliation | |
| When carried | |
| When worn | |
| When invoked | |
| Base price | 3000 zm |
| Weight | 50 |
Introduced in L's Itlachiayaque Patch, Itlachiayaque is a proposed replacement for the Orb of Detection as the Archeologist quest artifact. Inspired by the mirror carried by the Aztec god Tezcatlipoca, it is a lawful shield of reflection that does not inhibit spellcasting and confers ESP, fire resistance and half spell damage when it is carried. When invoked it duplicates the effects of a blessed scroll of stinking cloud, allowing the player to create a short-lived cloud of poison gas with a diameter of seven tiles, centered on a designated visible tile.
Itlachiayaque replaces the Orb of Detection in the variants UnNetHack (as of development version 5.1.0), dNetHack, and SLASHTHEM.
Strategy
Itlachiayaque is a mild upgrade from the Orb of Detection that Archeologists receive in vanilla. The Orb's magic resistance has been exchanged for reflection, but at the cost of blocking the player's off-hand. Fire resistance and half spell damage are welcome, though the former can be acquired intrinsically in most variants. ESP is retained but the invoke ability is an improvement on the Orb's invisibility. The stinking cloud is efficient in clearing masses of enemies that lack poison resistance, and should be useful in barracks full of soldiers.
Players should be warned that the quest nemesis, the Minion of Huhetotl, is almost guaranteed to put on the shield and subsequently benefit from its reflection. Adventurers fighting him should avoid using ray attacks that can be reflected back at them.
Encyclopedia entry
Tezcatlipoca (Fiery Mirror) was undoubtedly the Jupiter of the
Nahua pantheon. He carried a mirror or shield [ Itlachiayaque ],
from which he took his name, and in which he was supposed to see
reflected the actions and deeds of mankind. The evolution of this
god from the status of a spirit of wind or air to that of the
supreme deity of the Aztec people presents many points of deep
interest to students of mythology.
