The Idol of Moloch
( The Idol of Moloch 
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|---|---|
| Base item | figurine |
| Affiliation | |
| When carried |
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| When applied |
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| When invoked |
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| Base price | 4000 zm |
| Weight | 50 |
The Idol of Moloch is the Infidel quest artifact in EvilHack and Hack'EM. It is the prize for completing the Infidel quest, and is chaotic for wishing purposes. Its base item type is a figurine of a horned devil.
Description
When carried, The Idol of Moloch grants magic resistance and half spell damage, and Infidels additionally gain improved energy regeneration similar to The Eye of the Aethiopica, with the amount of enhanced regeneration depending on their alignment record: piously "unaligned" Infidels will get the most energy regeneration from the Idol, while Infidels in bad standing with Moloch (or serving another god) see no change in energy regeneration.
Invoking The Idol of Moloch while standing on an aligned altar will instantly convert it to an altar to Moloch, while invoking it on any other square or else applying it summons a random major demon without using up the figurine; both are subject to the same invocation timer. If the Idol is cursed, it will occasionally generate a random major demon on its own, similar to a normal cursed figurine and with the same odds of hostility (i.e., 80% chance of a hostile demon, 10% chance of a tame one, and 10% chance of a peaceful one).
Infidels and the Idol
For Infidels, the Idol is immune to cancellation, and is indestructible like other unique items: it cannot be placed into a container, lost permanently in open air, or disintegrated by any means. The goal of an Infidel is to bring both the Idol and the Amulet of Yendor to the high priest in Moloch's Sanctum and offer the Amulet on the high altar there - Moloch will then imbue the Idol with the Amulet's power, and the Idol must be brought to the correct high altar on the Astral Plane and invoked upon it, giving Moloch dominion over Heaven and all the Gods.
To this end, if the quest is completed without incident, the Archbishop will give you one of the hints regarding which high altar in the Astral Plane to avoid invoking the imbued Idol of Moloch on; the high priest of Moloch provides the other hint. If the Archbishop demands the Idol of Moloch from you due to alignment record abuse, they will become hostile regardless of whether you comply with their request, so either way you can keep or re-obtain the Idol if you survive the fight; the high priest will give you both hints if the Archbishop is dead.
Once the Idol is imbued, it suppresses the HP-draining spellcasting and non-regeneration effects that normally occur if an Infidel does not have the Amulet of Yendor, though teleportation is still suppressed as with the carried Amulet. From there, the Infidel begins their ascension run to the Elemental Planes, and on the Astral Plane must battle their way to the correct high altar, as determined by the hints mentioned previously - selecting the wrong altar will subject you to that god's wrath, up to and including wide-angle disintegration beams, while selecting the right altar will end the game in Moloch's victory and your ascension to archfiend status.
Strategy
For non-Infidels, The Idol of Moloch is a chaotic artifact wish that offers slotless magic resistance - it can also provide a source of unlimited pets if blessed, though it will blast the user with each application.
