Archangel
| A Archangel (No tile) | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 25 |
| Attacks |
Weapon 2d4 physical, Weapon 2d4 physical, Claw 1d8 physical, Spell-casting 4d6 (clerical), Hug 2d6 physical |
| Base level | 18 |
| Base experience | 589 |
| Speed | 16 |
| Base AC | -6 |
| Base MR | 70 |
| Alignment | 15 (lawful) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 0 (Not randomly generated) |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 1450 |
| Nutritional value | 400 |
| Size | Medium |
| Resistances | fire, cold, shock, sleep, poison, stoning, magic |
| Resistances conveyed | None |
|
An Archangel:
| |
| Reference | EvilHack 0.8.4 - monst.c, line 1514 |
An Archangel, A, is a type of monster that appears in EvilHack and Hack'EM. The archangel is a strong, humanoid angelic being that is the second strongest non-unique angel after the Archon and is a lord to their kind: they are capable of flight and regeneration, can see invisible, have infravision, can be seen via infravision, have improved accuracy, will seek out magical items and other objects to pick up, and can follow a hero to other levels if they are adjacent. Archangels cannot be made tame.
Archangels have two weapon attacks, a claw attack, the ability to cast one clerical monster spell during each round, and a holding attack. Archangels possess magic resistance, fire resistance, cold resistance, shock resistance, sleep resistance, poison resistance, and stoning resistance.
Generation
Archangels are not randomly generated, and are not a valid form for polymorph.
Izchak will transform into an Archangel if killed in his human form.
A hostile Archangel is generated in each of the court areas on the Astral Plane at level creation.
Archangels are always generated with a blessed erodeproof weapon that has an equal chance of being a long sword or a heavy mace: the weapon will have an enchantment ranging from +0 to +3 with an equal probability of each, and will be made into Sunsword or Demonbane respectively if the artifact has not yet been generated—Demonbane will not be created this way if the hero is a Priest, and if the Archangel's weapon is not made into an artifact, it has a 1⁄10 chance of generating with a non-detrimental object property. Archangels are also always generated with an uncursed erodeproof +0 shield of reflection.
Archangels do not leave a corpse upon death.
Strategy
Archangels can be dangerous, but are very rarely seen without the hero creating one deliberately, e.g. from a wish for a figurine or a statue to cast stone to flesh on. The main danger when fighting one is their holding attack, which immobilizes the hero and leaves them open to swarming from other hostiles - on the Astral Plane, this typically includes player monsters and the Riders.
While an endgame-ready hero can usually take on an Archangel one-on-one, they are quite tanky and typically only appear during the ascension run, where trying to kill one in melee can waste valuable time. Wands of teleportation are especially useful for escaping Archangels, while expensive cameras can scare them: they are immune to scaring by magical means, and other scaring tools are very unreliable due to the Archangel's high MR score of 75. Archangels are also susceptible to acid and disintegration, and The Sword of Annihilation and the acid blast spell cast at Skilled or higher can potentially make quick work of them.
Origin
Archangels are the second-lowest rank of angel in the Christian hierarchy of angels, and the highest rank to interact directly with humans. The term "archangel" was originally put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the 5th or 6th century in his book De Coelesti Hierarchia (On the Celestial Hierarchy), and is derived from Greek archángelos (ἀρχάγγελος), with the Greek prefix arch- meaning 'chief'. The word is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, though similar beings exist in several other religions—the Bible itself uses the term only two times, with no mention in the Old Testament, and does not mention a hierarchy of angels in any detail. A common misconception is that archangels constitute the highest rank of angel in Christianity; this likely stems from the etymology of their name, as well as their presentation in John Milton's Paradise Lost.
In Judaism, the highest ranking angels such as Michael, Raphael, Gabriel and Uriel, who are usually referred to as archangels in English, are given the title of śārīm (Hebrew: שָׂרִים "princes"; sing. שָׂר śār), to show their superior rank and status. Two examples of this can be seen in Daniel 10:13 and 12:1, where Michael, Chief of the Heavenly Host, is referred to as ʾaḥaḏ haśśārīm hārišōnīm (אַחַד הַשָּׂרִים הָרִאשֹׁנִים, "one of the chief princes") in the former verse, and haśśar haggāḏōl (הַשַּׂר הַגָּדוֹל "the great prince") in the latter.
Encyclopedia entry
All knees to thee shall bow, of them that bide
In Heaven, or Earth, or under Earth in Hell;
When thou attended gloriously from Heav’n
Shalt in the Skie appeer, and from thee send
The summoning Arch-Angels to proclaime
Thy dread Tribunal: forthwith from all Windes
The living, and forthwith the cited dead
Of all past Ages to the general Doom
Shall hast’n, such a peal shall rouse thir sleep.
[ Paradise Lost, by John Milton ]
