Asmodeus

& Asmodeus
Difficulty	53
Attacks	Claw 4d4 physical, monster spell 6d6 cone of cold

& Asmodeus
Difficulty	53
Attacks	Claw 4d4 physical, monster spell 6d6 cone of cold
Base level	49
Base experience	3225
Speed	12
Base AC	−7
Base MR	90
Alignment	20 (lawful)
Frequency (by normal means)	Unique
Genocidable	No
Weight	1500
Nutritional value	500
Size	Huge
Resistances	Fire, cold, poison, drain, death
Resistances conveyed	None
Asmodeus: can fly. has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso. can see invisible creatures. is poisonous to eat. does not eat. (*) is not a valid polymorphable form. is a demon. is an overlord to its kind. is male. is normally generated hostile. can follow you to other levels. is nasty. is strong. wants the Amulet of Yendor. waits for you to come into view. has infravision. can be seen through infravision. appears only in Gehennom. never leaves a corpse.
Reference	monst.c#line2543

Asmodeus, &, is a monster that appears in NetHack. He is a humanoid demon prince that is the most powerful of the demon rulers to have a lair in Gehennom. Asmodeus possesses infravision, can see invisible, is strong, is capable of flight, and can be seen via infravision - like all demon lords and princes, he can follow the hero to other levels if he is adjacent, is covetous and capable of warping, and desires the Amulet of Yendor. As a lawful demon prince, he will attempt to bribe a lawful hero unless they are wielding Excalibur when he is generated, or else is wielding the weapon when he warps to meet them—he will become hostile if they are wielding Excalibur at either point, or else if he is fooled by the hero's displacement during a bribe attempt.

Asmodeus has a claw attack and the ability to use a cone of cold monster spell during each of his turns. He possesses cold resistance along with fire resistance, poison resistance, drain resistance, and death resistance like all major demons.

Asmodeus is poisonous to consume, though he leaves no corpse and there is no monster that can digest him normally.

One of the random epitaphs found on randomly generated graves reads "Postman, please note forwarding address: Gehennom, Asmodeus's Fortress, fifth lemure on the left". He and the other demon rulers are also the subject of a false rumor.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.

Demonbane has the same effect as Excalibur on Asmodeus and other lawful demon princes when wielded.

Generation

Asmodeus is peaceful when first generated so that he can attempt to bribe the hero if they are not wielding Excalibur at the time, and will otherwise become hostile. He is not a valid form for polymorph.

Asmodeus is generated in his lair, where he is meditating one tile west of the room's down stair at level creation unless the lair is part of a bones level—this may result in him being awake, occupying a different square or even not being present at all.

Asmodeus is always generated with a wand of cold and a wand of fire, and is not eligible for random offensive items.

Asmodeus does not leave a corpse upon death.

Strategy

Asmodeus will appear before you first if you attract his attention: if you were not wielding Excalibur at the time of level creation, he will demand a portion of your visible gold for safe passage. If you are wielding Excalibur when he warps to you, refuse the bribe when he asks, or else he fails to see where you are (i.e. due to the displacement property), he becomes hostile. Giving Asmodeus the desired gold will cause him to disappear from the level, allowing you to continue on safely: If you plan to pay him off, be sure to unwield Excalibur beforehand; paying Asmodeus his bribe is the preferred strategy for speedruns in particular. If you do not plan to bribe him, it is best to stash your gold beforehand in a bag or other container.

Asmodeus has an incredibly high MR score of 90 and a good natural AC of -7, and if he casts cone of cold in melee range it can deal upwards of 30d6 damage (or 31d6 if Asmodeus has increased his level to 50)—this can fell even the strongest heroes in one or two hits unless they possess cold resistance, compared to the 6d6 damage dealt by the spell at range (though the ranged version can also shatter potions in the hero's inventory). Half spell damage can reduce the spell's damage in either case, and reflection can deflect the ray version of the spell.

Asmodeus can be a fearsome opponent for heroes that lack cold resistance: while most heroes will have obtained a source by the time they reach his lair in Gehennom, it is possible to miss out on the intrinsic property due to conducts (e.g. vegan conduct by itself or particularly when paired with atheism), or else have it stolen due to intrinsic theft. A hero encountering such difficulties can use extrinsic sources of cold resistance temporarily to deal with Asmodeus; heroes that can gain the property through crowning, starting with it or gaining experience levels (such as Valkyries and Monks) will typically have much less to fear.

As with other covetous monsters on no-teleport levels, it is best to face Asmodeus while standing on the up stair, either by luring him through a down stair or awakening him using a cursed potion of invisibility; if necessary, you can level teleport to another level while he is adjacent, then teleport normally to block the up stair. One of the quickest methods of handling him is to use a footrice corpse or egg to instantly petrify him if the hero has one. Otherwise, a hero can usually triumph with their own good AC combined with solid damage output dealt quickly by blessed and decently-enchanted weapons and high skill level—as mentioned previously, cold resistance nullifies the majority of his damage, and he will typically try to use up his wand of fire and wand of cold first before resorting directly to his normal claw attack. Be sure to take care of any other demons he summons as quickly as possible, since they include horned devils that can use their bullwhips to disarm you!

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.

If Asmodeus observes that you have cold resistance or fire resistance, he will stop using his spell or wands against you accordingly.

Demon lords and princes prevent teleportation across the level they are currently on while they are alive and have not yet been killed—additionally, covetous monsters may choose either the up stair or down stair to flee to when damaged, but each monster will always choose the same stairway. Cursed potions of invisibility remain effective for drawing their attention, since if they favor the down stairs for healing a hero can lure them through the up stairs to block them off.

History

Asmodeus is introduced along with the other named demons in NetHack 3.0.0. From this version to NetHack 3.0.10, Asmodeus can generate if the HARD compile-time option is defined; the option is changed to INFERNO in NetHack 3.0.6.

Origin

Asmodeus, or Ashmedai, is a very powerful demon that is described in various Abrahamic religions—Asmodeus's name has also been spelled as Asmoday, Asmodai, Asmodee (also Asmodée), Osmodeus, and Osmodai. Asmodeus is a major figure in the legends of Solomon and the constructing of Solomon's Temple: his story features variously in Talmudic stories, where he is the king of the shedim, and the Quran refers to a "puppet" in the Story of Solomon in Surah Ṣād verses 30-40, which the mufassirūn (authorized exegetes of the Quran) asserts as referring to the demon-king Asmodeus (Sakhr). In Christianity, Asmodeus is mostly known from the deuterocanonical Book of Tobit, where he is the primary antagonist and disrupts the marriages of Sarah. German theologian Peter Binsfeld classifies Asmodeus as the "demon of lust".

The name Asmodai is believed to derive from the Avestan *aēšma-daēva, the Zoroastrian demon of wrath; while the daēva Aēšma is well-attested as such, the compound aēšma-daēva is not attested in scripture. The Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906 rejects the otherwise-accepted etymological relation between the Persian "Æshma-dæva" and Judaism's "Ashmodai", but proposes that the "Asmodeus" from the Apocrypha and the Testament of Solomon are not only related somewhat to Aeshma but have similar behaviour, appearance and roles; as concluded in another article under the entry "Aeshma", Persian Zoroastrian beliefs could have heavily influenced Judaism's theology in the long term. A fallen angel by the name of Asmodeus also appears in Paradise Lost by John Milton.

Asmodeus appears in Dungeons & Dragons, with his traits derived from some of his descriptions in demonology and folklore like the information presented above. His exact nature varies from publication to publication, though he is generally presented as either an evil god or a powerful devil; he is the Lord of Hell (Baator) and the Overlord of the lesser Dukes of Hell, and from his position he oversees the Blood War against the chaotic demons and their demon prince leaders. Befitting the nature of the embodiment of lawful evil, Asmodeus constantly schemes against all the arch-devils, though he has a special hatred for Levistus.

More often than not, the avatar of Asmodeus appears as a slim, red-skinned humanoid over 13 feet (4 meters) tall with a horned head, glowing red eyes and a perfectly trimmed beard: he typically dons red-and-black clothing valuable enough to cover the annual spending of any nation, and carries around a lesser variant of his trademark Ruby Rod, the original of which was purported to have been created by Asmodeus from the shard of evil broken off from the bottom of the Abyss; the Ruby Rods owned by his aspects ranged in worth from more than 50,000 gp to over a million in material value alone. Asmodeus himself is handsome, charismatic and captivating on the surface, but despite his manners, intellectual capabilities and competence befitting of the Lord of Hell, Asmodeus is still capable of being surprised—though they are very few, there are figures whose powers and influence give him pause; additionally, he is very capable of fury, and can burst into rage if he forgets himself, causing his mask of civility to slip and unveil the evil that lurked below.

Variants

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, Asmodeus himself is unchanged, but his lair can be found among the devil lairs in the lower half of Gehennom, between the Wizard's Tower and the fake Wizard Tower levels.

dNetHack

In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, Asmodeus is among the most powerful monsters in the game, and will likely be the most powerful monster that the hero must confront—Demogorgon is one of the few to be definitively stronger, but can be evaded unlike Asmodeus.

Asmodeus is always encountered in Nessus, where he awaits in the central court. He will always demand a bribe of at least 9000 gold up to 9999, no matter how much gold the hero has visible.

EvilHack

In EvilHack, Asmodeus may appear as the inhabitant of the demon prince lair in Gehennom. He also gains a slowing claw attack and the ability to cast clerical monster spells.

Encyclopedia entry

It is said that Asmodeus is the overlord over all of hell.
His appearance, unlike many other demons and devils, is
human apart from his horns and tail. He can freeze flesh
with a touch.

[]

The evil demon who appears in the Apocryphal book of _Tobit_
and is derived from the Persian _Aeshma_. In _Tobit_ Asmodeus
falls in love with Sara, daughter of Raguel, and causes the
death of seven husbands in succession, each on his bridal night.
He was finally driven from Egypt through a charm made by Tobias
of the heart and liver of a fish burned on perfumed ashes, as
described by Milton in _Paradise Lost_ (IV, 167-71). Hence
Asmodeus often figures as the spirit of matrimonial jealousy
or unhappiness.

[ Brewer's Concise Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ]