Dispater
& Dispater 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 40 |
| Attacks |
Weapon 4d6 physical, spell-casting 0d0 mage |
| Base level | 36 |
| Base experience | 1923 |
| Speed | 15 |
| Base AC | −2 |
| Base MR | 80 |
| Alignment | 15 (lawful) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | Unique |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 1500 |
| Nutritional value | 500 |
| Size | Medium |
| Resistances | Fire, poison |
| Resistances conveyed | None |
|
Dispater:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line2704 |
Dispater, &, is a unique monster that appears in NetHack. He is a humanoid demon prince that has the fourth-highest monster difficulty and experience point yield in the game behind Baalzebub. Dispater possesses infravision, can see invisible, can be seen via infravision, is capable of flight, will pick up weapons and other items he comes across, and will follow a hero to other levels if he is adjacent—like all demon lords and princes, he is covetous and capable of warping, and desires the Amulet of Yendor.
When first generated, Dispater will attempt to bribe the hero: if they are wielding Excalibur at the time of his appearance, refuse him when he asks, or else he cannot see where they are due to displacement, he will become hostile.[1][2][3]
Dispater has a weapon attack and the ability to cast one mage monster spell during each of his turns. Dispater possesses fire resistance, poison resistance, drain resistance, and death resistance.
Dispater is poisonous to consume, which primarily comes up if he is digested by another monster.
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.
Wielding Demonbane prevents bribery as Excalibur does, immediately angering Dispater when he warps to meet the hero.Contents
Generation
Dispater is always generated hostile, and is not a valid form for polymorph.
Dispater can only be summoned by one of two methods:
- Demon gating via Asmodeus, Baalzebub or Geryon
- The summon nasties monster spell when cast either by the Wizard of Yendor or anywhere in Gehennom (which is treated as if he had cast the spell regardless of the actual caster)
Dispater is always generated with a wand of striking.[4]
Dispater does not leave a corpse upon death.
Strategy
Dispater has relatively poor AC that is surpassed by water demons and horned devils, but is also a rather dangerous spellcaster with access to spells such as curse items, summon nasties, and the touch of death. He also has a high hit point pool, a high MR score of 80, and 15 speed.
Dispater will elect to zap his wand of striking when possible, which should be no danger to any hero encountering him unless they are deliberately foregoing magic resistance, or else observing a conduct that limits their ability to bring their AC around -10; some speedruns may also be relatively light on AC in comparison to standard play, depending on the circumstances. A hero that has magic resistance is still better off killing Dispater as quickly as possible if he appears: his magic is far more annoying to contend with once his wand is spent, and using weapons or items that deal shock damage may prematurely destroy the wand. Players that are going for speed ascensions and want to avoid Dispater should bribe Asmodeus and Baalzebub or else deal with them quickly before he can be gated, although it is still possible for the Wizard of Yendor to summon him if he gets a chance.
Some extinctionist players may want to have a hasted Asmodeus or Baalzebub gate Dispater in if they plan to eradicate all unique monsters.
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.
Per commit 22884522, monsters will remember players resistances and reflection and adjust their attacks accordingly - if Dispater sees that his wand of striking is rendered ineffective by your magic resistance, he will stop using it and become a nuisance far quicker than he would otherwise.History
Dispater is introduced along with the other named demons in NetHack 3.0.0. From this version to NetHack 3.0.10, Dispater can generate if the HARD compile-time option is defined; the option is changed to INFERNO in NetHack 3.0.6.
Origin
The NetHack incarnation of Dispater is derived from his portrayal in Dungeons & Dragons source books, where he is a unique archdevil—this is in turn based on Dīs Pater, a Roman god of the underworld later subsumed by Pluto or the Greek Hades. Originally a chthonic god of riches, fertile agricultural land, and underground mineral wealth, he was later commonly equated with the Roman underworld deities Pluto and Orcus.
In Dungeons & Dragons, Dispater's appearance is that of a handsome human about 2 meters (ca. 7 feet) tall, with two small horns, a tail and a cloven left hoof. He is also known to carry a powerful rod that symbolizes his authority, and also acts as a staff of striking. This is partially reflected in NetHack: while he is medium-sized and humanoid, and the default tileset portrays him with his horns and tail, he is not considered to have horns or any cloven hooves.[5][6] The wand of striking he always generates with is based on his trademark rod.
The "City of Dis" mentioned in the encyclopedia entry is derived from Dispater's appearance in the Inferno, where the infernal city under his rule made up the entire sixth circle of Hell.
Variants
Some variants give Dispater his own lair in Gehennom, which is often inspired by the aforementioned City of Dis.
In the Lethe patch, Dispater has his own lair, and sits on a throne at the eastern end of the level past a river of Lethe water.
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, all demon rulers have their own lair: Dispater's lair is located between levels 10 and 15 of Gehennom, and Dispater himself waits near the center of the long winding hallway contained within the maze. Since wands in SLASH'EM start with more charges, it will take him longer to exhaust his wand of striking, giving the player more time to kill him before he starts casting spells.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, Dispater is a much stronger opponent with an artifact known as the Rod of Dis.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, Dispater is "demoted" to demon lord, and may appear as the occupant of the second-tier demon lair in Gehennom. He is also given more HP and a second weapon attack, and always generates with a wand of striking and a cursed rod that is made of gold and has an enchantment from +3 to +5.
Encyclopaedia entry
The Roman ruler of the underworld and fortune, similar to the Greek Hades. Every hundred years, the Ludi Tarentini were celebrated in his honor. The Gauls regarded Dis Pater as their ancestor. The name is a contraction of the Latin Dives, "the wealthy", Dives Pater, "the wealthy father", or "Fater Wealth". It refers to the wealth of precious stone below the earth.
References
- ↑ src/monmove.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 469
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1329
- ↑ src/minion.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 230
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 499
- ↑ src/mondata.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 452: Dispater is absent from monster cases listed in num_horns
- ↑ src/polyself.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1603: Dispater is absent from special cases listed in mbodypart
