Grand Master

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For the peak skill level that monks can attain in martial arts, see Skill and Martial arts.

The Grand Master, @, is the Monk quest leader. He is a strong herbivorous human that can see invisible is similar to his abbots and other Monks, and is otherwise nearly identical to a high priest in attacks, attributes and resistances (but not AC).

The Grand Master has a strong claw attack, a kick attack, and will attempt to cast two clerical spells during each of his turns; his strong melee attacks reflect the Monk's focus on martial arts. He possesses fire resistance, shock resistance, sleep resistance and poison resistance, but not cold resistance. Incidentally, a highly experienced Monk at the same level will also possess these resistances.

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

Per commit 20cbadcf, killing quest leaders no longer makes the game unwinnable, and the Grand Master and other quest leaders are given stat buffs and additional equipment to compensate. The Grand Master's speed is increased to 15, his MR score becomes 90, and he has two 4d10 weapon attacks.

Generation

The Grand Master is generated on The Monastery of Chan-Sune, the Monk quest home level, and stands on the adjacent square to the east of the unaligned altar. He has a 1011 chance of being generated with a robe, and will otherwise have a cloak of magic resistance.[1]

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

As part of commit 20cbadcf, the Grand Master always generates with a +6 robe.

Strategy

The Grand Master is one of the strongest quest leaders in NetHack in terms of difficulty and sheer damage output, though this will not normally be witnessed in action unless you use conflict else or manage to commit a game-ending error.

History

The Grand Master first appears in NetHack Plus, and makes his vanilla debut in NetHack 3.3.0.

Origin

Grand masters of martial arts schools are known as "iemoto". The iemoto system is characterized by a hierarchical structure and the supreme authority of the iemoto, who has inherited the secret traditions of the school from the previous iemoto. The word is also used to describe a system of familial generations in traditional Japanese arts such as tea ceremony (including sencha), calligraphy, traditional Japanese dance, and other arts.

The iemoto's main roles are to lead the school and protect its traditions, to be the final authority on matters concerning the school, to issue or approve licenses and certificates, and in some cases to instruct the most advanced practitioners. The title is hereditary in most cases, and is commonly transmitted by direct line, or by adoption. Once the "successor-to-be" is officially recognized, that successor-to-be may appropriate the title of wakasōshō (若宗匠, "Young Master"). By tradition, the title of iemoto is also passed down along with a hereditary name. There can only be one iemoto at the head of one school at a time, which sometimes leads to the creation of new "houses" or "lines" by those wishing to be iemoto themselves.

Variants

Some variants make the Grand Master and other quest leaders stronger to accommodate changes to the Quest and its entry mechanics, and these changes may be incorporated into upcoming versions of NetHack or else be borrowed from them. As the Grand Master originates in a variant made prior to the latest version of NetHack, his stats and properties may also vary between the games.

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, the Grand Master's difficulty is 33. This also applies to SlashTHEM.

SporkHack

In SporkHack, the Grand Master's speed is increased to 15, and his MR score is 90. He also gains flight and stoning resistance.

dNetHack

In dNetHack, the Grand Master can be male or female. Of the Grand Master's effective 0 base AC, 2 of those 10 points are from natural AC, 4 are from dodging, and 4 are from protection. Their speed is decreased to 8 to signify their old age, and their difficulty is lowered to 29 - they will also only attempt one clerical monster spell instead of two, but has a wider spell repertoire compared to NetHack. The Grand Master also loses sleep resistance, but gains cold resistance, acid resistance and disintegration resistance.

The Grand Master always generates with a +5 robe, which is one of the few robes in the Monk quest to never have its color changed. When casting clerical spells, they have a 12 chance of casting either aura bolt, drain strength or earthquake, with an equal probability of each spell, and will otherwise use a random clerical-eligible spell.

xNetHack

In xNetHack, the Grand Master's stats are improved as in SporkHack, minus the resistances and flight.

SpliceHack

In SpliceHack, the Grand Master's stats are improved as in xNetHack.

EvilHack

In EvilHack, the Grand Master is renamed to Master Po, the name of a main character from the 1972 television series Kung Fu who was a Shaolin temple priest. Master Po is always male, and his stats and resistances are improved as in SporkHack, minus the flight.

If The Eyes of the Overworld is successfully wished for by a non-Monk, there is a xx+1 chance (where x is the amount of previous artifact wishes) of a hostile Master Po generating adjacent to the character with the artifact in his possession.

All of the above information also applies to Hack'EM.

Encyclopedia entry

See the encyclopedia entry for monk.

References