Baphomet (dNetHack)
& Baphomet 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 32 |
| Attacks |
Butt 3d10 physical, Bearhug 3d8 physical, Weapon 3d6 physical, Breath weapon 5d12 acid |
| Base level | 56 |
| Base experience | 4421 |
| Speed | 14 |
| Base AC | -15 |
| Base MR | 80 |
| Alignment | -15 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 0 (Not randomly generated) |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 4500 |
| Nutritional value | 500 |
| Size | huge |
| Resistances | fire, poison, acid
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Baphomet:
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- For the monster as he appears in other variants, see Baphomet.
Baphomet, &, is a unique monster that appears in dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack. Baphomet is a strong humanoid demon lord that has the form of a minotaur and is considered part giant. He is capable of swimming, has infravision, can be seen via infravision, can see invisible, will pick up items that he happens across, and can follow the hero to other levels if he is adjacent. Baphomet cannot be tamed, and will turn traitor if somehow tamed.
Seeing Baphomet directly will permanently inflict the rage madness upon the hero, reducing their AC and spellcasting rates while increasing the damage they deal.
Baphomet is covetous and capable of warping, and desires the Amulet of Yendor, the invocation items, and the quest artifact of the hero's role.
Baphomet has a strong headbutt attack, a holding attack, a weapon attack, and a powerful acidic breath weapon. When using his demon gating abilities, the first demon lord Baphomet gates in will always be Pale Night if it has not yet appeared, and he will never gate in Yeenoghu. Baphomet possesses fire resistance, poison resistance, drain resistance, death resistance, and acid resistance.
Baphomet is poisonous to consume, which primarily comes up if he is subjected to Ahazu.
Generation
Baphomet is always generated hostile, and is not a valid form for polymorph.
Baphomet is one of the six demon lords whose lair can appear as as the first Abyss level, where he is placed within one of the two spectator booths at the northernmost or southernmost ends of the arena structure at level creation if he has not already been generated.
Baphomet can be generated via demon gating from other major demons and demon rulers, with some specific rules pertaining to him:
- The first demon lord Pale Night gates in will always be Baphomet if he has not yet appeared.
- Yeenoghu is a rival demon lord and will never gate in Baphomet (though the pair do not grudge each other).
Baphomet is always generated with three scrolls of magic mapping and the uncursed Heartcleaver: Heartcleaver is a chaotic and intelligent artifact whose base item is a halberd, and it has +1 to-hit, deals double damage and can be used for full damage in melee.
Strategy
Baphomet can be difficult to avoid for those trying to slip past without a fight, depending on his location in the arena relative to the stairs (which have six possible locations) - his level will also be full of his servant minotaurs and minotaur priestesses, and Baphomet himself also counts as a minotaur.
Baphomet is a very strong melee specialist, but is not particularly threatening to an ascension-ready hero: it may also be possible to dig out a path that allows them to get the jump on Baphomet, then read a non-cursed scroll of earth before he can warp to their position.
Origin
Baphomet is a deity or demon purported to have been worshipped by the Knights Templar in the 14th century, according to trial transcripts for charges pressed by King Philip IV of France against many French Templars in in 1307. Most of the charges are considered dubious, since the same charges were leveled against the Cathars, Pope Boniface VIII and many of King Philip's enemies, though just how untruthful they are is a matter of debate and speculation in historical study.
Baphomet subsequently became incorporated into various occult and Western esoteric tradition in the 19th century, particularly around 1856 when the name was associated with the "Sabbatic Goat" image drawn by Éliphas Lévi to represent his concept of balance (e.g. half-human and half-animal, male and female, and good and evil). The Sabbatic Goat image is the source of the the Rider–Waite tarot design for the Devil card, and is the basis for Baphomet's portrayal in various forms of popular media as a member of the hierarchy of Hell and/or a representation of the Devil or Satan. This naturally includes Dungeons & Dragons, where Baphomet makes his debut in the 1928 1st Edition adventure "Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth", and is featured in the 1983 Monster Manual II.
The Baphomet of Dungeons & Dragons is a demon lord that rules the seemingly-infinite Endless Maze within the Abyss - he is known as the Prince of Beasts and the Minotaur Lord, and naturally has a multitude of minotaur and humanoids that serve as followers and minions, including ghour demons that resemble burly, hairless minotaurs and act as commanders for his troops of minions. Appearing as a 20‑foot-tall (6.1‑meter) black-furred minotaur with six often-bloodstained iron horns and fiendishly-lit red eyes, Baphomet is a fearsome presence and an embodiment of savagery that deceives his followers into embracing brutality, and employs similar ferocity in dealing with both his enemies and those who fail him. Despite a well-earned reputation for savagery, Baphomet also possesses a cruel and cunning intellect devoted to subjugating civilization, and has employed it in creating various new demonic breeds within his infamous Tower of Science.
Baphomet was supposedly once mortal, though it is unknown (including to Baphomet himself) whether he had been a beast-turned-man or a man-turned-beast, and it is suggested that he was cursed by the gods treating them like cattle and banished to the Abyss. In any case, Baphomet revels in his abyssal power and considers it a blessing: along with 'standard' demon lord powers and various spell-like abilities, Baphomet possesses a breath weapon that can blast foes with gouts of negatively-charged unholy water. He wields a giant polearm sometimes known as "Heartcleaver" that can cause grievous damage, though he just as often casts it aside to charge and attack with horns, hooves and teeth; he can also awaken evil intelligence within animals, and can cause savage madness in beasts and humanoids through mere proximity to him. Baphomet is the eternal enemy of Yeenoghu, with the feud going back far enough that neither remembers how it originally started - this enmity also extends to Orcus, who captured Baphomet as part of an alliance with Yeenoghu. He also shares an unusual non-interference pact with the entity known as Pale Night, who dwells on the same layer: though they never joined forces to accomplish a goal, there is also no conflict between them, and any attempt to lay siege to the holdings of one might provoke the other.
Encyclopedia entry
This hulking, manlike brute stands 20 feet tall. His muscular
frame is covered in thick, matted black hair. His head is that
of a fiendish bull, and his great horns are stained in the
lifeblood of countless victims.
[ Hordes of the Abyss, by Ed Stark,
James Jacobs, and Erik Mona ]
