Kobold shaman
k kobold shaman 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 4 |
| Attacks |
Spell-casting 0d0 mage |
| Base level | 2 |
| Base experience | 27 |
| Speed | 6 |
| Base AC | 6 |
| Base MR | 10 |
| Alignment | -4 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 450 |
| Nutritional value | 150 |
| Size | Small |
| Resistances | Poison |
| Resistances conveyed | None |
|
A kobold shaman:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line591 |
A kobold shaman, k, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. It has the highest monster difficulty among kobolds, and is likely one of the first spellcasting monsters that the hero will encounter. Kobold shamans have infravision and can be seen via infravision, and will seek out magical items to pick up.
A kobold shaman will cast one mage monster spell during each of its turns, and possesses poison resistance like most kobolds.
A kobold shaman corpse is poisonous to eat.
Contents
Generation
Randomly-generated kobold shamans are always hostile.
Kobold shamans may appear among the hostile kobolds that generate in throne rooms, as well as the various monsters that can be randomly generated by looting a throne while confused and carrying gold (provided there is no chest on the level). A pair of kobold shamans occupy the room between the possible tool shop and deli in the College Town variant of Mine Town.
A kobold shaman has a 1⁄4 chance of generating with a stack of darts.[1]
Strategy
Kobold shamans are very weak spellcasters, and their low level makes them unlikely to cast successfully: a level 3 kobold shaman has a 1⁄3 chance of successfully casting psi bolt, cure self or haste self. Psi bolt inflicts mild damage to all but the weakest characters, and haste self still leaves them at a meager 9 speed. Furthermore, their lack of a weapon attack means they will not use any darts they generate with. Most starting characters should have an easy time with them, especially with any form of ranged attack.
History
The kobold shaman first appears in NetHack 3.0.0.
Origin
Kobolds are creatures that appear in many fantasy-themed works and media, which often borrow significantly from Germanic folklore - Germanic kobolds are a form of sprite that are generally benevolent if treated with kindness, but will respond to disrespect with anything ranging from pranks to even outright attacking and killing offenders.
Dungeons & Dragons in particular - and by extension, NetHack and many of its variants - depicts the kobold as a race of small reptilian humanoids with long tails, distantly related to dragons; earlier editions gave kobolds more dog-like features, which lead to many depictions of kobolds in Japanese media leaning harder in that direction after the popularity of the anime franchise Record of Lodoss War. Fantasy kobolds are often considered weak "cannon fodder" monsters that can be cunning and strong in groups, similar to goblins.
Variants
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, two kobold shamans are generated alongside Kroo the Kobold King in the "town" variant of his special level on level creation.
GruntHack
In GruntHack, kobold shamans are replaced by racial monster mages and shamans, which kobolds are eligible to generate as.
UnNetHack
In UnNetHack, kobold shamans and other kobolds have a mutual grudge with elves.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, kobold shamans may appear in the court of a throne room ruled by a kobold lord.
xNetHack
In xNetHack, kobold shamans and other spellcasters have telepathy, and possessing telepathy will allow you to detect their position and vice versa. Eating a kobold shaman's corpse has a chance of conveying telepathy.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, kobold shamans and other spellcasters have telepathy, and possessing telepathy will allow you to detect their position and vice versa. Eating a kobold shaman's corpse is guaranteed to grant the player telepathy.
Kobold shamans cast clerical spells instead of mage spells, and they can cast the protection monster spell at their base level, making them somewhat tougher to fight.
Encyclopedia entry
The race of kobolds are reputed to be an artificial creation
of a master wizard (demi-god?). They are about 3' tall with
a vaguely dog-like face. They bear a violent dislike of the
Elven race, and will go out of their way to cause trouble
for Elves at any time.
