Overlord
An overlord is a type of monster in NetHack that is considered to have a position of rulership among other monsters of the same kind or class, placing them above those monsters and even monster lords, and is designated by the M2_PRINCE monster flag (and the is_prince() macro that queries it).
Contents
Description
A monster overlord has the following traits:
- They gain a +2 multishot bonus when throwing or shooting projectiles.[1]
- When generating monster starting inventory, if an overlord has a weapon attack and no special rules for their species, they are far more likely to receive one of the default weapon sets (5⁄8, versus 1⁄2 for lords and 5⁄12 otherwise).[2] Their weapon will always have a minimum enchantment of +1, and their armor will have a minimum enchantment of +0.[3]
- When throwing projectiles, a prince gets a +2 multishot bonus.[4]
- Demon princes are major demons that are overlords to their kind, and can only be generated by demon gating from the melee attacks of other demon lords and princes.
- A hero in the form of a monster overlord receives a different message from having no effect when sitting on a throne.
The following traits are not directly a result of the overlord attribute, but are common among monster overlords:
- Monster overlords are often seen ruling over throne rooms—the monsters that are eligible to be placed on the throne are all overlords.
- They are often the final stage of growth for a monster that can grow up into them.
List of monsters
The following monsters are princes:
- a queen bee
- h dwarf king
- G gnome king
- O ogre king
- V Vlad the Impaler
- @ Elvenking
- @ high priest
- @ Wizard of Yendor
- @ Croesus
- & Orcus
- & Geryon
- & Dispater
- & Baalzebub
- & Asmodeus
- & Demogorgon
Messages
- You feel very comfortable here.
- You sat on a throne while in the form of a monster that is an overlord to its kind.
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.
The above message is also printed if the hero has been crowned.Variants
GruntHack
In GruntHack, kings and queens are used to create monster overlords via racial monster templates.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, monster overlords are designated by the MG_PRINCE monster flag.
