Nalfeshnee
& nalfeshnee 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 15 |
| Attacks |
Claw 1d4, claw 1d4, bite 2d4, spell-casting 0d0 mage |
| Base level | 11 |
| Base experience | 341 |
| Speed | 9 |
| Base AC | -1 |
| Base MR | 65 |
| Alignment | -11 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 1 (Very rare) |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 1450 |
| Nutritional value | 400 |
| Size | Large |
| Resistances | Fire, poison |
| Resistances conveyed | None |
|
A nalfeshnee:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line2636 |
A nalfeshnee, &, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. The nalfeshnee is a humanoid major demons and one of the few that are capable of casting monster spells. Like other demons, a nalfeshnee has infravision, can be seen via infravision, and can follow the player character to other levels if they are adjacent.
A nalfeshnee has two claw attacks, a bite attack, and will attempt to cast one mage monster spell during each of its turns. Nalfeshnees possess fire resistance, poison resistance and drain resistance.
Nalfeshnees are poisonous to eat, which primarily comes up if they are digested by another monster.
Contents
Generation
Randomly generated nalfeshnees are always created hostile, and can generate in small groups. Nalfeshnees are only randomly generated in Gehennom.
A nalfeshnee is always generated in the temple courtyard of Moloch's Sanctum at level creation. Raising the dead by reading the Book of the Dead while it is cursed or else used out-of-turn in the invocation has a 1⁄3 chance of generating a nalfeshnee if a master lich cannot be created.[1]
Nalfeshnees generated at level creation have a 4⁄5 chance of being created asleep unless you possess the Amulet of Yendor, in which case they will always be awake.[2] Nalfeshnees can be gated in by other hezrou, as well as other major demons, demon lords and demon princes.[3]
A nalfeshnee never leaves a corpse upon death.
Strategy
The nalfeshnee is easily one of the more difficult demons to contend with in Gehennom: in addition to gating in still-stronger demons such as pit fiends and balrogs, higher-level nalfeshnees can also summon nasties, curse items and aggravate other monsters.
History
The nalfeshnee first appears in NetHack 3.0.0, which introduces the distinct major demons.
Origin
Nalfeshnees, also known as type IV demons, are chaotic beings that originate from Dungeons & Dragons, where they debut in the 1st Edition Monster Manual. A nalfeshnee appears as a repulsive and corpulent red-eyed monster, with a mix of ape and boar features and small feathered wings that enable the nalfeshnee to fly - they are bipedal and stand anywhere from a minimum of 10 feet (3 meters) to more than 20 feet (6.1 meters) tall. Nalfeshnees act as nobility for the Abyss and many of its denizens, bickering amongst each other for control of small fiefdoms - they carry around cutlery regardless of condition in an attempt to appear dignified and "above" participating in combat. They also possess a love of food befitting their swinish appearance, as well as reasonable enough self-control to store food obtained from the Prime Material Plane for consumption during elaborate feasts with other nalfeshnees.
The nalfeshnees of the Mountain of Woe serve as an Abyssal ruling authority, processing newly-damned souls and turning them into forms they deem appropriate according to three categories - food, slaves, or slave food. These souls would be converted into soul larvae, manes, lesser demons such as dretches or rutterkin, or even full-fledged demons such as chasme, and such transformations were not immediate or painless: nalfeshnees devour the flesh, negative emotions and life force of their victims, leaving behind their husks full of empty thoughts; those that were still alive after the process were transformed into demons in torturous ceremonies.
Similarly, nalfeshnees in general categorize other beings as "fit to eat", "fit to use", and "fit to serve": a nalfeshnee would readily consume animals, lesser demons and most humanoid races, with a preference for halflings and any sufficiently-terrified beings. Those that were "fit to use" were either outright inedible and/or had more value to nalfeshnees outside their stomach than within it. Only beings such as demon lords, balors, primordials, and powerful elementals were "worthy" of servitude: around them, nalfeshnees abandoned any pretenses of nobility and became sycophantic wretches that shamelessly bowed and scraped to their masters. Though their intellects were quite dangerous and rivaled those of the mighty balors, nalfeshnees remained obedient in recognition of their strength, but generally would not hesitate to secretly foil their masters' plans or embarrass them when they were not present.
In further contrast to their refined airs, nalfeshnees possess a near-irresistible bloodlust: when a nalfeshnee deems it acceptable to engage in battle, they use their spells and spell-like abilities to daze opponents with unholy light before savaging them. Though seemingly less than agile, nalfeshnees are capable of easily (if clumsily) navigating battlefields to terrorize enemies and seek out easily defeated foes, and are more than capable of brutalizing opponents with their claws and teeth. Like other demons, they can also summon more of their kind (such as hezrou or even other nalfeshnee) to aid them when needed.
Variants
dNetHack
In dNetHack, nalfeshnees have their difficulty raised to 16; they are given stronger damage dice for their attacks, and cast monster spells clerically.
Shalosh tannah can create strange larvae that grow into nalfeshnees with organic equipment.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, higher-level nalfeshnees have access to much more dangerous spells, including acid blast and reflection.
Encyclopedia entry
Not only do these demons do physical damage with their claws and bite, but they are capable of using magic as well.
