Numina
Numina, The Whispering Multitude is a spirit that appears in dNetHack and notdNetHack. It is implied to be the source of the whispering around the strange corpse in the Binder quest that reveals the identity of the corpse and tells a Binder of Acererak once they qualify for their quest.
Ritual, seal and taboo
The Numina can only be bound by a Binder that reaches experience level 30: The first time a Binder reaches this level, they silently learn the Numina's seal.
The Numina will be unbound if a Binder that has them bound ever loses an experience level.
Mark
A Binder that has Numina bound is surrounded by whispers that can only be heard up close - there is no way to disguise them.
Benefits
While bound, the Numina grant immunity to stun and confusion - they also grant access to all spell and weapon skills, but do not unrestrict or grant a bonus to any skill.
The Numina's active powers are as follows:
- Identify: Identifies inventory.
- Clairvoyance: Map the local area.
- Find the Path: Detect nearby magic portals.
- Gnostic Premonition: Allows use of Gnostic Premonition despite having spirits bound (Bind any spirit of your choice for 5 turns). Cooldown is 25 turns instead of 125.
The Numina's passive powers are as follows:
- Whispersense: Intrinsic monster detection
As a monster
| @ Numina File:Numina.png | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 28 |
| Attacks |
Claw 3d8 stun, claw 3d8 confuse, reaching attack 2d12 whispers from the void |
| Base level | 50 |
| Base experience | 3591 |
| Speed | 15 |
| Base AC | -10 |
| Base MR | 100 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 0 (Not randomly generated) |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 4500 |
| Nutritional value | 400 |
| Size | huge |
| Resistances | fire, shock, poison, petrification |
| Resistances conveyed | |
|
Numina:
| |
In notdNetHack, Numina, @, also appears as a monster. Though not referred to using gendered pronouns in dNetHack, notdNetHack refers to Numina with "she" and "her".
Below this point are major spoilers for the Illithanachronounbinder role. They can be accessed by selecting the "Role spoiler" tab.
Numina is a human that is strong, unbreathing and amphibious. She is capable of flight, can see invisible, will seek out and collect items, and can follow you to other levels if adjacent.
Numina has a claw attack that can stun a target, a second claw attack that can confuse the target, and a polearm-range reach attack with "whispers from the void" that can have several unique effects depending on the conducts you have broken throughout the game.
Numina cannot be tamed, and is not a valid target for polymorph or genocide.Numina only appears in the Far Void, the fourth level of the five-level Void branch that is accessed by opening the high altar of Ilsensine the Fallen as an Illithanachronounbinder using the invoke effect of The Elder Cerebral Fluid. She serves as the last boss that an Illithanachronounbinder must fight before ascending.
Numina's "whispers from the void" attack has the following conduct-associated effects:
- Breaking genocideless conduct gives her the ability to untame any pets, with a 1⁄2 chance for each pet.
- Breaking polypileless conduct gives her the ability to polymorph each of the items in your inventory, with a luck-dependent chance of each item resisting - artifacts have a 19⁄20 chance of resistance.
- Breaking polyselfless conduct gives her the ability to polymorph you.
- Breaking wishless conduct gives her the ability to perform magical explosions.
- Breaking artiwish-less conduct gives her the ability to disenchant all artifacts in your inventory to -5.
Encyclopedia entry
The literal meaning is simply "a nod", or more accurately, for it is a passive formation, "that which is produced by nodding", just as flamen is "that which is produced by blowing", i.e., a gust of wind. It came to mean "the product or expression of power" — not, be it noted, power itself.
[ H. J. Rose ]
