Nymph (monster class)

The nymph is a monster class in NetHack represented by the lowercase 'n' glyph (n). Nymphs are designated internally by the macro S_NYMPH.

The class contains three types of nymph:

• n wood nymph
• n water nymph
• n mountain nymph

Common traits

All nymphs are neutral humanoid women that are medium-sized and share nearly all of the same attributes: they have a base AC of 9, a level of 3 and an MR score of 20, and move at the same base speed as an unburdened and unhasted hero, but will also teleport randomly while moving. The water nymph is the only one to have any different traits, primarily the ability to swim and freely cross water. Nymphs have functionally unlimited carrying capacity for items, although they will not pick up boulders or statues.

A hero that applies a wooden harp or an uncharged magic harp while they are not confused has a dexterity-based chance of pacifying any nymphs nearby, with the distance dependent on their experience level. Applying a mirror towards a nymph will entice her to steal it if she is adjacent.

Nymphs have claw attacks that do not deal damage and steal items from targets: the first simply takes a single item or stack of items, while the latter is a seduction attack that charms the target (if possible) into handing over an item, usually leaving them immobile for a while and typically resulting in several other items in the process—if a target's worn item is targeted by the seduction theft, they may end up removing anything worn over that item while charmed, leaving them immobilized for longer periods and allowing the nymph to steal other items. A nymph always teleports away after stealing any items.

Eating a nymph's corpse or tin has a ³⁄₁₀ chance of granting teleportitis.

A hero polymorphed into a nymph will have their carrying capacity set to 1000, and can remove an iron chain attached to them with the #monster extended command. Attacking monsters in melee as a nymph will attempt to steal items from them, using any wielded weapon first before stealing—theft attacks against peaceful monsters that fail will anger them, pets can become untamed as if you had normally attacked them, and the seduction theft will be replaced with a regular attack if used against an invisible monster while the hero lacks see invisible.

Generation

Nymphs are always generated hostile, and will be created asleep ⁴⁄₅ of the time unless the hero has the Amulet of Yendor.

Ringing a cursed bell (including a cursed and uncharged Bell of Opening) has a ¹⁄₄ chance (25%) of summoning a random type of nymph, unless any type of nymph is genocided or extinct. There is a ⁷⁄₁₀₀ chance (7%) of the bell breaking afterward, and otherwise there is a ¹⁄₃ chance of the summoned nymph being fast and a ¹⁄₃ chance of the hero being paralyzed for 2 turns.

The nymph is the first quest monster class for Rogues, and makes up ⁹⁶⁄₁₇₅ of the monsters randomly generated on the Rogue quest.

A nymph that is not generated via cursed bell has a ¹⁄₂ chance of being generated with a mirror, and an independent ¹⁄₂ chance of generating with a potion of object detection.

Strategy

Though most nymphs have poor AC and cannot physically harm the hero with their attacks, they are nevertheless very dangerous: nymphs can still use items against the hero, and their charming abilities can strip them of critical items such as weapons and armor, leaving them vulnerable to much more direct threats. Cautious heroes will prefer not to approach them and leave them asleep if possible, unless they can use a ranged attack or some other means to dispatch them before they close in and steal any items. The force bolt spell and wand of striking are highly risky to this end—though they are likely to hit the nymph, bolts that kill nymphs will also break any fragile items they were carrying, particularly including the potions and mirrors they often generate with; breaking a mirror incurs a -2 luck penalty.

Elbereth and scaring tools can ward off awakened nymphs and give you some valuable space, while applying a mirror at a nymph will cause her to immediately steal the mirror and teleport away, leaving your other items alone. It is also ideal to keep your pet nearby, especially if you are in the early game with a role that is weaker in combat and/or starts with strong items (e.g. Wizards): a pet can hold the nymph at bay and hopefully kill her for you, but the nymph can still steal any items they are carrying, including saddles. While nymphs can be pacified with a wooden harp, in practice this requires the hero to have found one and gained enough levels and/or dexterity to make the odds remotely favorable.

It may be advisable to leave the items you least want stolen in a chest or other container elsewhere before nearing or pursuing a nymph, or else dropping them on a somewhat secured square if all else fails. Wands can be quite effective even though they are among the riskier items to keep on hand: a wand of teleportation or digging being stolen all but ensures that she will likely escape you several times before you can retrieve it or any other stolen goods; the wand of sleep can stop a nymph long enough for you to kill her before she reawakens, while most elemental wands can kill nymphs in a few shots, but they can prove just as dangerous to you if the nymph steals them.

Conversely, nymphs and their theft attacks have a corner use in removing worn cursed items, usually by stashing or dropping every other item besides the offending objects, and you can optionally retrieve the items if you want to uncurse them later—a cursed bell can be intentionally used for this purpose, and punished heroes can use this to un-tether themselves from their heavy iron ball after dropping the rest of their inventory.

A wand of slow monster can prevent a nymph from escaping as easily and give you additional turns to deal damage, while a wand of cancellation can make the nymph "plain", which renders her unable to steal items (though she will still teleport away after). Polearms or lances can also be effective for mounted heroes with a decently fast steed to maintain their one-square pounding distance.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 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.

Picking up the iron ball to get a nymph to take it is no longer necessary: if your inventory is empty and you are punished, a nymph will remove your chain ³⁄₄ of the time.

As pets

Pet nymphs are not particularly worthwhile due to their weak attributes, especially on a no-teleport level, though there are very occasional situations where having one is ideal to steal items from other monsters—in practice, they are limited by their low monster level without the use of conflict, and failed thefts can cause a monster to retaliate (particularly if they have good AC) and potentially bring their swift demise unless they are reasonably armored.

Additionally, the nymph will teleport away as normal after successfully stealing anything, and as a tame monster will soon drop whatever she stole unless it is armor or a tool she considers useful; this often requires you to find her and retrieve those items unless you have a magic whistle. In a hypothetical scenario where you are trying to avoid and rob a hostile monster(s) this way, this may involve having to fight them while locating the nymph pet.

As a polyform

A hero can also become a nymph themselves to steal items from monsters, which is similarly limited by their monster level and lack of HP, though they can wear all armor and the water nymph can additionally cross water. Be sure to check the AC of pets or peaceful monsters before stealing from them, and beware of a polymorph expiring over a water tile!

History

The nymph is introduced in Hack for PDP-11, which is based on Jay Fenlason's Hack, and is included in the initial bestiary for Hack 1.0. From these versions to NetHack 2.3e, nymphs use the N glyph—NetHack 3.0.0 phases out the monster in favor of the three distinct subtypes, and moves them to the n glyph.

Origin

A nymph is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore, and belief in nymphs survived in many parts of Greece up to as recently as the early 20th century. Usually depicted as beautiful maidens, they were not necessarily immortal, but lived much longer than humans. Nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, and are typically tied to a specific place or landform. They are often divided into various broad subgroups, such as the Meliae (ash tree nymphs), the Naiads (freshwater nymphs), the Nereids (sea nymphs), and the Oreads (mountain nymphs)—the three types of nymph in NetHack (wood, water and mountain) may be rough analogues to these.

Nymphs generating asleep may be based on the common motif of a sleeping nymph in a grotto or spring, which became prominent in European sculpture art during the Renaissance; these sculptures were based off a report in the 15th century of a similar Roman statue at a fountain near the Danube, which is now widely considered forged.

In Dungeons & Dragons, nymphs are all-female fey beings that serve as guardians of wild places: they are said to be nature's embodiment of physical beauty, as well as the most wild and capricious type of fey. A nymph is a blindingly beautiful being that appears as an elven woman with roughly the same average height and weight, and nymphs inhabit various climates from valleys, forests and glades to islands and mountains—among the more uncommon nymph types are grain and unseelie nymphs, and some even dwelt in tundra and other cold climates, where they often hunt upon the backs of wolves. Nymphs sometimes act as agents of certain elven gods, and elves from the island nation of Evermeet viewed them as spiritual representatives of the elven gods—nymphs in turn rarely harm elves in general and regard them positively, to the point that the green and silver elves of the island nation purposely sought them out.

The nymphs' affinity to nature leads them to avoid non-fey unless they share similar inclinations or are good heroes who behave courteously and respectfully towards them; animals of all types flock to nymphs, ignoring the presence of predators and allowing the nymph to tend to any wounds. Nymphs have no offensive capabilities of their own, but display the ability to charm and immobilize onlookers to much more severe degrees than displayed in NetHack: looking at one can cause permanent blindness, and the sight of a disrobing nymph could kill an onlooker outright. Nymphs were able to teleport short distances via a dimension door spell, which is the basis for their teleporting abilities in NetHack.

Messages

<The nymph> smiles at you <seductively/engagingly>.

A nymph attempted to seduce and steal from you, with the word used depending on your gender.

<The nymph> talks to you <seductively/engagingly>.

As above, but you cannot see her.

<The nymph> touches you <seductively/engagingly>.

As above, but you cannot see her and are also deaf.

<The nymph> charms you. You gladly remove your <worn item>.

The nymph targeted an item that was underneath your armor, immobilizing you for the duration required to disrobe.

<The nymph> pretends to be friendly to you.

The nymph's theft attack failed.

<The plain> <nymph> tries to <charm/seduce> you, but you seem <unaffected/uninterested>.

A cancelled nymph tried to steal from you.

"Hello, sailor."

<The nymph> comes on to you.

You chatted to a hostile nymph as a male hero, initiating her seduction (and theft).

<The nymph> cajoles you.

You chatted to a nymph under any other conditions.

You smile at <monster> <seductively/engagingly>.

You attacked a monster that can see you as a nymph, with the word used depending on its gender.

You talk to <monster> <seductively/engagingly>.

As above, but the monster cannot see you.

You pretend to be friendly to <monster>.

You missed your theft attack.

Variants

Many variants add new monsters to the nymph class and expand on some of their common traits, sometimes taking cues from the ancient Greek folklore they originated in. Aphrodite and the nymph level are also common additions to variants of NetHack.

SLASH'EM

SLASH'EM adds some new monsters to the nymph monster class, as well as Aphrodite and the nymph level:

• n pixie
• n brownie
• n quickling
• n Aphrodite

All nymph monsters except for Aphrodite hit as +1 weapons.

UnNetHack

UnNetHack includes Aphrodite and the nymph level as well, but does not add any other new monsters to the class.

dNetHack

dNetHack adds the yuki-onna as a playable race of nymph. dNetHack also renames and changes the three nymphs from NetHack, and adds several other monsters:

• n quickling
• n dryad
• n naiad
• n oread
• n swamp nymph
• n yuki-onna
• n deminymph
• n neverwas
• n thriae
• n selkie
• n oceanid
• n intoner
• Unique monsters
  • n Aglaope
  • n Nimune
• Unused nymphs:
  • n Echo

The Thjofastafur stave grants warning of nymphs while the hero wields the weapon it is carved into.

xNetHack

In xNetHack, nymphs introduce themselves with classical Greek-style names before charming a hero. They hate the touch of iron and take an additional d6 damage when struck with an iron item, and a hero in the form of a nymph takes d3 damage when handling iron items.

SpliceHack

SpliceHack renames the three nymphs from NetHack, with separate names for male and female nymphs respectively, and adds a few other monsters to the monster class:

• n meliad
• n nereid or naiad
• n oread
• n quickling
• n yuki-onna
• n lampad
• n dream thief (or "oneroi" for men and women)

All nymphs in SpliceHack hate iron and take bonus damage from iron weapons, and they introduce themselves with classical Greek-style names while charming the hero.

EvilHack

EvilHack also contains Aphrodite and her nymph level, and adds a couple of other new nymphs:

• n nymph
• n ice nymph
• n satyr
• n Aphrodite

The ice nymph primarily appears in the Ice Queen's Realm and Geryon's Lair, while the "plain" nymph is a placeholder used for racial shopkeepers.

SlashTHEM

In SlashTHEM, nymphs are among the new playable races of monster, and have a corresponding monster. SlashTHEM also retains the nymphs added in SLASH'EM, and adds a few other new monsters to the group:

• n nymph
• n satyr
• n nymph queen
• n Aglaope

Hack'EM

Hack'EM adds several new monsters to the monster class, including many from other variants:

• n nymph
• n ice nymph
• n pixie
• n quickling
• n yuki-onna
• n brownie
• n lampad
• n dream thief
• n thriae
• n Aphrodite

Encyclopedia entry

A female creature from Roman and Greek mythology, the nymph occupied rivers, forests, ponds, etc. A nymph's beauty is beyond words: an ever-young woman with sleek figure and long, thick hair, radiant skin and perfect teeth, full lips and gentle eyes. A nymph's scent is delightful, and her long robe glows, hemmed with golden threads and embroidered with rainbow hues of unearthly magnificence. A nymph's demeanour is graceful and charming, her mind quick and witty.

"Theseus felt her voice pulling him down into fathoms of sleep. The song was the skeleton of his dream, and the dream was full of terror. Demon girls were after him, and a bull-man was goring him. Everywhere there was blood. There was pain. There was fear. But his head was in the nymph's lap and her musk was about him, her voice weaving the dream. He knew then that she had been sent to tell him of something dreadful that was to happen to him later. Her song was a warning. But she had brought him a new kind of joy, one that made him see everything differently. The boy, who was to become a hero, suddenly knew then what most heroes learn later -- and some too late -- that joy blots suffering and that the road to nymphs is beset by monsters."

[ The Minotaur by Bernard Evslin ]