The Orb of Fate
| ( The Orb of Fate (No tile) | |
|---|---|
| Base item | crystal ball |
| Affiliation | |
| When carried | |
| When applied | |
| When invoked | |
| Base price | 3500 zm |
| Weight | 150 |
The Orb of Fate is the Valkyrie quest artifact. It is the prize for completing the Valkyrie quest, and is neutral for wishing purposes. Its base item type is a crystal ball.
It is often called the Orb of Weight by some players, due to its base item's heavy weight of 150 aum.
Contents
Generation
For Valkyries, The Orb of Fate is always generated on the goal level of the Valkyrie quest, where it is placed on the same square as Lord Surtur along with the Bell of Opening.
Description
While carried, The Orb of Fate grants warning, half spell damage, half physical damage and acts as a luckstone. Applying the Orb has the same effect as applying any crystal ball of the same beatitude, and invoking the Orb allows the hero to level teleport.
Reading the artifact prints this message:
It is signed: "Odin."
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.
The intelligence check when applying an artifact crystal ball now uses a d8 instead of d20 if it is the hero's own quest artifact, or d16 for other quest artifacts.
For crystal balls in general: A hero can search for dungeon features by entering any of < > _ \ # {. Doing so will find all of these features regardless of the specific feature entered.
Crystal balls are generated with 3-7 charges: Uncursed charging adds 1-2 charges up to the maximum of 7, blessed charging increases the number of charges to 7 and also blesses the ball, and cursed charging removes all charges and curses the ball.
Applying a cancelled crystal ball now destroys it, regardless of whether or not it is an artifact.Strategy
- For optimized invocation, see Invoke#Optimum invocation schedule.
The Orb of Fate is extremely useful, serving as a crystal ball and luckstone while halving most forms of damage: it also provides massive defensive utility by granting both half damage properties. The ability to level teleport is especially useful with teleport control for speedy travel, and can save on cursed scrolls of teleportation. Despite its weight, the Orb needs to be held in main inventory for a hero to benefit from its effects.
As an artifact wish for other neutral roles, heroes with lower HP than average may consider wishing for the Orb of Fate after obtaining both magic resistance and reflection.
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.
The changes for intelligence checks make the Orb viable for use as a crystal ball by Valkyries, allowing it to be applied for reliable detection of the vibrating square or magic portals on the Planes. This also saves resources that would be spent on writing or obtaining scrolls of gold detection for cursed/confused readings.History
The Orb of Fate is introduced along with most of the other quest artifacts in NetHack 3.1.0.
Variants
EvilHack
EvilHack replaces The Orb of Fate with Gjallar, a neutral tooled horn. This also applies to Hack'EM.
xNetHack
xNetHack replaces The Orb of Fate with Sol Valtiva, which similarly grants both half damage properties and can be invoked to level teleport.
Encyclopedia entry
Some say that Odin himself created this ancient crystal ball,
although others argue that Loki created it and forged Odin's
signature on the bottom. In any case, it is a powerful
artifact. Anyone who carries it is granted the gift of
warning, and damage, both spell and physical, is partially
absorbed by the orb itself. When invoked it has the power
to teleport the invoker between levels.
