Pirate quest
The Pirate quest is a set of levels present in each version of the Pirate role patch that serve as the role's quest levels, and the exact contents of the quest branch vary with the specific version of the patch in use. Some variants of NetHack that implement the role via the patch or other means may change certain details—this article covers the branch as it appears in the code of each patch.
For details on variants that include the branch and sometimes make changes to them, see the section at the bottom of the article. For more information on the quest branch in general, see the quest article.
Pirate patch by Nephi
In Nephi's Pirate patch, the Pirate's quest sees them fight the Major General for the Bell of Opening and the Pirate quest artifact, The Marauder's Map.
While the quest data does feature associated text and distinct quest NPCs along with names given for the quest levels, there are unfortunately no maps specified for use in the quest within the files available foor download, nor are any new level files present—this renders the quest and the associated artifact inaccessible along with the Bell of Opening (and thus makes the game unwinnable), since fallback levels will be generated instead. It is unclear as of yet what happened to the intended level files or what they were meant to look like—correspondence with Nephi indicates that he used another quest's files (most likely the Tourist quest) as a placeholder.
| Home level | The Pirate King's lair |
|---|---|
| Goal level | the Major General's estate |
| Leader | Pirate King |
| Guardians | buccaneers |
| Nemesis | Major General |
| Quest Artifact | The Marauder's Map |
Monsters
Random monsters on the Pirate quest in Nephi's patch are generated with the following frequencies:
- 96⁄175 (55%) soldier
- 24⁄175 (14%) random K
- 24⁄175 (14%) sergeant
- 6⁄175 (3%) random @
- 24⁄175 (14%) normal random monster
Messages
The quest dialogs provided in the patch are largely copied and pasted from those of the Tourist quest.
Portal level
- To be written.
Entry
First time:
You breathe a sigh of relief as you find yourself back in the familiar surroundings of the Pirate King's lair. You quickly notice that things do not appear the way they did when you left. The town is dark and quiet. There are no sounds coming from behind the town walls, and no campfires burning in the fields. As a matter of fact, you do not <see|sense> any movement in the fields at all, and the crops look as though they have been untended for many weeks.
Next time:
Once again, you are back at the Pirate King's lair.
If already rejected twice due to bad alignment:
You are back at the Pirate King's lair. Things appear to have become so bad that you fear that soon the Pirate King's lair will not be here to return to.
Quest guardians
If chatting before the quest is complete:
"Gehennom on 5 zorkmids a day -- more like 500 a day if you ask me." "Do you know where I could find some nice postcards of The Gnomish Mines?" "Have you tried the weird toilets?" "Don't stay at the Inn, I hear the food is terrible and it has rats." "They told me that this was the off season!"
If chatting after the quest is complete:
"Gehennom on 5 zorkmids a day -- more like 500 a day if you ask me." "Do you know where I could find some nice postcards of The Gnomish Mines?" "Have you tried the weird toilets?" "If you stick around, I'll show you the pictures from my latest trip." "Did you bring me back any souvenirs?"
Quest leader
When you first meet your quest leader:
"Is it really you, <playername>! I had given up hope for your return. As you can <see|sense>, we are desperately in need of your talents. Someone must defeat the Major General if our town is become what it once was. "Let me see if you are ready to be that someone."
When you return, having been rejected due to lack of experience:
"Things are getting worse, <playername>. I hope that this time you are ready."
This message is not currently used:
"I hope that for the sake of the Pirate King's lair you have prepared yourself this time."
When you are expelled from the quest for having failed the alignment test seven times:
"It is too late, <playername>. You are not even worthy to die amongst us. Leave the Pirate King's lair and never return."
When being rejected due to lack of experience:
"There is still too much that you have to learn before you can undertake the next step. Return to us as a proven Traveler, and perhaps then you will be ready. "Go back now, and may the teachings of <Neptune|Proteus> serve you well."
When being rejected due to having worse than pious alignment:
"It would be an affront to <Neptune|Proteus> to have one not true to the <neutral|chaotic> path undertake her bidding. "You must not return to us until you have purified yourself of these bad influences on your actions. Remember, only by following the <neutral|chaotic> path can you hope to overcome the obstacles you will face."
When finally assigned the quest:
"You have indeed proven yourself a worthy Pirate, <playername>. "But now your kinfolk and I must ask you to put aside your travels and help us in our time of need. After you left us we elected a new mayor, the Major General. He proved to be a most heinous and vile creature. "Soon after taking office he absconded with the Marauder's Map and fled town, leaving behind his henchmen to rule over us. In order for us to regain control of our town, you must enter the Major General's estate and recover the Marauder's Map. "Do not be distracted on your quest. If you do not return quickly I fear that all will be lost. Let us both pray now that <Neptune|Proteus> will guide you and keep you safe."
If you subsequently chat to your quest leader, you are encouraged:
"Do not be fooled by the false promises of the Major General." "To enter the Major General's estate you must pass many traps." "If you do not return with the Marauder's Map, your quest will be in vain." "Do not be afraid to call upon <Neptune|Proteus> if you truly need help." "If you do not destroy the Major General, he will follow you back here!" "Take the Marauder's Map from the Major General and you may be able to defeat him." "You must hurry, <playername>!" "You are like a <son|daughter> to me, <playername>. Do not let me down." "If you are neutral at all times you may succeed, <playername>." "Let all who meet you on your journey know that you are on an quest for the Pirate King and grant safe passage."
Locate and goal levels
When first entering the locate level:
Only your faith in <Neptune|Proteus> keeps you from trembling. You <see|sense> the handiwork of the Major General' henchlings everywhere.
When returning:
You know that this time you must find and destroy the Major General.
When first entering the goal level:
You sense the presence of the Marauder's Map.
When returning:
You gain confidence, knowing that you may soon be united with the Marauder's Map.
Quest nemesis
When first encountering the quest nemesis:
"So, <playername>, the Pirate King thinks that you can wrest the Marauder's Map from me! "It only proves how desperate he has become that he sends a <currentrank> to try and defeat me. When this day is over, I will have you enslaved in the mines where you will rue the day that you ever entered the Major General's estate."
Upon further meetings:
"I let you live the last time because it gave me pleasure. This time I will destroy you, <playername>."
And on the 4th and subsequent meetings:
"These meetings come to bore me. You disturb my workings with the Marauder's Map. "If you do not run away now, I will inflict so much suffering on you that the Pirate King will feel guilty for ever having sent his <son|daughter> to me!"
When you have the Marauder's Map, but the Major General is still alive:
"You fool. You do not know how to call upon the powers of the Marauder's Map. "Return it to me and I will teach you how to use it, and together we will rule the Pirate King's lair. But do so now, as my patience grows thin."
The Major General will also occasionally utter maledictions:
"I defeated the Pirate King and I will defeat you, <playername>." "Where is <Neptune|Proteus> now! You must realize no one can help you here." "Beg for mercy now and I may be lenient on you." "If you were not so neutral, you might have stood a chance." "Vengeance is mine at last, <playername>." "I only wish that the Pirate King had a more worthy <currentrank> to send against me." "With the Marauder's Map in my possession you cannot hope to defeat me." "The Major General has never been defeated, NEVER!" "Are you truly the best the Pirate King's lair has to send against me? I pity the Pirate King." "How do you spell <playername>? I want to ensure the marker on your grave is correct as a warning to your <brothers|sisters>."
Victory
When picking up your quest artifact:
As you pick up the Marauder's Map, you feel a great weight has been lifted from your shoulders. Your only thoughts are to quickly return to the Pirate King's lair and find the Pirate King.
When killing the nemesis:
You turn in the direction of the Major General. As his earthly body begins
to vanish before your eyes, you hear him curse:
You shall never be rid of me, <playername>!
I will find you where ever you go and regain what is rightly mine.
When returning to your quest leader:
As the Pirate King detects the presence of the Marauder's Map,
he almost smiles for the first time in many a full moon.
As he looks up from the Marauder's Map he says:
You have recovered the Marauder's Map. You are its
owner now, but not its master. Let it work with you as you continue
your journey. With its help, and <Neptune|Proteus> to guide you on the
neutral path, you may yet recover the Amulet of Yendor.
When subsequently throwing the Marauder's Map to the Pirate King:
"The Marauder's Map is yours now. The Dungeons of Doom await your return through the magic portal that brought you here."
Post-quest
When talking to the Pirate King after the quest:
"I could not be more proud than if you were my own <son|daughter>, <playername>! Tell me of your adventures in quest of the Amulet of Yendor."
When talking to the Pirate King after getting the Amulet:
"Stand back and let me look at you, <playername>. Now that you have recovered the Amulet of Yendor, I'm afraid living out your days in the Pirate King's lair would seem pretty tame. "You have come too far to stop now, for there are still more tasks that our oral history foretells for you. Forever more, though, your name shall be spoken by the guides with awe. You are truly an inspiration to your <brothers|sisters>!"
Pirate patch by Chris
In ChrisANG's Pirate patch, the Pirate's quest sees them traveling from the pirate stronghold of Tortuga to Shipwreck Island to fight Blackbeard's Ghost for the Bell of Opening and the Pirate quest artifact, The Treasury of Proteus.
| Home level | Tortuga |
|---|---|
| Locate level | Shipwreck Island Shoreline |
| Goal level | Shipwreck Island Caldera |
| Leader | Mayor Cummerbund |
| Guardians | pirate brothers |
| Nemesis | Blackbeard's Ghost |
| Quest Artifact | The Treasury of Proteus |
Monsters
Random monsters on the Pirate quest in ChrisANG's patch are generated with the following frequencies:
- 96⁄175 (55%) skeletal pirate
- 24⁄175 (14%) random r
- 24⁄175 (14%) soldier
- 6⁄175 (3%) random E
- 24⁄175 (14%) normal random monster
Levels
The following map layouts are used for each level:
Tortuga
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The two-way magic portal back to the Dungeons of Doom is located at a random point amongst the houses of the pirate settlement on the left hand side of the map. Mayor Cummerbund is hiding in the caves at the center of the island. There are six of your pirate brethren in the pirate town and two more in the central caves. The downstair is located in the center of the Yendorian army fort at on the right-hand side of the map. The ocean is free of sea monsters, but there are twelve skeletal pirates and three ghosts attacking the pirate town and nine soldiers and one sergeant occupying the fortress.
There is a potion shop, two weapon shops, and a tool shop on the south side of the island, along with a brothel containing one succubus and one incubus.
The entire level is no-teleport and has undiggable walls and floor.
Upper filler level
This is a water filled open level, with three skeletal pirates and one ghost, three soldiers, 4 parrots, and 2 monkeys.
Shipwreck Island Shoreline
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The upstair is located on the far left edge of the map, while the downstair is located somewhere in the caves on the right hand side.
There are six sharks in the water surrounding the island, as well as 15 random items and nine scimitars. The shoreline is held by eight skeletal pirates and one ghost. There are five random items scattered around the beach as well. Three ghosts, one damned pirate, and eleven skeletal pirates occupy the caverns around the downstairs.
The wrecked ship in the center of the map contains the hidden passage connecting the caverns with the shore of the island, and is occupied by nine soldiers, a lieutenant, and a captain named "Captain Ketch."
Lower filler level
This is a dark cavern level, with seven traps, seven random items, three ghosts, one damned pirate and eleven skeletal pirates, and one lost sergeant.
Shipwreck Island Caldera
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Blackbeard's Ghost is located at the center of the map, on a pile of loot containing the Treasury of Proteus, many piles of gold and gems, five scimitars, six random weapons, six random tools, and five chests. In addition to the passages shown on the map above, there is a network of random passages winding through the rock. The caldera is guarded by 15 human zombies, two random zombies, eight wraiths, one random wraithlike monster, 3 damned pirates, and nine skeletal pirates.
Quest messages
Transporter level
On descending to the level where the transporter is located:
Ye receive a faint telepathic message from Mayor Cummerbund: Yer help be urgently needed at Tortuga! Look for a ...ic transporter. Ye couldn't quite make out that last message.
Entrance
First time:
Ye breathe deeply of the sweet bouquet that is Tortuga. ...It'll linger. Rather than the chaotic din ye recall, a eerie silence greets yer lugs. In the distance, ye hear soldiers on patrol. Seems yer pirate brethren be in need of yer assistance!
Next time:
Once again, you breathe the bouquet that is Tortuga.
If already rejected twice due to bad alignment:
Ye are back on Tortuga Ye fear that soon the brethren of the coast will have to abandon Tortuga.
Guardians
If #chatting before the quest is complete:
"The soldiers o' Yendor attacked Tortuga and destroyed Mayor Cummerbund's home!" "These Yendorans 'ave disturbed the dead that lay in Davy Jones's Locker!" "Ol' Mayor Cummerbund once sailed with the Dread Pirate Roberts, or so they say." "Blackbeard's Ghost has risen and scattered the soldiers sent to Shipwreck Island. Now the dead attack Tortuga as well!" "Captain Ketch led the attack and sank many o' our ships. Now Ketch be trapped on Shipwreck Island."
If #chatting after the quest is complete:
"Have ye found much booty in the Dungeons o' Doom?" "Did ye send Ketch to feed the fishes?" "Arrrr!" "Ol' Mayor Cummerbund once sailed with the Dread Pirate Roberts, or so they say." "Be there comely lasses in the Dungeons o' Doom?"
Leader
When you first meet your quest leader:
"So, <playername>. Ye have returned to yer brethren. We 'ave need of a canny <daughter/son> of the coast to show these Yendorans to the plank. "Let me be see'n if you BE that <daughter/son>."
When you return, having been rejected due to lack of experience:
"Ye try me patience, <playername>. I hope that this time ye be ready."
This message is not currently used:
"I hope for yer sake ye are prepared at last."
When you are expelled from the quest for having failed the alignment test seven times:
"Me mercy is at an end, <playername>. Leave Tortuga and never return."
When being rejected due to lack of experience:
"Ye be still too weak. Return a proven Second Mate. Perhaps then ye will be ready. "Go now, and follow <deity> to glory and riches."
When being rejected due to having worse than pious alignment:
"Ye must follow <deity> through <alignment> waters to reach Shipwreck Island. "As ye be now ye would never make it. Do not return to Tortuga until ye be wise in the ways o' <deity>."
When finally assigned the quest:
"I always knew ye had greatness in ye, <daughter/son>. As a pirate brother, perhaps ye may succeed where I once failed. "In my youth, I sailed with the immortal Dread Pirate, Roberts. In our adventures, we came to oppose Blackbeard, then mightiest of the servants of the Devil, in his quest for the Treasury of Proteus. "Our final duel took place at the center of Shipwreck Island. Roberts, himself a mighty follower of <deity>, bested Blackbeard at swordplay, sending him tumbling into the caldera. But Blackbeard was able to place a mighty curse on the Treasury of Proteus, and I was unable to stop it plunging into the caldera to join him. "Now these Yendorans have come to claim what I lost, and in my age I be unable to stop them. So it falls to ye, my <daughter/son>. Drive these soldiers from Tortuga, then sail to Shipwreck Island, destroy Blackbeard's Ghost once and fer all, and claim the Treasury of Proteus, in yer own name!"
If you subsequently chat to your quest leader, you are encouraged:
"Do not be shaken by the fearsome form of Blackbeard's Ghost." "To enter Shipwreck Island you must find a hidden fissure in the rocks." "Oh, an' Captain Ketch owes me for a new house!" "Captain Ketch sailed to Shipwreck Island, but the ship was lost on the rocks an' Ketch doesn't know the way into the caves." "If ye do not destroy Blackbeard's Ghost, he will follow you back here!" "Sharks swim in the waters around Shipwreck Island." "It be pitch black in Shipwreck Island!" "There be much treasure lost in the waves around Shipwreck Island." "Only the <alignment> can reach Shipwreck Island." "Trust <deity> in yer hour of need."
Locate level
When first entering the locate level:
Ye have reached the treacherous waters around Shipwreck Island at last The ghostly minions of Blackbeard's Ghost are everywhere around you.
When returning:
Ye know that this time you must find and destroy Blackbeard's Ghost.
Goal level
When first entering the goal level:
Ye sense the presence of the Treasury of Proteus at the heart of Shipwreck Island.
When returning:
Ye know that soon ye shall claim the Treasury of Proteus for yer own.
Nemesis
When first encountering the quest nemesis:
"So, <playername>, Mayor Cummerbund thinks that ye can claim the Treasury of Proteus, when even he could not?! "He must be senile to send a <rankname> to destroy me, when even in his prime he failed at the same task! No, it is your soul that shall go to <deity>."
Upon further meetings:
"I have been toying with ye, <playername>. This time I will kill ye."
And on the 4th and subsequent meetings:
"Flee now, <playername>. A Pirate cannot destroy Blackbeard's Ghost. "If ye do not flee, I will inflict so much suffering on ye that Mayor Cummerbund will feel guilty for ever having sent his <daughter/son> to me!"
When you have the Treasury of Proteus, but Blackbeard's Ghost has not been destroyed:
"Return the Treasury of Proteus to me, or I shall visit torments on ye even Judas knows naught of.
Blackbeard's Ghost will also occasionally utter maledictions:
"I defeated death, even Mayor Cummerbund couldn't destroy me at his best. What hope have ye, <playername>." "I am the mightiest follower of the Devil the world has ever known! Your weak devotion to <deity> will not save ye." "Beg for mercy now, and I will only kill ye." "Abandon your <alignment> ways! Slink off and never face me again!" "Vengeance will be mine, <playername>. I will make Mayor Cummerbund pay, for what he did to me!" "The Brethren of the Coast are finished. Now I rule the seas!" "With the Treasury of Proteus I control all the treasures of the sea!" "I will never die!" "Are ye truly the greatest pirate Tortuga has left? It will share your fate!" "Die in vain, <playername>! I will send Mayor Cummerbund to join ye!"
Triumph
When picking up your quest artifact:
As ye pick up the Treasury of Proteus, ye feel a great weight has been lifted from your shoulders. Your only thoughts are to quickly return to Tortuga and find Mayor Cummerbund.
When destroying the nemesis:
A great crack opens below Blackbeard's Ghost, and a huge, flaming hand reaches out to seize his wispy form. He curses ye: NO! I won't die here, <playername>! It is ye who's [sic] soul will feed the Devil! I am king of all the oceans, I cannot be killed! I will haunt ye until <deity> betrays ye!
When returning to your quest leader:
As Mayor Cummerbund senses the Treasury of Proteus, the lines on his face harden into what may be his version of a smile. Ye have claimed the Treasury of Proteus. Ye hold in yer hands all the treasures of the sea. Ye may well be the next Dread Pirate, greater even than Roberts. My <daughter/son>, ye should seek a treasure greater than any pirate has ever sought before: the Amulet of Yendor. The great Wizard, who lives in Yendor, knows that ye can claim this prize. It was he who sent the soldiers here. Return to the Dungeons of Doom, and claim yer destiny!
When subsequently throwing the Treasury of Proteus to Mayor Cummerbund:
"The Treasury of Proteus is yers. Yer destiny awaits through the portal that brought ye here."
Post-Quest
When talking to Mayor Cummerbund after the quest:
"Tell me of yer adventures in yer quest for the Amulet of Yendor."
When talking to Mayor Cummerbund after getting the Amulet:
"Ye have claimed the Amulet of Yendor! Truly ye were destined to be the greatest <daughter/son> of the Breathren of the Coast! "Now ye must travel to the astral sea, and offer the Amulet on the High Altar of <deity>!"
Variants
dNetHack
SpliceHack
SlashTHEM
In SlashTHEM, all the watery levels of the Pirate quest have some giant eels and kraken placed at level creation.
