Quest
In NetHack, the Quest is a great journey upon which all seekers of the Amulet of Yendor must embark in order to obtain Bell of Opening, which is one of the three items required for the invocation. The Quest involves returning to your homeland to recover the Bell and an artifact stolen from your people by a powerful nemesis.
Contents
Access
Somewhere between the dungeon levels 11 and 16, 6 or 7 levels below the Oracle, you will receive a message from your quest leader, pleading for your help. On this level is a magic portal that, when found, leads to a new branch of the dungeon. You will find the quest leader in the first level of this branch, and must speak to them before proceeding to subsequent levels. You must be of your original alignment, have at least 20 alignment record, and have at least experience level 14 to receive permission; see the section on quest leaders below for some more detail.
The entrance to the quest proper will be a down stair on the same level as your quest leader. On the bottom level you will encounter your quest nemesis, with the artifact and a silver bell. You cannot go down or level teleport from the Quest home level, even with prior permission, if you are not of your original alignment. Unlike the initial permission requirement, this can be overcome with a helm of opposite alignment.
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.
You can gain access to the Quest by killing your Quest Leader. Doing so gives +7 to god anger and -20 to Luck, and causes your Luck to time out to -4. You also forfeit the alignment record bonus from killing your Quest Nemesis.Quest branch
The exact composition and inhabitants of the Quest depend on your role, but all Quests share some common features. The Quest always takes place in a separate branch of the dungeon with at least five levels:
- Home level: The first level has a layout that is mostly the same in every game played as a given role. It contains your Quest leader (see below) and several Quest guardians, friendly monsters present to add flavor. From the home level, you can return to the Dungeons of Doom through a second magic portal, or you can embark on the Quest through a down staircase on the level. The home level prohibits teleporting, and the walls and floor are non-diggable.
- Upper filler level: The second level is a randomly-generated filler level. Depending on your role, it may be a room-and-corridor level, a cavern, or a special type of level.
- Locate level: The third level also has a layout that is mostly the same for your role, and a message will be displayed each time you enter it until the Quest nemesis is killed. The walls and floor are non-diggable. Other than that, there is nothing special about it.
- Lower filler level(s): Below the Locate level are one to three more filler levels, which may be the same as or different from the upper filler level.
- Goal level: The last level is the "Goal" level. Like the Home level, its layout is mostly fixed, and a message will be displayed each time you enter it until the Quest nemesis is killed. The nemesis is generated asleep or meditating, carrying the Bell of Opening, and the quest artifact is on the floor of the square the nemesis occupies. The walls and floor are non-diggable in all Goal levels; the Goal level in the Rogue and Samurai Quests is also no-teleport.
The locate and filler levels are eligible to leave bones; the home and goal levels are not.
Every time you enter the quest portal level, you'll get a purely cosmetic message about your leader needing your help. If you want to switch it off, #chat with your quest leader while you are carrying the Bell of Opening and the quest artifact.
Monsters
While monsters are still randomly-generated, monster generation in the Quest is biased toward monsters that fit its theme (i.e. "quest monsters"). See the following section for a list of quest-specific monsters. Internally, every role has two quest monsters and two quest monster classes; typically, these enemy classes are the classes of the enemy monster, but that is not mandatory (for example, the Rogue quest breaks this pattern). Monster generation in the Quest uses the following distribution:
- 96/175 (55%) first specific quest monster
- 24/175 (14%) first quest class
- 24/175 (14%) second specific quest monster
- 6/175 (3%) second quest class
- 1/7 (14%) normal random monster
This "biased" part of monster generation is not subject to extinction where it specifies an individual species, as opposed to a monster class. If an individual monster has been genocided (or does not exist at all, such as in the Archaeologist quest), monsters of the associated class will be generated instead. If the class is also genocided or extinct, the quest monsters will be replaced with ordinary random monsters.[1] It is possible to make use of this mechanism by genociding a quest monster to increase the number of other monsters of the associated class; see the article on genocide for more details.
Quest leaders and nemeses
The quest leader is the non-player character who verifies that you are ready to undertake the quest and assigns you the mission. If you are not XL 14, but otherwise fulfill the requirements for the quest, you are simply teleported back to the main branch, and can re-enter the quest portal later on. However, if you attack the quest leader,[2] have converted your alignment,[3] or fail the alignment test more than seven times,[4] you will be expelled from the quest and the magic portal will be removed. At this point, if you can branchport back in, you can still pacify them and obtain permission to do the quest; otherwise, the game is unwinnable.
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.
Being expelled from the Quest no longer seals off the branch by removing the portal; you may reenter the level, but the leader will now be hostile. You may either pacify the leader and get their approval to enter the Quest normally, or you may kill them as described above; either way, it is no longer possible to get into an unwinnable situation with them. It may be worth mentioning the expulsion leading to an unwinnable situation in a History section on this page, since a lot of players have lost a promising game to it.All quest leaders are generated meditating, and those of some roles sit on a throne. To make them move away before you can get permission, you need to become at least fast, move next to them on a free turn, and either #chat to them or say no at the prompt for whether to melee them. Once you are teleported out and then re-enter the level, they will move around the area like any other NPC.
If you throw your quest artifact at your leader (perhaps because they previously exhorted you to return it), they will catch it and return it to you, giving you their blessing to take the artifact with you on your journey.
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.
Quest leaders will also catch the Bell of Opening, Candelabrum of Invocation, Book of the Dead, Amulet of Yendor, and an unidentified fake Amulet of Yendor. There is no special quest pager text for these (besides the one for the real Amulet). If you have not performed the invocation yet, they will return the invocation items to you, identified; otherwise they will keep them. They will also identify a fake Amulet provided you did not already know it was fake; if you did know it was fake, they become hostile.The quest nemesis is the boss monster that the hero must must defeat to reclaim their quest artifact and the Bell of Opening; while it is possible to ascend without killing the quest nemesis, it is exceedingly rare for players to do so. Every quest nemesis has stoning resistance, and nemeses represented by @ do not respect Elbereth. All quest nemeses are capable of speech, and randomly utter discouragements at the hero during combat.
Quest difficulty statistics
The following table is an attempt to quantify quest difficulty by role based on statistics from nethack.alt.org, as of June 21, 2013. The count of players who died in the quest does not include players who completed the quest first.
| Role | Completed quest | Died in quest | Total | Completion rate (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wizard | 3941 | 323 | 4264 | 92.42 |
| Knight | 765 | 80 | 845 | 90.53 |
| Tourist | 1110 | 129 | 1239 | 89.59 |
| Caveman | 604 | 78 | 682 | 88.56 |
| Archeologist | 806 | 122 | 928 | 86.85 |
| Rogue | 646 | 99 | 745 | 86.71 |
| Ranger | 772 | 176 | 948 | 81.43 |
| Priest | 920 | 213 | 1133 | 81.20 |
| Samurai | 1155 | 296 | 1451 | 79.60 |
| Healer | 736 | 242 | 978 | 75.26 |
| Valkyrie | 2822 | 941 | 3763 | 74.99 |
| Barbarian | 1022 | 471 | 1493 | 68.45 |
| Monk | 849 | 549 | 1398 | 60.73 |
Variants
SLASH'EM
In addition to the quests above, SLASH'EM also has quests for the new roles of SLASH'EM, as well as alignment-based quests. The article linked above describes the details of the alignment quests, while the new individual quests are listed below:
- Flame Mage quest
- Ice Mage quest
- Necromancer quest
- Undead Slayer quest
- Yeoman quest
- Lawful Quest
- Neutral Quest
- Chaotic Quest
Both your role quest and the alignment quests can occur from dungeon levels 15 to 19.
UnNetHack
UnNetHack adds the Convict quest, and allows all roles to enter the quest at experience level 10.
dNetHack
In addition to quests for the new roles in dNetHack, there are also alternative quests for some role/race combinations, as well as alignment quests accessible to all players.
Role quests
| Role | Leader | Nemesis |
|---|---|---|
| Anachrononaut | @ Sara, the Last Oracle | None |
| Binder | M Strange corpse | L Acererak |
| Convict | @ Robert the Lifer | @ Warden Arianna |
| Madperson | @ Cassilda the Iron Maiden | @ Doctor Archer |
| Noble (default/human) | @ old Gypsy woman | @@@@ Rebel leaders |
| Pirate | @ Mayor Cummerbund | . Blackbeard's Ghost |
| Troubadour (Bard) | @ Pindar | n Aglaope |
Racial quests
Some role/race combinations in dNetHack get special alternative quests with unique quest artifacts:
| Race+Role | Leader | Nemesis |
|---|---|---|
| Dwarf Noble | h Dain II Ironfoot | & Durin's Bane |
| Dwarf Knight | h Thorin II Oakenshield | Do Smaug and Bolg |
| Gnomish Ranger | Å Damaged arcadian avenger | k Great High Shaman of Kurtulmak |
| Elf Noble, Priest, Ranger, or Wizard | @ Galadriel | W Necromancer (Quest Nemesis) |
| Female Drow Priest, Ranger, Rogue, or Wizard | @ Eclavdra (possible nemesis) | @ Seyll Auzkovyn (possible leader) |
| Male Drow Priest, Ranger, Rogue, or Wizard | @ Eclavdra (possible nemesis) | @ Daruth Xaxox (possible leader) |
| Female Drow Noble | @ Mother | U Elder brain |
| Male Drow Noble | @ Drow novice | @ A'salom |
| Drow Healer | @ Shuushar the Enlightened | @ Blibdoolpoolp, graven-into-flesh |
| Female Half-dragon Noble | None | @ Bastard of the Boreal Valley |
Anachrononauts, Binders, Convicts, Pirates, and Troubadours do not get racial quests.
See here for a table of combinations that indicates which ones have special quests.
The Drow racial quests are interesting in that they give the player the option of changing sides after meeting their nemesis, and killing their original quest leader to get a different quest artifact. Either the original or the traitor's quest artifact can then be traded for another artifact, so male and female drow each have a total of four options for their quest artifact. The Drow Noble quests are an exception; nobles cannot change sides.
Alignment quests
The dNetHack alignment quests are similar to those in SLASH'EM: three branches connected to the main dungeon by portals, which all players can enter regardless of alignment, with unique enemies carrying alignment keys and useful artifacts. However, the dNetHack alignment quests are much longer than those in SLASH'EM, consisting of multiple levels instead of a single one. Instead of just one artifact key per alignment, each dNetHack quest has three associated alignment keys, for a total of nine. Three alignment keys are needed in order to access Gehennom. These can be any of the nine, so players can explore one quest in its entirety or try out portions of more than one quest. There is a special Junethack trophy for those who manage to find all nine keys.
The Silver Key, an artifact found at the end of the Neutrality Quest, can be used instead of the Bell of Opening to perform the invocation. Therefore, it is possible for characters to ascend even if they are expelled from their role quests, if they are able to survive the Neutrality Quest. Binders are an exception: they will never be permanently expelled from their role quest, but will find the Hand Mirror of Cthylla (which cannot be used for the invocation) in place of the Silver Key. Anachrononauts are also special: due to the lack of their quest artifact, they will be unable perform a full-scoring ascension if they fail their role quest, but they can still perform a half-score ascension by using the Silver Key to complete the invocation ritual.
Other variants
Similarly to UnNetHack, in FIQHack and xNetHack the quest becomes available at XL10, not XL14.
In FIQHack killing your quest leader will open the portal to the quest[5].
Encyclopaedia entry
Many, possibly most, Tours are organized as a Quest. This is like a large-scale treasure hunt, with clues scattered all over the continent, a few false leads, Mystical Masters as game-show hosts, and the Dark Lord and the Terrain to make the Quest interestingly difficult. [...]
In order to be assured of your future custom, the Management has a further Rule: Tourists, far from being rewarded for achieving their Quest Object, must then go on to conquer the Dark Lord or set about Saving the World, or both. And why not? By then you will have had a lot of practice in that sort of thing and, besides, the Quest Object is usually designed to help you do it.
References
- ↑ Makemon.c#line1090, Makemon.c#line1428, Questpgr.c#qt_montype, You.h#line103, Role.c#line2016, example: wizards Role.c#line561
- ↑ src/quest.c in NetHack 3.6.0, line 320
- ↑ src/quest.c in NetHack 3.6.0, line 285
- ↑ src/quest.c in NetHack 3.6.0, line 290
- ↑ https://github.com/FredrIQ/fiqhack/blob/33e95f977761f66186a1f9aea1ca5e5d262912a2/libnethack/src/quest.c#L109
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