Tenebrous
Tenebrous, the Demonic Shadow is a spirit that appears in dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack.
Ritual, seal and taboo
Tenebrous's seal must be drawn on an unlit square, and it is always generated on the square where Orcus is killed.
To remain bound to Tenebrous, the hero must not permanently light squares, e.g. by zapping a wand of light or by reading a non-cursed scroll of light. Tenebrous will also be unbound if one of its active powers is used on certain monsters.
Mark
A hero that has Tenebrous bound possesses an unnaturally dark shadow that pools close to them—this can be seen from a distance, and can be hidden by staying out of illuminated squares.
Benefits
While bound, Tenebrous grants the hero drain resistance along with skill in maces.
Tenebrous's active powers are as follows:
- Damning Darkness: The hero inflicts damage on all monsters that are not undead, demonic or drain-resistant near them, with the exact radius dependent on the hero's experience level. Monsters in lit squares take 5 dice of damage, while monsters in unlit squares take 1d5 dice of damage, and squares within the radius are made dark as with a cursed scroll of light.
- Echos of the Last Word: The hero targets an adjacent monster and removes them from the game—any monster that is unique, drain resistant, demonic, or untargetable for genocide is instead subjected to level teleportation. Dread seraphs and black flowers are uniquely immune in that the power will fail and unbind Tenebrous if used on them, and intoners will polymorph into black flowers instead of being removed from the game if the power is used on them.
- Touch of the Void: The hero attempts to level drain an adjacent monster, requiring a successful to-hit roll.
Tenebrous's passive powers are as follows:
- Vital Sense: The hero senses all living monsters on the level.
As a monster
| v Tenebrous (No tile) | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 46 |
| Attacks |
Touch 4d6 drains life, touch 4d6 drains life, reaching attack 4d6 fire-shock-drain-cold combo |
| Base level | 39 |
| Base experience | 2137 |
| Speed | 16 |
| Base AC | -5 |
| Base MR | 50 |
| Alignment | -2 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 0 (Not randomly generated) |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 0 |
| Nutritional value | 0 |
| Size | huge |
| Resistances | fire resistance, cold resistance, sleep resistance, poison resistance, stoning resistance
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Tenebrous:
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In notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, Tenebrous, v, also appears as a monster that can be summoned by an Illithanachronounbinder. It is a vortex that is capable of following the hero to other levels if it is adjacent. Like many summoned spirits, Tenebrous cannot be tamed.
Tenebrous has two life-draining touch attacks, and a reach attack that combines positive and negative energy. The damage rolled for the combination reach attack is dealt in two "stages": the first stage deals the outcome of the roll as shock damage, then again as fire damage, and stuns the target for 3 turns; the second stage deals the outcome of the roll as cold damage, then drains a level regardless of damage; and the elemental damage in both "stages" also affects the target's inventory. The first set of effects can be wholly blocked with shock resistance, while the second can be blocked completely with drain resistance.
Tenebrous possesses fire resistance, cold resistance, sleep resistance, poison resistance, and stoning resistance.
Generation
Tenebrous is first generated when summoned from his seal by an Illithanachronounbinder. It is always created hostile, and is not a valid polymorph form or genocide target.
Tenebrous is always generated with the uncursed +3 Touch of the Void, a set of artifact gloves named for one of the spirit's active powers: The Touch of the Void is a pair of gauntlets of dexterity that grant drain resistance while worn and can be safely enchanted to +7—unarmed attacks performed while wearing The Touch of the Void have +1 to-hit and deal double damage against targets without drain resistance, and will additionally drain a level from non-resistant targets.
Tenebrous does not leave a corpse upon death.
Strategy
Below this point, there are major spoilers for the Illithanachronounbinder role. They can be accessed by selecting the "Role spoiler" tab.
If Tenebrous is killed after being summoned, it can be encountered again in the Void, a branch accessed by opening the high altar of Ilsensine the Fallen as an Illithanachronounbinder using the invoke effect of The Elder Cerebral Fluid. Tenebrous is generated along with many other spirits of the near void on the second floor of the branch, and is generated with the "whispers" template, which makes it nonliving.
Messages
- Within the seal, darkness takes on its own meaning,
- beyond mere absence of light.
- You attempted to bind Tenebrous, and are not blind.
- The darkness inside the seal flows out to pool around you.
- "None shall rest until my vengeance is complete.
- All who stand in my way shall face the wrath of that
- which was wrought in the ancient halls
- of the realm now known only for dust."
- You successfully bound Tenebrous to yourself. The first line is omitted if you are blind.
- The darkness inside the seal flows out to stain your weapon.
- "None shall rest until my vengeance is complete."
- You successfully bound Tenebrous to The Pen of the Void. The first line is omitted if you are blind.
- Gradually, the lighting returns to normal.
- You failed to bind Tenebrous due to a lack of open slots for spirits of the Near Void, and are not blind.
- You think briefly of the dying of the light.
- You performed the binding ritual incorrectly.
Encyclopedia entry
None shall rest until my vengeance is complete. All who stand in my way shall face the wrath of that which was wrought in the ancient halls of the realm now known only for dust.
