The Idol of Moloch
| ( The Idol of Moloch (No tile) | |
|---|---|
| Base item | figurine |
| Affiliation | |
| When carried |
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| When applied |
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| When invoked |
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| Base price | 4000 zm |
| Weight | 50 |
| Material | [[{{{material}}}]] |
The Idol of Moloch is the Infidel quest artifact in EvilHack and Hack'EM. It is the prize for completing the Infidel quest, and its default alignment is chaotic. Its base item type is a figurine of a horned devil.
Generation
For Infidels, The Idol of Moloch is always generated on the goal level of the Archeologist quest, where it is placed on the same square as the Paladin along with the Bell of Opening.
If The Idol of Moloch is wished for by a hero of another role, there is a 1⁄x chance (where x is the amount of previous artifact wishes) of it being created successfully. If successful, the Archbishop of Moloch will generate as the hostile owner of the artifact, placed adjacent to the hero with the artifact in their possession.
Description
While carried, The Idol of Moloch grants magic resistance and half spell damage, and Infidels additionally gain improved energy regeneration similar to The Eye of the Aethiopica, with the amount of enhanced regeneration depending on their alignment record: piously "unaligned" Infidels will get the most energy regeneration from the Idol, while Infidels that are in bad standing with Moloch or serving another god see no change in energy regeneration.
Invoking The Idol of Moloch while standing on an aligned altar will instantly convert it to an altar to Moloch, while invoking it on any other square or else applying it summons a random major demon without using up the figurine—both are subject to the same invocation timer. If the Idol is cursed, it will occasionally generate a random major demon on its own, similar to a normal cursed figurine and with the same odds of hostility (i.e., 80% chance of a hostile demon, 10% chance of a tame one, and 10% chance of a peaceful one).
Infidels and the Idol
For Infidels, the Idol is immune to cancellation, and is indestructible like other unique items: it cannot be placed into a container, lost permanently in open air, or disintegrated by any means. The goal of an Infidel is to bring both the Idol and the Amulet of Yendor to the high priest in Moloch's Sanctum and offer the Amulet on the high altar there—once Moloch imbues the Idol with the Amulet's power, the ascension run begins, and the Idol must be brought to the correct high altar on the Astral Plane and invoked upon it, giving Moloch dominion over Heaven and all the Gods.
To this end, if the quest is completed without incident, the Archbishop will give the "hero" one of the hints regarding which high altar in the Astral Plane to avoid invoking the imbued Idol of Moloch on, and the high priest of Moloch provides the other hint. If the Archbishop demands the Idol of Moloch from an Infidel due to alignment record abuse, they will become hostile regardless of that Infidel's compliance, so it is always possible to retain the Idol—the high priest will give both hints if the Archbishop is dead.
Once the Idol is imbued, it suppresses the HP-draining spellcasting and non-regeneration effects that normally occur if an Infidel does not have the Amulet of Yendor, though teleportation is still suppressed as with other heroes carrying the Amulet. The Infidel must traverse the Elemental Planes, reach the Astral Plane and battle their way to the correct high altar, as determined by the hints mentioned previously: selecting the wrong altar will subject the Infidel to that god's wrath, up to and including wide-angle disintegration beams, while selecting the right altar will end the game in Moloch's victory and a full-scoring ascension, with the Infidel obtaining archfiend status.
Strategy
For non-Infidels, The Idol of Moloch is a chaotic artifact wish that offers slotless magic resistance—it can also provide a source of unlimited pets if blessed, though it will blast the user with each application.
