The Wand of Orcus (dNetHack)
| ) The Wand of Orcus | |
|---|---|
| Base item | wand of death |
| Damage vs. small | 1d8 +1d12 |
| Damage vs. large | 1d8 +1d12 |
| To-hit bonus | +1d20 |
| Bonus versus |
|
| Weapon skill | mace |
| Size | one-handed |
| Affiliation | |
| When carried |
|
| When wielded |
|
| When invoked |
|
| Base price | 8000 zm |
| Weight | varies with appearance |
| Material | varies with appearance |
- For the artifact in EvilHack, see Wand of Orcus (EvilHack).
The Wand of Orcus is an artifact that appears in dNetHack and notdNetHack. It is chaotic-aligned, and its base item is a huge-sized wand of death.
Generation
Orcus is always generated with the uncursed Wand in his possession - the Wand of Orcus cannot be wished for, and will revert to a normal wand of death if left in bones.
Description
The Wand of Orcus is an intelligent artifact that acts as a bludgeoning melee weapon while wielded. As a huge wand, it has a base damage of 1d8 to both small and large monsters, as well as a -8 to-hit penalty due to being awkwardly sized - it also cannot be enchanted and gains no bonuses from enchantments or charges. As an artifact, it has +1d20 to-hit, and on a hit deals +1d12 damage and inflicts level drain on non-drain resistant targets. The Wand uses the mace skill for melee and is bloodthirsty, with a base 1⁄4 chance of passively attacking adjacent monsters each turn.
Unlike other wands, The Wand of Orcus can be charged indefinitely and cannot be wrested or broken - invoking the Wand allows it to be zapped as a wand of death without consuming a charge, even if it currently has no charges left.
Origin
The Wand of Orcus is the trademark weapon of Orcus, one of the most well-known and mighty demon princes, in Dungeons & Dragons - it appears as a skull-topped wand with the power to slay any living being.
Encyclopedia entry
"Your sad excuse for a third-year Defence textbook will suggest to you that you
expose the mountain troll to sunlight, which will freeze it in place. This, my
young apprentices, is the sort of useless knowledge you will never find in my
lessons. You do not encounter mountain trolls in open daylight! The idea that
you should use sunlight to stop them is the result of foolish textbook authors
trying to show off their mastery of minutia at the expense of practicality.
Just because there is a ridiculously obscure way of dealing with mountain
trolls does not mean you should actually try to use it! The Killing Curse is
unblockable, unstoppable, and works every single time on anything with a brain."
[ Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality by Eliezer Yudkowsky ]
