Weeping angel (dNetHack)
| A weeping angel | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 19 |
| Attacks |
Single-target (active) gaze attack 0d0 blink, Touch 2d20 energy drain, Touch 2d4 angel's touch, Claw 2d6 physical |
| Base level | 12 |
| Base experience | 365 |
| Speed | 48 |
| Base AC | -5 |
| Base MR | 70 |
| Alignment | -7 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 2 (Quite rare) |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 3000 |
| Nutritional value | 0 |
| Size | medium |
| Resistances | fire resistance, cold resistance, sleep resistance, disintegration resistance, poison resistance, acid resistance, petrification resistance
|
|
A weeping angel:
| |
- For the monster in other variants, see weeping angel.
A weeping angel, A, is a type of monster that appears in dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack. The weeping angel is a primordial humanoid chaotic angel that is unbreathing, amphibious, thick-skinned, has regeneration, and will seek out magical items to pick up. A weeping angel is "quantum-locked" while it is observed by the hero: it becomes sessile and cannot move, but its effective AC becomes much higher in this state—when unobserved, it can move at an incredible 48 speed, but its AC returns to its base of 15 natural points and the angel is limited to one round of attacks per game turn. Weeping angels will not venture into corridors unless the hero has either killed the Wizard of Yendor or performed the invocation, in order to avoid forcing the hero into a permanent standoff in a dead-end corridor.
Weeping angels have a single-target active gaze attack that inflicts weeping angel contamination upon the hero unless they have reflection, a powerful touch attack that can drain energy, a special touch attack that level teleports the target to a higher level and inflicts level drain based on how many levels they were sent away, and a normal claw attack. The level-teleporting touch attack can be blocked by both teleport control and drain resistance, but will not teleport the hero if they have performed the invocation or killed the Wizard as above.
Weeping angel contamination causes the remembered image of the angel to begin taking over the hero's mind, which abuses wisdom—if wisdom loss from this contamination brings the hero's wisdom below 3, they will suffer an instant death and rise from the grave as a new weeping angel; life saving will resurrect the hero and reset their wisdom to three. If two weeping angels are made to target each other with their gaze attack (e.g. from conflict), they will become permanently "quantum-locked" and both turn into lifeless statues.
Weeping angels possess fire resistance, cold resistance, sleep resistance, disintegration resistance, poison resistance, acid resistance, and stoning resistance with the exception of the case described above.
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (dNetHack). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.
In 3.23.1, blindness blocks the effects of weeping angel contamination.Generation
Randomly generated weeping angels are always created hostile, and are not normally generated in Gehennom. They are not a valid target for polymorph or genocide.
Hostile weeping angels can be summoned by the summon alien monster spell.
The garden special room has a 1⁄2 chance of generating a weeping angel at level creation.
Weeping angels do not leave a corpse upon death.
A hero killed by weeping angel contamination will arise as a weeping angel if a bones file is left—bones levels will only contain at most one weeping angel, with the exception of heroes killed this way.
Strategy
Weeping angel contamination can be a debilitating long-term threat for the unaware hero in theory, but in practice it is rarely a serious threat if the hero can maintain their wisdom. The much more pressing threat is the angel's draining touch, which can result in a loss of several levels if you are teleported far enough upward.
Contamination can be removed through the following methods:
- The contamination is considered a form of curse, so any means of curse removal such as a scroll of remove curse, the remove curse spell or an effigy can counteract it. Using an effigy to remove weeping angel contamination will create another weeping angel next to you.
- Successful prayer on a coaligned altar while in good standing with your deity can cure weeping angel contamination—it is considered a major trouble, but only while praying on an altar.
- As a last resort, a source of amnesia can erase the image of the angel from the hero's mind, along with several other pieces of information.
Origin
Weeping angels are heavily inspired by the race of creatures from the BBC television series Doctor Who. The Weeping Angels were introduced in the 2007 episode "Blink" and became recurring characters across a variety of Doctor Who media. Weeping Angels feast by touching a victim, which sends them back in time and creates time energy that the Angel feeds on. Later episodes expand the Angels' list of abilities, which include the ability for an image of an Angel to become another Weeping Angel, the ability to turn other statues into Weeping Angels, and the ability to kill others by touching them twice.
As indicated by the quote used for their encyclopedia entry, Weeping Angels are normally quantum-locked and do not truly exist while being observed, with their biology having evolved to freeze them into rock the moment they are observed by any living creature—when unobserved, however, they can move rapidly in a manner imperceptible to most living beings. Additionally, any images or depictions of Weeping Angels can themselves become weeping angels and infect the minds of anyone who sees them, turning the victim themselves into a Weeping Angel.
Encyclopedia entry
Lonely assassins they used to be called. No one quite knows
where they came from, but they're as old as the universe. Or
very nearly, and they have survived this long because they
have the most perfect defense system ever evolved. They're
quantum locked. They don't exist when they're being observed,
in the moment they are seen by any other living creature
they freeze into rock. No choice, it's a fact that their
biology, in the sight of any other living thing they literally
turn to stone. And you can't kill a stone. 'Course a stone
can't kill you either, but then you turn your head away.
Then you blink. And oh yes it can.
"This whole book, it's a warning about the weeping angels, so
why no pictures? Why not show us what to look out for?"
"There was a bit about images. What was that?"
"Yes. Hang on.... 'That which holds the image of an angel
becomes itself an angel.'"
