- Mythology and fiction in NetHack
The computer game "
NetHack " draws from many mythologies which are not explicitly fictional, as well as works of modern fiction and other computer games.Arabic
*
djinni
*ghoul Babylonian
*
Marduk , the Creator
* The cave(wo)man pantheon:Anu ,Ishtar andAnshar Caribbean
*
zombie Celtic
* The knight pantheon:
Lugh ,Brigit andManannan mac Lir Chinese
*
dragon —but see below
* ki-rin
* The monk pantheon:Shan Lai Ching ,Chih Sung-tzu and Huan Ti
*yeti
=Greek=*
Archon
*centaur
*Cerberus (this monster does not appear in actual game currently)
*Geryon
*erinys
*Medusa
*minotaur
*nymph
* TheCyclops
* The healer pantheon:Athena ,Hermes andPoseidon
* The Staff of Aesculapius
* titan
* The statue ofPerseus
* Sirius (ranger's pet dog name, referring toOrion 's dog)Egyptian
*
Book of the Dead
* The wizard pantheon:Ptah ,Thoth andAnhur English
*
ettin European
Some monsters are taken from myths and folklore whose precise origins are unknown, but which are essentially medieval European.
*bugbear
* chickatrice
*cockatrice
*dragon s were known to the Chinese, but dragons as monsters are a European myth
*gargoyle
* giants are present in almost all cultures
*goblin
*gremlin
*imp
* incubus
*kraken
* leocrotta
*leprechaun
*ogre
*succubus
*troll
*unicorn
*vampire
*werewolf Germanic
*
doppelgänger
*elf
*gnome
*kobold
=Hindu=* naga
=Japanese=* The samurai pantheon:
Amaterasu Omikami ,Raijin andSusanowo
* The tsurugi ofMuramasa
*tengu Judeo-Christian
*
Angel
* Asmodeus
*Baalzebub
*golem
*Hell (now called Gehennom)
*Moloch
* Three of theFour Horsemen of the Apocalypse : Death, Famine, and Pestilence (in conversation with these three, and in the sourcecode, the role of War is implied to have been assumed by the player)
* The invocation ritual ("Bell, book, and candle ") is loosely connected to theCatholic excommunication ceremony [http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/61000.html]Mesoamerica n* couatl or "coatl" is the
nahuatl name for snakes
* The archeologist pantheon:Quetzalcoatl ,Camaxtli and Huhetotl (a variant spelling ofHuehueteotl )
* xans are named after the mosquito fromPopol Vuh
=Norse=*
dwarf
*Mjollnir , the artifact war hammer
* Thevalkyrie class and pantheon:Tyr ,Odin andLoki
* Lord SurturNorth American
* The cryptozoological
sasquatch
=Roman=*
Demogorgon
*Dispater
*Geryon
*lemure
*manes
* Orcus
* The ranger pantheon: Mercury, Venus and Mars
=Welsh=*
Excalibur
*King Arthur
* TheCŵn Annwn Fiction
"NetHack" draws on several fictional works, especially "
Dungeons & Dragons " and the writings ofJ. R. R. Tolkien , but also many other fantasy writers, some of which in turn were inspired by ancient myths."Dungeons & Dragons"
* Aleax
*gelatinous cube
*giant spider
* green slime
*hezrou
*Juiblex , the demon lord
*lich
* lurker above
* marilith
* mimic
*mind flayer
*nalfeshnee
*owlbear
*piercer
*pit fiend
*pyrolisk
*quasit
*rothé
*rust monster
* trapper
*umber hulk
*vrock
*winter wolf
* xorn
*Yeenoghu , the demon lordTolkien
*
balrog
* barrow wight
* cram ration
* dwarvish/elvenmithril coat
*Elbereth
*hobbit
* lembas wafer
* Mordor orc
*mumak
*Nazgûl
*Olog-hai
*orc
*Orcrist , the artifact weapon
* Sting, the artifact weapon
* The ranger class
*Uruk-hai
*warg Poetry
* Jabberwocks and Vorpal Blade, the artifact sword, are from
Lewis Carroll 's poem "Jabberwocky "
* The Magic Mirror of Merlin is fromEdmund Spenser 's poem "The Faerie Queene "
* References to 'Maud' when the player characters lose their memory are inspired byAlfred Lord Tennyson 's "Maud"Literature
*
Grayswandir , the artifactsilver saber , is fromRoger Zelazny 's "Chronicles of Amber "
*Stormbringer , the artifact runesword, is from the "Elric "fantasy fiction stories byMichael Moorcock
* The barbarian class and pantheon (Mitra, Crom, Set), Pelias, the Heart of Ahriman, andThoth-Amon are related toRobert E. Howard 's "Conan the Barbarian " novels
* The tourist class, pantheon (Blind Io, The Lady, Offler) and quest (withTwoflower ) are based onTerry Pratchett 's "Discworld "
* The rogue class pantheon (Issek of the Jug, Mog, Kos) is fromFritz Leiber 's "Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser " stories. [http://pages.tca.net/fewlass/Gods2.html]
* Thecrysknife is fromFrank Herbert 's "Dune" novel, and the "Long Worms" are based on "Dune"'s sandworms, called Shai-Hulud
* Thetowel , the graffiti message "We apologize for the inconvenience", the dog-eared spellbook and several hallucination monsters are fromDouglas Adams ' "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy "
* The Eyes of the Overworld and sandestins are fromJack Vance 's "Dying Earth " books
* The graffiti messages "A.S. ->" and "<- A.S." are references to "Journey to the Center of the Earth "
* A player who has becomeinvisible can wear a "mummy wrapping" in order to become visible again, a reference to the opening scene of H. G. Wells's "The Invisible Man "
* A hatching dragon makes a cry of "Gleep!"—a reference to the dragon Gleep from "MythAdventures "Film and television
* The archeologist class (starting with fedora, leather jacket and bullwhip) is based on
Indiana Jones movie character
*gremlin s appear with their unique characteristics as portrayed in the 1984 movie "Gremlins "
* grid bugs are from the 1982 movie "Tron"
* The save and exit message "Be seeing you..." is from "The Prisoner "
* TheKeystone Kops from early silent films appear as the game's police forceVideo games
* The
Wizard of Yendor first appeared in "NetHack's" predecessor, "Hack"
* Thewumpus is from the computer game "Hunt the Wumpus "
* The brass lantern, the fortune cookie message "The magic word isXYZZY " and the graffiti message "You won't get it up the steps" are references to "Adventure"
* The 'Sokoban ' levels are a tribute to the Japanese computer game of the same name
* "NetHack"'s currency, the zorkmid, is from the computer game "Zork "Other
* Snickersnee, the artifact
katana , is from theGilbert and Sullivan operetta "The Mikado "
* The graffiti message "notary sojak" is a reference to "Smokey Stover "
* Eating tinnedspinach produces the message "This makes you feel likePopeye !"
* The Quantum Mechanic monster may drop a box containingSchrödinger's cat Reality
Some characters and monsters are based on historical reality:
*Ashikaga Takauji
* baluchitherium
*Croesus
*Hippocrates
*killer bee
* Lord Carnarvon
*mastodon
*Oracle of Delphi
*queen bee
* titanothere
*Vlad the Impaler References
* [http://www.spod-central.org/~psmith/nh/bibliography.html A Bibliography of NetHack's Database]
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