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Wizard of Yendor

The Wizard of Yendor is the ultimate enemy, or "boss" in the game Nethack, one of Time's all time 100 video games ranking in at 36.

History

The Wizard of Yendor (WoY), commonly known as “Rodney” (“Yendor” spelled backwards), is a powerful enemy in the roguelike computer game NetHack. He lives in the valley of Gehennom in the "Wizards Tower" and holds the Book of the Dead. He is represented by the @ symbol. He can curse the player's items, cast powerful spells, and has the ability to return from the dead. In the traditional text mode of NetHack, the Wizard of Yendor is represented by a @, however "tilesets" or "skins" can be used to make enemies appear differently wether with an art depiction or a different letter depending on the player's preference. The Wizard of Yendor originally appeared in the back-story of NetHack's predecessor, the Rogue (video game), where he does not appear as an enemy, but is known as the creator of the dungeon. In Rogue, Rodney is the name of the player character who explores the dungeon. The Wizard of Yendor's first appearance in .hack (video game series) (another NetHack predecessor) was in version 1.0.2, in which he was the guardian of the Amulet of Yendor. His common nickname amongst players, “Rodney," is never specifically mentioned in-game.

Combat

The Wizard is primarily a spell caster, with the main threat being his Touch of Death, leading to instant death. Unique to the Wizard of Yendor is the spell Double Trouble which allows for him to have a fully functional copy of himself able to use all of the spells he is able to use (with the exception of using Double Trouble again). Another major threat is his claw attack, which has a chance at stealing the player's quest artifact which is usually vitally important to survival. To avoid this, killing the Wizard off as quickly as possible or putting quest artifacts in a bag whenever he appears are practical tactics to avoid YASD. If the quest artifact is stolen from the player, immediate repossession is suggested, whether it requires the use of a wand of death or simply chasing the wizard down. The wizard has no permanent means of disposal, in that there is no way to permanently get around his respawning and teleporting next to the player. Turning him into stone simply counts as a death, and he can revive as normal. Taming him through laborious processes with polymorph will only last until he teleports next to the player again, at which point he is untamed. Killing the Wizard (or using any of the aforementioned modes of occupying him) stalls him for a time, however every 50-250 turns one of 6 different events will happen. There is not a way found currently to permanently get rid of the Wizard

Probability	Effect	In-game Message
1/6	A variety of high level monsters are summoned around the player	None
1/6	The Wizard teleports next to the player from wherever he is, if he is dead he is revived at one level higher than he was last	"A voice booms out... 'So thou thought thou couldst kill me, fool.'"
1/6	Items in inventory may become cursed	"You notice a black glow surrounding you."
1/3	None	"You feel vaguely nervous."

Once the random effects have started, it is best to try and finish the game quickly before they kill the player. It is not uncommon for a well equipped player to simply end up continually having items cursed before the player finally trips up. For more information on combat, look into how damage works in Nethack. The Wizard (along with all other creatures in the game) use a dice notation method.

In Game Encyclopedia Entry

A passage found stored in the Nethack files referencing the Wizard of Yendor reads "No one knows how old this mighty wizard is, or from whence he came. It is known that, having lived a span far greater than any normal man's, he grew weary of lesser mortals; and so, spurning all human company, he forsook the dwellings of men and went to live in the depths of the Earth. He took with him a dreadful artifact, the Book of the Dead, which is said to hold great power indeed. Many have sought to find the wizard and his treasure, but none have found him and lived to tell the tale. Woe be to the incautious adventurer who disturbs this mighty sorcerer!"

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Category:Roguelikes