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Mythology and fiction in NetHack
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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 and Anshar Caribbean * zombie Celtic * The knight pantheon: Lugh, Brigit and Manannan 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 * The Cyclops * The healer pantheon: Athena, Hermes and Poseidon * The Staff of Aesculapius * titan * The statue of Perseus * Sirius (ranger's pet dog name, referring to Orion's dog) Egyptian * Book of the Dead * The wizard pantheon: Ptah, Thoth and Anhur 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 * dragons were known to the Chinese, but dragons as monsters is 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 and Susanowo * The tsurugi of Muramasa * tengu Judeo-Christian * Angel * Asmodeus * Baalzebub * golem * Hell (now called Gehennom) * Moloch * Three of the Four 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 the Catholic excommunication ceremony Mesoamerican * couatl or coatl is the nahuatl name for snakes * The archeologist pantheon: Quetzalcoatl, Camaxtli and Huhetotl (a variant spelling of Huehueteotl) * xans are named after the mosquito from Popol Vuh Norse * dwarf * Mjollnir, the artifact war hammer * The valkyrie class and pantheon: Tyr, Odin and Loki * Lord Surtur North American * The cryptozoological sasquatch Roman * Demogorgon * Dispater * Geryon * lemure * manes * Orcus * The ranger pantheon: Mercury, Venus and Mars Welsh * Excalibur * King Arthur * The Cŵn Annwn Fiction NetHack draws on several fictional works, especially Dungeons & Dragons and the writings of J. 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 lord Tolkien * balrog * barrow wight * cram ration * dwarvish/elven mithril 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 from Edmund Spenser's poem The Faerie Queene * References to 'Maud' when the player characters lose their memory are inspired by Alfred Lord Tennyson's "Maud" Literature * Grayswandir, the artifact silver saber, is from Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber * Stormbringer, the artifact runesword, is from the Elric fantasy fiction stories by Michael Moorcock * The barbarian class and pantheon (Mitra, Crom, Set), Pelias, the Heart of Ahriman, and Thoth-Amon are related to Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian novels * The tourist class, pantheon (Blind Io, The Lady, Offler) and quest (with Twoflower) are based on Terry Pratchett's Discworld * The rogue class pantheon (Issek of the Jug, Mog, Kos) is from Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories. * The crysknife is from Frank Herbert's Dune novel, and the "Long Worms" are based on Dunes sandworms, called Shai-Hulud * The towel, the graffiti message "We apologize for the inconvenience", the dog-eared spellbook and several hallucination monsters are from Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy * The Eyes of the Overworld and sandestins are from Jack 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 become invisible 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 * gremlins 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 * The Keystone Kops from early silent films appear as the game's police force Video games * The Wizard of Yendor first appeared in NetHack's predecessor, Hack * The wumpus is from the computer game Hunt the Wumpus * The brass lantern, the fortune cookie message "The magic word is XYZZY" 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 * NetHacks currency, the zorkmid, is from the computer game Zork Other * Snickersnee, the artifact katana, is from the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Mikado * The graffiti message "notary sojak" is a reference to Smokey Stover * Eating tinned spinach produces the message "This makes you feel like Popeye!" * The Quantum Mechanic monster may drop a box containing Schrödinger'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 See Also
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