DNetHack

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dNetHack is a NetHack variant created by ChrisANG (also known as simply "Chris"). Originating as a variant of NetHack 3.4.3, dNetHack has come into an identity of its own much like other variants - it draws from the source material of the older Dungeons & Dragons editions, similar to EvilHack, but does so to a much greater extent that also leans heavier into the Fantasy Kitchen Sink aspects of the original NetHack and brings its ruleset to that format as faithfully as it can.

dNetHack's main goals are as follows:

1. Increase the selection of artifacts.
2. Implement new monsters.
3. Re-organize and expand the dungeon.
4. Revamp existing roles and items.
5. Re-balance armors to make more choices viable in the late game.
6. Replace the Elbereth mechanic with a warding sign system.

dNetHack can be played online at Hardfought or ASCRUN; the latest version available for play is 3.20.0 (found on Hardfought) as of December 28, 2020. The github for the game can be found here.

Tropes used in DNetHack include:

• Acquired Poison Immunity: Changed from the original - intrinsics from corpses are still binary ("on" or "off"), but now time out after up to 5000 turns, and players can potentially gain multiple such intrinsics from a single corpse that offers more than one.
• Anachronism Stew: Invoked with the Tourist, who is the only role allowed to wish for anachronistic items such as lightsabers.
• An Ice Person: Yuki-onna are one of the new playable races, and have a passive cold attack that triggers in melee.
• Brown Note:
  • Mandrakes have no attacks, but emit a level-wide shriek upon death that instantly kills all "living" monsters (i.e. excluding undead and constructs) on the level with less than 101 HP - naturally including you, unless you have a way to resist. The HP threshold is based on Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition's Power Word: Kill.
• Cap: Various caps within the game are altered.
  • The experience level cap is 30 as with NetHack, but the experience system itself is reworked to make this far more attainable. And you'll probably need those levels towards the end.
  • There is a charisma-based cap on the amount of pets you can keep with you.
• Character Alignment: The alignment system is brought somewhat closer to the "three-by-three" format of Dungeons & Dragon 3.5e, with monsters given additional flags to govern whether they take more damage from holy or unholy weapons as an example.
• Clockwork Creature: The autons are Expies of the Modrons from Dungeons & Dragons, complete with their own Primus Expy in Axus.
• Cold Iron:
  • Elves' hatred of iron causes them to take extra damage and slows their Regenerating Health. In addition to elves and drow, cold-iron weapons also deal extra damage against several monsters, including (with some overlap) the various Fair Folk, giants (see the entry for Our Giants Are Bigger), displacer beasts, and dream quasielementals.
• Eldritch Abomination: Several kinds appear throughout the game, and the U class of monsters is retooled into "aberrations".
• Everything's Better With Dinosaurs
• The Fair Folk: Elves, giants, leprechauns, unicorns and nymphs now have more traits of this, and more fae are introduced as monsters.
• Game Mod: One of many NetHack variants.
• Half-Human Hybrid: Half-dragons are a playable race, and even come with their own breath weapon (randomly selected at generation).
• Instant Plunder, Just Add Pirates: The Pirate is one of the new playable roles, integrated from a popular NetHack patch into the base game of dNetHack.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: Nerfed in comparison to NetHack, as it no longer applies to item identities.
• Mechanical Abomination: Axus and the autons are likely examples of this, being Expies of Primus and the Clockwork Creature Modrons from Dungeons & Dragons and serving a similar role as the embodiment of law. Axus will revive from his corpse if killed, and attempting to eat said corpse will instakill you Rider-style.
• Mission Pack Variant: Of a sort. The basic plot and goals are the same, but there's far more to do in comparison to the original NetHack.
• Non-Human Undead: All kinds of zombies and undead can occur in the dungeon.
• Our Fairies Are Different: Many more types of fae are introduced to the game, and both they and existing monsters more resemble the Fair Folk per that trope entry above.
• Our Giants Are Bigger: All giants now have a weakness to cold-iron, suggesting that they are a form of Fair Folk (specifically Fomorians).
• Our Zombies Are Different: Zombies can now generate from any leftover corpse of killed living creatures, and trade movement speed for higher melee damage. If the zombie corpse is left over after it's been put down, it may revive.
• Plot Coupons: Some new ones are added in the alignment keys.
• Required Secondary Powers:
  • Half-dragon characters are immune to damage from the element of their breath weapon.
• Sanity Meter: A heavily-detailed sanity system is one of dNetHack's 'signature' major changes.
• Sidequests: Many are altered, and new ones are added.
  • The Sokoban branch now uses stone crates instead of boulders, making it more in the spirit of the game; random food items are removed, as the crates will now release food if pushed into a hole (or if broken by other means, though this incurs a Luck penalty). Sokoban levels also do not generate monsters in any of the boulder areas, though monsters can still be brought in by other means.
• Stealth Mook: Includes the Garo from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, who use the same glyph (.) as normal floor tiles, making them difficult to spot.