Nessos

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Version 0.31: This article is up to date for the latest stable release of Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.

For a list of all centaurs, see list of centaurs.

Nessos cNessos.png
HP 47-96
HD 9
XP 1325
Speed 15
AC 8
EV 7
Will 20
Attack1 13 (hit: plain)
Attack2 5 (kick: plain)


Resistances None
Vulnerabilities None
Habitat Land
Intelligence Human
Uses Weapons & armour
Starting equipment
Open doors
Holiness Natural
Size Large
Type centaur, centaur
Flags Archer
Speaks
Warm-blooded
Unique
A centaur warrior, skilled at warfare and deceit. They slew a mighty hydra, and now its deadly blood drips, still-fuming, from their arrows.

Useful Info

Nessos the Markscentaur is a unique centaur generated with a longbow of flame and barding. In addition to the longbow's flaming, Nessos' shots are always poisoned. Wielding the longbow yourself won't give you the poison effect.

Due to the archer flag, Nessos deals up to 12 extra damage with ranged weapons.

Location

Spells

Spell set I
Slot1 Blink Range Wizard flag
Slot2 Haste Wizard flag

Tips & Tricks

  • Without fire and/or poison resistance, Nessos is a very dangerous opponent - especially when hasted. A hasted Nessos can fire 2-3 times per turn, dealing 38 + weapon enchant + flame + venom damage per shot. Even with both resistances, this centaur can be tough to pin down.
  • Nessos has almost no willpower, so Hexes and hex wands are extremely effective. In particular, a wand of polymorph will likely turn them into a form that can't use weapons, and Tukima's Dance gets rid of the bow entirely. With only 9 HD, Mephitic Cloud and other HD checks can also work.
  • Like other centaurs, Nessos won't fire when in melee with the player - this greatly reduces their threat level. However, as Nessos has Blink Range spell, staying in melee can be difficult.
    • A potion of attraction pulls enemies into melee, allowing you to counter Blink Range. Watch out for the usual risks of attraction, though. A killhole (if you can make one) is more effective and doesn't come with as many risks.
  • Going berserk is not recommended, as Nessos will just Blink away from you and fill you with arrows as your berserk runs out. Other buffs, such as a haste of your own, still work fine.
  • Having some form of Repel Missiles and/or Reflection can be very useful here.

Trivia

Nessos is a reference to Nessus, an evil centaur that Heracles killed with a hydra-poisoned arrow after it attempted to rape his wife. It managed to kill Heracles in the process, however, by convincing his wife that Nessus' now-corrosive blood would make Heracles forever faithful to her if she would spread it on his clothing.

History

  • Prior to 0.27, Nessos did base 16 damage with weapons (not including the archer flag), but didn't have a kick attack. This change was to compensate for the removal of hidden weapon penalties in this version.
  • Nessos was male before version 0.24.