Nessos

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Revision as of 23:15, 4 September 2023 by Hordes (talk | contribs) (version bump, strategy updates, note 0.27 change)
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Version 0.28: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

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
Gender neutral
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 the poison effect.

Location

Spells

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

Tips & Tricks

  • Without fire and poison resistance, Nessos is a very dangerous opponent, especially when hasted. A hasted Nessos can fire 2-3 times per turn, for {38 + weapon enchant + flame + venom} per shot. Even with both resistances, Nessos can be a tough foe to pin down.
  • Nessos has very low willpower, so Hexes and hex wands are extremely effective. In particular, a wand of polymorph will at least get rid of the poison arrows, 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; staying in melee range will greatly reduce their threat level. A potion of attraction can do just that, though watch for the usual risks of attraction. A killhole is slightly less effective, but safer overall.
  • 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 (extra +12 from), 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.