Mythology and fiction in NetHack

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 are 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 [http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/61000.html]

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. [http://pages.tca.net/fewlass/Gods2.html]
* The crysknife is from Frank Herbert's "Dune" novel, and the "Long Worms" are based on "Dune"'s 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
* "NetHack"'s 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

References

* [http://www.spod-central.org/~psmith/nh/bibliography.html A Bibliography of NetHack's Database]