Than ever I have been yet!
[ Maud, And Other Poems by Alfred, Lord Tennyson ]
~amulet of yendor
+~amulet of restful sleep
*amulet
amulet of *
+amulet versus *
"The complete Amulet can keep off all the things that make
people unhappy -- jealousy, bad temper, pride, disagreeableness,
greediness, selfishness, laziness. Evil spirits, people called
removes anger and quarrels; it heals the mad; it defends you
from your enemies. It should be set in gold or silver and worn
on the left arm. It is likewise found in Arabia.
- [ The Aberdeen Bestiary, translated by Colin McLaren ]
+ [ The Aberdeen Bestiary, translated by Colin McLaren ]
dilithium*
The most famous and the first to be named of the imaginary
"minerals" of Star Trek is dilithium. ... Because of this
water, and earth. Some mystics have postulated the necessity
for a fifth type, the spirit elemental, but none have ever
been encountered, at least on this plane of existence.
+~human or elf*
~elf ??m*
*elf*
elvenking
strength, and they know cunning handiwork by gift of the immortal
gods.
[ The Iliad, by Homer ]
-~gold golem
~flesh golem
+~gold golem
+~straw golem
+~wood golem
*golem
"The original story harks back, so they say, to the sixteenth
century. Using long-lost formulas from the Kabbala, a rabbi is
tribal nature, and will fiercely defend their lairs. Usually
hostile, they may even band together to raid and pillage
human settlements.
+# takes "human or elf or you" when specifying '@' as a dwarf, gnome, or orc
human
chieftain
guard
ninja
nurse
-page
ronin
-shopkeeper
student
-thug
warrior
*watch*
player
+human or elf*
These strange creatures live mostly on the surface of the
earth, gathering together in societies of various forms, but
occasionally a stray will descend into the depths and commit
moss was in abundant life, some feathering, and some
gobleted, and some with fringe of red to it.
[ Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore ]
+# takes "light" when specifying 'y'
~* of light
* light
+light
Strange creatures formed from energy rather than matter,
lights are given to self-destructive behavior when battling
foes.
heard men cry so when his salvation and his nemesis, his
great black battle-blade Stormbringer, drank their souls.
[ The Lands Beyond the World, by Michael Moorcock ]
+*strange object
+ He walked for some time through a long narrow corridor
+ without finding any one and was just going to call out,
+ when suddenly in a dark corner between an old cupboard
+ and the door he caught sight of a strange object which
+ seemed to be alive.
+ [ Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky ]
+straw golem
+ Dorothy leaned her chin upon her hand and gazed thoughtfully
+ at the Scarecrow. Its head was a small sack stuffed with
+ straw, with eyes, nose, and mouth painted on it to represent
+ a face. An old, pointed blue hat, that had belonged to some
+ Munchkin, was perched on his head, and the rest of the figure
+ was a blue suit of clothes, worn and faded, which had also
+ been stuffed with straw. On the feet were some old boots with
+ blue tops, such as every man wore in this country, and the
+ figure was raised above the stalks of corn by means of the
+ pole stuck up its back.
+ [ The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum ]
susano*o
The Shinto chthonic and weather god and brother of the sun
goddess Amaterasu, he was born from the nose of the
Pleasing remembrance of a thought foregone;
A lovely Beauty in a summer grave!
[ Sonnet, by William Wordsworth ]
+thug
+ A worshipper of Kali, who practised _thuggee_, the strangling
+ of human victims in the name of the religion. Robbery of the
+ victim provided the means of livelihood. They were also
+ called _Phansigars_ (Noose operators) from the method employed.
+ Vigorous suppression was begun by Lord William Bentinck in
+ 1828, but the fraternity did not become completely extinct
+ for another 50 years or so.
+ In common parlance the word is used for any violent "tough".
+ [ Brewer's Concise Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ]
tiger
1. A well-known tropical predator (_Felis tigris_): a
feline. It has a yellowish skin with darker spots or
son, Zeus, and he and his fellow titans were ousted from
Mount Olympus.
[ Greek Mythology, by Richard Patrick ]
+topaz
+ Aluminum silicate mineral with either hydroxyl radicals or
+ fluorine, Al2SiO4(F,OH)2, used as a gem. It is commonly
+ colorless or some shade of pale yellow to wine-yellow;
+ ... The stone is transparent with a vitreous luster. It has
+ perfect cleavage on the basal pinacoid, but it is nevertheless
+ hard and durable. The brilliant cut is commonly used. Topaz
+ crystals, which are of the orthorhombic system, occur in highly
+ acid igneous rocks, e.g., granites and rhyolites, and in
+ metamorphic rocks, e.g., gneisses and schists.
+ [ The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition ]
touch*stone
"Gold is tried by a touchstone, men by gold."
[ Chilon (c. 560 BC) ]
[ The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,
by Douglas Adams ]
*tower
+*tower of darkness
Towers (_brooding_, _dark_) stand alone in Waste Areas and
almost always belong to Wizards. All are several stories high,
round, doorless, virtually windowless, and composed of smooth
special process, causing it to never rust. The tsurugi is
rumored to be so sharp that it can occasionally cut
opponents in half!
+~*spellbook
+turquoise*
+ TUBAL: There came divers of Antonio's creditors in my company
+ to Venice that swear he cannot choose but break.
+ SHYLOCK: I am very glad of it; I'll plague him, I'll torture
+ him; I am glad of it.
+ TUBAL: One of them showed me a ring that he had of your
+ daughter for a monkey.
+ SHYLOCK: Out upon her! Thou torturest me, Tubal. It was my
+ turquoise; I had it of Leah when I was a bachelor; I would
+ not have given it for a wilderness of monkeys.
+ [ The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare ]
twoflower
guide
"Rincewind!"
damage by biting and by using the claws on both its arms and
feet.
wakizashi
- The samurai warrior traditionally wears two swords; the
- wakizashi is the shorter of the two. See also katana.
-wand of *
+ A wakizashi was used as a samurai's weapon when the katana
+ was unavailable. When entering a building, a samurai would
+ leave his katana on a rack near the entrance. However, the
+ wakizashi would be worn at all times, and therefore, it made
+ a sidearm for the samurai (similar to a soldier's use of a
+ pistol). The samurai would have worn it from the time they
+ awoke to the time they went to sleep. In earlier periods,
+ and especially during times of civil wars, a tanto was worn
+ in place of a wakizashi.
+ [ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ]
+# takes "wand or a wall" when specifying '/'
+~*sleep
+wand *
*wand
'Saruman!' he cried, and his voice grew in power and authority.
'Behold, I am not Gandalf the Grey, whom you betrayed. I am
Nor any drop to drink.
[ The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor
Coleridge ]
+water demon
+ [ The monkey king ] walked along the bank, around the pond.
+ He examined the footprints of the animals that had gone into
+ the water, and saw that none came out again! So he realized
+ this pond must be possessed by a water demon. He said to the
+ 80,000 monkeys, "This pond is possessed by a water demon. Do
+ not let anybody go into it."
+
+ After a little while, the water demon saw that none of the
+ monkeys went into the water to drink. So he rose out of the
+ middle of the pond, taking the shape of a frightening monster.
+ He had a big blue belly, a white face with bulging green eyes,
+ and red claws and feet. He said, "Why are you just sitting
+ around? Come into the pond and drink at once!"
+
+ The monkey king said to the horrible monster, "Are you the
+ water demon who owns this pond?" "Yes, I am," said he. "Do
+ you eat whoever goes into the water?" asked the king. "Yes,
+ I do," he answered, "including even birds. I eat them all.
+ And when you are forced by your thirst to come into the pond
+ and drink, I will enjoy eating you, the biggest monkey, most
+ of all!" He grinned, and saliva dripped down his hairy chin.
+ [ Buddhist Tales for Young and Old, Vol. 1 ]
+weapon
+ A weapon is a device for making your enemy change his mind.
+ [ The Vor Game, by Lois McMaster Bujold ]
web
Oh what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practise to deceive!
social animals, wolves live in family groups or packs made
up of multiple family units. These packs cooperate in hunting
down prey.
+*wolfsbane
+ 1. Any of various, usually poisonous perennial herbs of the
+ genus Aconitum, having tuberous roots, palmately lobed leaves,
+ blue or white flowers with large hoodlike upper sepals, and an
+ aggregate of follicles. 2. The dried leaves and roots of
+ some of these plants, which yield a poisonous alkaloid that
+ was formerly used medicinally. In both senses also called
+ monkshood.
+ [ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language,
+ Fourth Edition. ]
+wood golem
+ Come, old broomstick, you are needed,
+ Take these rags and wrap them round you!
+ Long my orders you have heeded,
+ By my wishes now I've bound you.
+ Have two legs and stand,
+ And a head for you.
+ Run, and in your hand
+ Hold a bucket too.
+ ...
+ See him, toward the shore he's racing
+ There, he's at the stream already,
+ Back like lightning he is chasing,
+ Pouring water fast and steady.
+ Once again he hastens!
+ How the water spills,
+ How the water basins
+ Brimming full he fills!
+ [ The Sorcerer's Apprentice, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,
+ translation by Edwin Zeydel ]
woodchuck
The Usenet Oracle requires an answer to this question!
glowed with a pale light. He sprang forward and bore down
on Frodo.
[ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ]
-wumpus
+*wumpus
The Wumpus, by the way, is not bothered by the hazards since
he has sucker feet and is too big for a bat to lift. If you
try to shoot him and miss, there's also a chance that he'll
up and move himself into another cave, though by nature the
Wumpus is a sedentary creature.
[ wump (6) -- "Hunt the Wumpus" ]
+
+ _Wumpus yobgregorii_, in the flesh...
+ Later, all you will be able to remember are its eyes. They
+ are rich mud-brown, and they hold your own without effort.
+ [ Hunter, In Darkness, by Andrew Plotkin ]
xan
They sent their friend the mosquito [xan] ahead of them to
find out what lay ahead. "Since you are the one who sucks
projects / nethack / commitdiff