# Talk:Nymph
Is it known whether mountain nymphs (by virtue of their habitat)
possess 'mountaineering skills' which might enhance ability to use 
certain 'mountaineering items' to advantage viz wand of digging?
— Preceding unsigned comment added by N8chz (talk • contribs) 

Nymphs do use wands of digging to escape (all non-animal monsters do, I think), but they're no better or worse at it for being mountain nymphs. --Jayt 15:46, 17 August 2006 (UTC)
I checked the source code, and I can't find any difference between mountain nymphs and wood nymphs. Their stats are the same and neither type is singled out in the code like water nymphs are (which are specified in the code for summoning them at fountains and the like). - Tagmata 00:42, 17 December 2007 (UTC)
Contents

1 Neutralizing Nymphs
2 nymph powers
3 I want my spellbook back!
4 Does low AC block stealing?
5 anecdote
6 stealing when polymorphed into a nymph CAN make peacefuls hostile
7 nymph corpse telaportitis
8 WE all hate nymphs!
9 Stealing as a nymph
10 Hello, sailor
11 Do nymphs prefer to steal certain items?

Neutralizing Nymphs
I received the following message "...nymph tries to charm you, but you seem unaffected."
I may have zapped it with a wand of cancellation, but I can't be sure for now (and I received no message confirming that the nymph was cancelled), I'm also in Sokoban.
76.17.113.127 04:33, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

nymph powers
cancelling is the only way, except maybe being blinded?

I want my spellbook back!
The nymph stole a spellbook of drain life from me (I started with one, and I REALLY want it back). But I can't seem to find it. I've used telepathy, but it seems to have disappeared. Can nymphs levelport? Fredil Yupigo 01:28, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

Not on their own, but they can step on levelporters and trap doors just like any other monster.--Ray Chason 01:43, 7 January 2008 (UTC)
Possible. Thanks&nbsp;:) Fredil Yupigo 20:39, 7 January 2008 (UTC)
She also could have used a wand of digging. 81.111.7.3 18:27, 9 January 2008 (UTC)
Does low AC block stealing?
I've noticed end game even when I get a nymph close enough, I usually just see "The nymph pretends to be friendly. The nymph pretends to be friendly." Does low AC all but rule out theft? I can't find ANY info on this. Where I've really noticed it, though, is when I try to steal back armor from a pet to enchant it higher. Oftentimes, the pet will already have a &lt;-15 AC, and I will trap a pet in a closet, and must hit it 100 times, and I can't steal anything. I just see "You pretend to be friendly to X. You pretend to be friendly to X." Floatingeye 00:17, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

The stealing of items by a nymph is an attack just like any other. You must be hit (or hit an enemy yourself if polyselfed in to a nymph) before an item is stolen. With sufficiently high AC, nymphs become less of a threat (although if they DO hit, you'll be proportionally annoyed). If you are trying to steal items back from a pet, try wearing rings of increase accuracy to make the chance of hitting greater. -- Kalon 02:03, 25 March 2008 (UTC)
I think it also depends on your and the nymph's experience level, but ignores magic cancellation. -Tjr 11:23, 12 July 2009 (UTC)
anecdote
I ran into a nymph on level 5 while blind... then after it had stolen all my armour I realised it was invisible too... talk about bad luck!

Yep, that sucks. That's why you avoid kicking things in general so monsters do not wake up, and kill nymphs with pets or ranged attacks on a secure Elbereth square. -Tjr 11:23, 12 July 2009 (UTC)
nymph stole something of my  want it bac.NOW

stealing when polymorphed into a nymph CAN make peacefuls hostile
After reading this article while having a ring of polymorph control and literally every method of polymorph (by some odd coincidence) I thought it would be cool to rob my quest leader and guardians (I am a wizard).
After being pretty successful with the Apprentices (only making one of them hostile after about 8 hits (I dealt with the hostile Apprentice by letting my pet purple worm that I had left on HOME 1 after my quest eat him, and I figured I could probably clear out the whole Lonely Tower in this manner))  I decided to try hitting Neferet the Green. He got angry and after calling all the Apprentices against me (those Apprentices don't care if you anger one of their number, but their leader is a different story) hitting me once and casting a spell at me once he expelled me from my home world (not too much of a problem, I have the quest artifact &amp; bell of course).
After reviewing the ttyrec http://alt.org/nethack/userdata/HimpDPimp/ttyrec/2009-08-12.17:40:56.ttyrec I found that as long as I "smile engagingly" or "smile seductively" which is to say that I land a hit, the monster is happy to let me steal whatever. But if I "pretend to be friendly", AKA miss, then they get angry. This is likely to be deliberate behavior. The reason that Neferet the Green got mad immediately is his AC is 0 vs. the AC 10 for Apprentices.
It really OUGHT to be a charisma check like it is for foocubi. But as one of the above posts asserts, combined with my own experience with hostile nymphs, it is just a hit/miss thing. Which I guess means that monks who are grandmasters in martial arts must also be the best at stealing things through the art of seduction. Go figure.
Also means that checking a peaceful's AC before trying to steal is definitely a good idea.
PS sorry about all the ()

Cool research!! (twinotter)
Does this also hold for tame monsters? I have repeatedly read it is possible to safely get a pet archon's weapon / armor / amulet by stealing as a nymph (and its weapon with a bullwhip), however I suspect you are more right. -Tjr 02:17, October 13, 2009 (UTC)
Quoth LLtHW: "Don't try to disarm/disarmor your Archon with F command when polymorphed into a nymph. You can untame it."
nymph corpse telaportitis
Is telaportitis caused by nymph corpse ingestion permanant or durational (I suppose just to be a good boy I meanfor the rest of the game iuntil 1 dies or ascends)?

My guess is permanant, but I did not see such explicitly stated in the articleSlarty 00:48, July 7, 2010 (UTC)Slarty 00:50, July 7, 2010 (UTC)
Like most other intrinsics, it's permanent unless a gremlin happens to steal it. Slandor 02:13, July 7, 2010 (UTC)

WE all hate nymphs!
At least I do. I tried dropping all my things but she just took a whole bunch of things from my pile of belongings. SO THAT METHOD DOSEN'T WORK!!! Now my cloak, staff, and egg is gone! - - DemonSlayerThe3 :: The Neutral Gnomish Wizard, with my kitten Ellinis! 18:10, July 26, 2010 (UTC)

Yes, nymphs will pick up items off the ground. You could either protect them with Elbereth, or drop everything except a dagger or something, then go out to meet the nymph in melee. --Darth l33t 18:40, July 26, 2010 (UTC)
Remember that the player is one of the few dungeon dwellers who ever care about Containers. Those Closets can also be helpful if you have a means of locking the door (just make sure to drop the tool somewhere relatively safe before engaging the nymph, unless you don't mind kicking the door down). --FJH 17:34, September 30, 2010 (UTC)
Won't nymphs pick up containers, though?  Wielding a dagger to kill the nymph isn't really going to help much, though, since if you're naked and have nothing else in your inventory, she's just going to steal it first thing.  One of the most galling things about nymphs is that even if they can't steal from you because there's nothing left to steal, they still teleport away after successful attacks.  Thus, unless you have some skill in bare hands, it's often a losing proposition to try and take nymphs down by dropping all your inventory.  Particularly if they have all your stuff, meaning they will gladly put on your armor and use your attack wands.  I would generally consider any such game lost (and once had that happen to an ascendable character, who had an unfortunate encounter with a nymph with a wand of sleep while taking off armor to enchant it). -Ion frigate 20:54, September 30, 2010 (UTC)
No monster in the dungeon cares about Containers that are on the floor; the only way the Nymph would be making off with your container is if you have it in your Inventory at the time of a successful attack.  The only real fear you should have in regards to untrapped unlocked unprotected containers are Gelatinous cubes slurping off with them.  Also, I was assuming that you have to fight the Nymph and that you have nothing safe with which to pelt them to subservience/death.  --FJH 04:23, 22 December 2010 (UTC)
Stealing as a nymph
In order to steal, attack the monster bare-handedly.

This does not appear to be true; in wizmode I was able to steal from an archon using a +20 dagger to take advantage of the +hit of the enchantment. Am I missing something, or is this just a mistake? -- Qazmlpok 02:24, 29 November 2010 (UTC)
Hello, sailor
According to that other wiki, chatting with a nymph will "sometimes prompt them to say hello, [1]".  I've been playing with Wizard mode and unable to prompt them to say this.  The only answer I get is "The $whatevs nymph cajoles you." Anyone have any idea how to make that happen? Delbow 06:22, 21 November 2011 (UTC)

Nymphs will say "Hello Sailor", "cajoles you", or "comes on to you". If you are female it is always "cajoles you", otherwise it's random, even chance of the three messages. -- Qazmlpok 15:57, 21 November 2011 (UTC)
Do nymphs prefer to steal certain items?
I always play wizards, so always start with a cloak of magic resistance. I can practically guarantee that this will be the first item a nymph will steal, even if I am carrying dozens of items. (Of course, that makes her immune to my force bolt attacks.) Is this in the code? If so, it should be mentioned in our article. 109.157.79.50 14:44, 25 January 2015 (UTC)