# High priest

@ high priest 

Difficulty

30

Attacks

Weapon 4d10, Kick 2d8, spell-casting (clerical), spell-casting (clerical)

@ high priest 

Difficulty

30

Attacks

Weapon 4d10, Kick 2d8, spell-casting (clerical), spell-casting (clerical)

Base level

25

Base experience

1054

Speed

15

Base AC

7

Base MR

70

Alignment

0 (neutral)

Frequency (by normal means)

Unique

Genocidable

No

Weight

1450

Nutritional value

400

Size

Human

Resistances

Fire, shock, sleep, poison

Resistances conveyed

None

A high priest:

 has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso.

 can see invisible creatures.

 is omnivorous.

 is not a valid polymorphable form.

 is a human.

 is an overlord to its kind.

 is nasty.

 can pick up weapons and food.
 can pick up magical items.

 can be seen through infravision.

Reference

monst.c#line2408

The high priest, @, is a monster that appears in NetHack. They act as the head of all religious activities related to a given deity.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

High priests are now referred to as "high clerics".
Generation
There are exactly four in the game: three corresponding to each of the deities of the player's pantheon, who appear in the High Temples on the Astral Plane, and the high priest of Moloch that appears in Moloch's Sanctum. In addition to those four, aligned priests can grow up into high priests.[1][2]
The high priests on the Astral Plane are always generated peaceful, and will remain that way unless you provoke them. The high priest of Moloch is likewise generated peaceful, but will become hostile upon your entering the temple.
They are generated with a mace, small shield, and one of a robe, cloak of protection, or cloak of magic resistance, with the same chance as aligned priests.[3]

Strategy
The high priest of Moloch holds the Amulet of Yendor, and it is extremely likely that killing them will be necessary to obtain the Amulet. This can be difficult, and players will tend to save a wand of death charge for the specific purpose of killing them; this will not work if the priest is generated with a cloak of magic resistance.
As mentioned above, the high priest of Moloch is generated peaceful, but turns hostile once you step into the room holding the high altar of Moloch, so be prepared before opening the door. This also means that killing them before stepping in the temple counts as murder for lawful and neutral characters.

References

↑ grownups-array in Mondata.c

↑ "funcrunch", Priest promoted to high priest? rec.games.roguelike.nethack, 17 April 2008.

↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.6, line 696