Aligned priest

Aligned priests,, tend the temples of NetHack. They will always appear as "priest of (deity)" and will be generated with a mace, small shield, a robe (or occasionally cloak of protection or cloak of magic resistance), and a small amount of gold. Priests tending temples will always be peaceful (except for the high priest of Moloch); however large amounts of priests of Moloch appear in Moloch's Sanctum and a large number of assorted hostile priests will appear on the Astral Plane

If you #chat to a priest, a variety of effects can result. If you have no gold, they will "give you two bits for an ale" (two zorkmids) if they have at least two gold (or one bit if they have exactly one gold), and will otherwise "preach the virtues of poverty". Otherwise, they will prompt you for a contribution to the temple; depending on the amount of gold you offer one of several events will happen: