The Oracle

The Oracle is a monster who resides on a special level also known as The Oracle. She can provide a consultation for a fee, which is supposed to be the main way the player learns about the game. In practice, players read spoilers, such as this one.

Level
The oracle level is located between level 5 and 9 inclusive in the Dungeons of Doom. Immideately below the Oracle level is the level with the entrance to Sokoban. It is eligible to leave bones, and monster creation is biased towards neutral monsters.

- |`.........`| |.....`.....| |...-...| |...|.{.|...| |..`|{.{|`..| |...|.{.|...| |...-...| |.....`.....| |`.........`| -

There are five rooms to the sides of the above area, containing the stairs (in separate rooms), five random monsters, three random traps, and six random objects; they are linked to each other and to the above room by corridors. The Oracle is at the centre of the 3*3 room ("Delphi"), amid the fountains; Delphi has a random empty doorway in one wall. The marked statues are two of forest centaurs (NW and SE), two of mountain centaurs (NE and SW), and four of plains centaurs (N, W, S, and E). There are two random monsters in the area surrounding Delphi.

Monster
The oracle is a human, and always starts peaceful.

Consulations
The oracle offers two services. Minor consultations are true rumors, like you get from a blessed fortune cookie. A major consultation is an extended description of some aspect of the game, for example:

Behold the cockatrice, whose diminutive stature belies its hidden might. The cockatrice can petrify any ordinary being it contacts--save those wise adventurers who eat a dead lizard or blob of acid when they feel themselves slowly turning to stone.

Consultations cost money, but increase your score and give experience points for the first of each type:

Mythology & History
The Oracle is primarily based on the Pythia, the priestess who presided over the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi; the NetHack Oracle will welcome you to "Delphi" when she spots you arriving at her abode. Some behaviour is also in reference to the Internet Oracle from rec.humor.oracle, which first appeared in 1989, as did the Oracle in NetHack 3.0.0.

The Oracle-level sound effects reference several different oracles:
 * "You hear a strange wind." - the Oracle of Jupiter at Dodona
 * "You hear convulsive ravings." - the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi
 * "You hear snoring snakes." - the Oracle of &AElig;sculapius at Epidaurus

The two hallucination sounds both reference the Internet Oracle:
 * "You hear someone say "No more woodchucks!""
 * "You hear a loud ZOT!"

Both of these predate the Oracle in The Matrix film series, which is not referenced.

Strategy
Pacifist characters should use the oracle for levelling up.

The Oracle will not get angry if you dry up the fountains.