Attacking the first Rothe, named Clyde.
5 damage.

Remaining monsters:
Clyde the Rothe (3 HP, 3d3)
3 other Rothes (8 HP, 3d3)

Each of them is worth 24 XP, if I did my calculations right.

It’s traditional for Clyde to be last in the ordering. Blinky goes first.

I am a Rogue, I attack from behind.

There is no “behind” in NetHack.

Darth Cliche: “You strike the rothe from behind!” is an actual literal message in NetHack (if I’ve remembered the punctuation and exact wording correctly). The assumption is that rogues can get behind any fleeing monster, and do extra damage as a result.

Ah, never mind then. Either way, I’d be difficult to bet behind a line of four rothes…

Clyde bites back at a distance for 7, reduced to 5 by armor.

Well, gods be with me, I attack Clyde for ... 3 points of damage.

He’s dead. Now Bucky can sort out the whole, ‘does he attack’ thing.

Remaining Monsters:
2 Rothes, each with 8 HP, 3d3 damage, and 24 XP.

Clyde might have struck back, inflicting a possible 6 HP damage.

oops. just noticed i made a mistake in my last post.

Remaining Monsters:
3 Rothes, each with 8 HP, 3d3 damage, and 24 XP.

I do 10 damage to Pinky.

Remaining Monsters:
Inky the Rothe and Blinky the Rothe. each with 8hp/3d3dmg/24xp

Challenged Inky the Rothe to the Pain. He died before I was done, after dealing 9 dmg.

Only Blinky the Rothe left

Blinky the Rothe was cut up into tiny little pieces, and fead to the rats (after I dealth 13 dmg to him). No longer an encounter.