pot2-343.txt Last edited 2006-05-16 for NetHack 3.4.3
Potions, alchemy, and other miscellaneous properties in NetHack 3.4
Compiled for 3.2.2 by Kevin Hugo.
Updated for 3.4.3 by Dylan O'Donnell <psmith@spod-central.org>.
Smoky and milky potions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Potions with the appearance "smoky" may release a djinni and lead to a
wish. Each time you or another monster quaff a smoky potion, there is a
chance of creating a djinni, depending on the number of djinn that have
already been created in the game:
DJINN: 0 1 2 3 4 5 n >=120
PROB: 1/13 1/15 1/17 1/19 1/21 1/23 1/(13+2*n) 0
When the djinni appears, the potion is used up and one of five outcomes
can occur. The relative chance of these outcomes depends on whether the
smoky potion was blessed, uncursed, or cursed:
BLESSED UNCURSED CURSED OUTCOME
~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
80% 20% 5% Grants one wish, then disappears.
"I am in your debt. I will grant one wish!"
5% 20% 5% Remains as a pet.
"Thank you for freeing me!"
5% 20% 5% Remains as a peaceful monster.
"You freed me!"
5% 20% 5% Speaks, then vanishes.
"It is about time!"
5% 20% 80% Remains as a hostile monster.
"You disturbed me, fool!"
If the potion had been quaffed by a monster, you will only get a peaceful
or vanishing djinni. NOTE: There is no way to get a wish from the djinni
other than the first outcome above.
In a similar manner, potions with the appearance "milky" may summon a ghost.
Each time you or another monster quaff a milky potion, there is a chance
of creating a ghost, depending on the number of ghosts that have already
been created in the game:
GHOSTS: 0 1 2 3 4 5 n >=120
PROB: 1/13 1/15 1/17 1/19 1/21 1/23 1/(13+2*n) 0
When the ghost appears, the potion is used up. If the potion was quaffed
by a monster, that monster is paralyzed for 3 turns. Otherwise, if you
are unblind, you are paralyzed for 3 turns.
In either case, the effect of the potion does not take place (since there
was no actual potion in the bottle to drink).
There is a limit of 120 djinn (or ghosts) per game. Beyond this limit,
they are extinct and no more can be created.
Cancelling and diluting potions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are several ways to turn potions into water. If potions of sickness,
see invisible, or fruit juice are hit by a wand or spell of cancellation,
they become uncursed potions of fruit juice, with the same amount of
dilution as before the cancellation. Potions of oil and booze become
uncursed but otherwise remain the same. Other potions will become uncursed
potions of water.
You can also change potions of blindness, confusion, or hallucination
into uncursed water -- or potions of sickness into fruit juice -- by
#dipping a unicorn horn into these potions. Note that if you had
quaffed these potions, you would have suffered bad effects that could
have been cured by the unicorn horn in any case. You can also #dip an
amethyst stone into booze to convert it into fruit juice ("a-methyst"
means not intoxicated.) In either of these cases, only one potion
will be converted, regardless of the number of potions in the inventory
slot.
Finally, you can turn any potion except acid into water by #dipping it
into an uncursed potion of water or fountain (the latter may cause bad
effects as well). If you are over a pool or moat but not levitating,
you can also #dip into that water. Furthermore, if you swim under water
or fall into water, your potions have a chance of getting wet. If you
#dip a potion of acid or it gets wet it does 1 to 10 points of damage.
Getting potions wet happens in two stages. After one dipping, the
potions will become diluted, but will have their same blessed state.
Diluted potions have exactly their same effects as undiluted potions
(with minor exceptions for booze and fruit juice). Getting diluted
potions wet again then converts them into uncursed water. Note that
water cannot be diluted.
Holy water
~~~~~~~~~~
(Adapted from the spoiler "water" by Maurice Vliege.)
Once you have potions of water, you can convert them to holy water at an
altar with your same alignment. Drop any unholy water or uncursed water
that you wish to convert onto the altar, and #pray. If your god was
pleased with you, they will all be converted to holy water.
To make unholy water, you must find an altar of a different alignment
than your own that is not in Gehennom. Drop any holy water or uncursed
water that you wish to convert onto the altar, and #pray. All of the
potions will be converted to unholy water. It does not matter if your
god was pleased before, but your god will be upset after the prayer.
Holy and unholy water may also be found randomly, may appear in bones
piles from other characters, and can be wished for. Holy water may be
part of your initial inventory (Priests start with four). A more obscure
way to acquire holy or unholy water is to wield some uncursed potions of
water, take off all other worn items, and read a non-cursed scroll of
remove curse while confused. You have a 25% chance of creating holy
water and 25% chance of creating unholy water this way, and it doesn't
need any altars! Blessed scrolls of remove curse will have the same
effect on each item in your inventory individually (try splitting
up the water into different slots by #naming); be careful of other
items in inventory becoming cursed.
Once you have holy water, you can uncurse any cursed item or bless any
uncursed items by the dipping the item into a potion of holy water.
Similarly, dipping a blessed item into unholy water makes it uncursed, and
dipping an uncursed item into unholy water makes it cursed. (Dipping a
blessed item into holy water or a cursed item into unholy water doesn't
do anything in particular: "Interesting...".) In all cases where the
status is changed, one of the potions of (un)holy water is used in the
process. By dipping several uncursed potions of water into a potion of
(un)holy water, you can continue to make more (un)holy water indefinitely
(as long as you have uncursed water).
Dipping an item in holy or unholy water does NOT rust, blank, dilute,
or otherwise damage it.
Dipping and mixing potions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Adapted from a posting by Paul Brinkley.)
The effects of #dipping various objects into potions is summarized in the
table below. You are first prompted for the item to be DIPPED, and then
the potion to dip it INTO. One of the potions dipped into will be used up,
unless there was no effect or the potions were cancelled by the dipping
(unicorn horn or amethyst). Except where shown, it doesn't matter if
potions are diluted before dipping.
You can mix two non-water potions (or groups of potions) of different types
by dipping one into the other; this procedure is commonly referred to as
"alchemy". There is a 10% chance of an explosion (always if the DIPPED is
cursed or acid) which makes you breathe vapors of the DIPPED potion, abuses
your strength, and makes you lose one of each potion. Otherwise, the
DIPPED potion(s) may become a different type of potion, which will always
be uncursed and diluted, and you use up one of the INTO potions. The
possible mixtures are also described in the table below.
DIPPED INTO RESULT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~
cursed object holy water uncursed object
uncursed object holy water blessed object
blessed object unholy water uncursed object
uncursed object unholy water cursed object
acid uncursed water potion boils
undiluted potion uncursed water diluted potion
diluted potion uncursed water uncursed water
scroll/spellbook uncursed water blank scroll/spellbook (unless mail)
iron object uncursed water may rust
any potion itself "That is a potion bottle,
not a Klein bottle!"
any potion same type No effect. "Interesting..."
..................................................................
booze enlightenment confusion
booze gain energy/level hallucination
confusion gain energy/level 1/3 enlightenment, 2/3 booze
enlightenment booze confusion
enlightenment fruit juice booze
enlightenment levitation 2/3 gain level, 1/3 same as
"other combination" below
extra healing gain energy/level full healing
full healing gain energy/level gain ability
fruit juice enlightenment booze
fruit juice gain energy/level see invisible
fruit juice sickness sickness
fruit juice speed booze
gain energy/level booze hallucination
gain energy/level confusion 1/3 enlightenment, 2/3 booze
gain energy/level extra healing full healing
gain energy/level full healing gain ability
gain energy/level fruit juice see invisible
gain energy/level healing extra healing
healing gain energy/level extra healing
healing speed extra healing
levitation enlightenment 2/3 gain level, 1/3 same as
"other combination" below
sickness fruit juice sickness
speed fruit juice booze
speed healing extra healing
undiluted potion other combination 1/2 evaporates, 1/4 sickness,
1/8 random potion, 1/8 water
diluted potion other combination uncursed water
....................................................
unicorn horn blindness, uncursed water
confusion, (regardless of cursedness of horn,
hallucination as opposed to below results)
unicorn horn sickness fruit juice (uncursed or cursed)
amethyst booze fruit juice (uncursed or cursed)
missile weapon sickness poisoned weapon
poisoned weapon healing, unpoisoned weapon
extra healing,
full healing
anything (other polymorph polymorphed object of same class
than X of poly) (may resist: "Nothing happens."
"Nothing seems to happen." if
polymorphs to same item)
anything lit oil Explosion and/or damage
weapon cursed oil Greasy fingers
damaged weapon other oil May lose one damage depending on type
oil/magic lamp other oil Lamp is filled and made non-magic
All other combinations No effect. "Interesting..."
Acknowledgements
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks to Bruce Cox for proofreading the original version of this file.
Further corrections and clarifications provided by Big Al, Ken Cuvelier,
David Goldfarb, Alex Pounds, and Irina Rempt.