Magic cancellation

For the effects of a wand of cancellation or a spell of cancellation, see Cancellation.

Magic cancellation, or, shortly, MC, is a property of some pieces of armor which protects against a wide variety of special melee attacks by monsters, such as poisonous killer bee stings and lycanthropy through werejackal bites. Generally, magic cancellation protects against magical attacks where the monster touches the player with some part of its body. Each piece of armor has a magic cancellation number ranging from 0 to 3, where 0 is the lowest (worst) and 3 is the highest (best). Note that magic cancellation is not cumulative ― your magic cancellation is the maximum of that provided by any single piece of your armour. Having the highest magic cancellation means that only 1/50 of magical, body-to-body melee attacks will succeed (assuming they would hit otherwise). Note that not all special attacks are considered magical, see the list below for details.

Tables

The relationship between magic cancellation level and chance of a body-to-body magical attack success is as follows:

Magic cancellation number	Chance of attack succeeding
Magic Cancellation 0	$\frac{150}{150}$, i.e. 100%
Magic Cancellation 1	$\frac{101}{150}$, i.e. ~67%
Magic Cancellation 2	$\frac{52}{150}$, i.e. ~35%
Magic Cancellation 3	$\frac{3}{150}$, i.e. 2%

All cloaks, some pieces of body armor and the cornuthaum provide non-zero magic cancellation. The following pieces of armor are the only ones with non-zero magic cancellation:

Armor name	Armor type	Magic cancellation number
alchemy smock	cloak	1
chain mail	body armor	1
mummy wrapping	cloak	1
orcish chain mail	body armor	1
orcish ring mail	body armor	1
leather cloak	cloak	1
splint mail	body armor	1
studded leather armor	body armor	1
cloak of displacement	cloak	2
cloak of invisibility	cloak	2
cornuthaum	helmet	2
crystal plate mail	body armor	2
dwarvish cloak	cloak	2
orcish cloak	cloak	2
plate mail	body armor	2
cloak of protection	cloak	3
cloak of magic resistance	cloak	3
dwarvish mithril-coat	body armor	3
elven cloak	cloak	3
elven mithril-coat	body armor	3
oilskin cloak	cloak	3
robe	cloak	3

Most players like to have maximum magic cancellation, but some favour the benefits conferred by a cloak of displacement (MC 2).

Difference between magic cancellation, cancelling a monster, and magic resistance

Magic cancellation is a property of armor that reduces the probability of certain special monster melee attacks of succeeding. A monster can also be cancelled by zapping a wand or a spell of cancellation. This is somewhat different from magic cancellation. Cancelling a monster completely removes the monster's ability to perform its special melee attacks, while magic cancellation only reduces the probability of those attacks succeeding against the player. Also, the attacks affected by cancelling a monster are not exactly the same as those prevented though magic cancellation. See the article on cancellation to compare effects.

Magic cancellation is not the same as magic resistance. Magic resistance is an extrinsic that protects against spell, wand, and trap effects and damage.

How it works

The effects of magic cancellation depend on the attack type (e.g. bites and breaths) and on the damage type (e.g. physical or cold). Magic cancellation will only work against certain attack types that deal a certain type of damage.

Type of attack		Type of damage
Attack unaffected by MC	Attack affected by MC	Damage affected by MC	Damage unaffected by MC
Passive attacks Spitting attacks Engulfing attacks Breath attacks Explosions from proximity Explosions from dying Gaze attacks Magic spells	Claw Bite Kick (note 1) Head butt Note 2 Touch Sting Tentacle attack (note that the actual damage done by all tentacle attacks in the game bypasses magic cancellation) Grabbing attacks (note that the actual damage done by all grabbing attacks in the game bypasses magic cancellation) Weapon attacks	Fire (e.g. fire ant bite) Cold (e.g. lich touch) Shock (e.g. electric eel bite) Sleep (e.g. homunculus bite) Poison (e.g. killer bee sting) Paralysis (e.g. guardian naga bite) Drain life (e.g. barrow wight weapon attack) Sticky attack (e.g. large mimic bite) Lycanthropy (e.g. the werejackal bite when it is in animal form) Slowing attack (e.g. Shade touch) Teleport by the quantum mechanic claw Sliming by the green slime touch Disenchanting by the disenchanter claw (note that it does not protect against the passive disenchanting attack) Constitution draining poison by the rabid rat bite Dexterity draining poison by the quasit claw Power draining by the energy vortex (interestingly, the attack type is engulf, and magic cancellation is hence bypassed. This may be a bug in the source code.)	Ordinary physical damage Magic missile damage Disintegration effects Acid damage Blinding effects Stunning effects Leg damage by Xans Petrification effects Gold stealing effects by leprechaun Item stealing effects Erosion effects (including rusting, corroding and rotting) Confusion effects Digestion damage Healing effects by nurses Drowning effects Intelligence drain effects by mind flayer Disease effect by Juiblex Seduction effects Hallucination effects Amulet stealing effects by the Wizard of Yendor Intrinsic-stealing effects by gremlins Random clerical spell effects, magic spell effects or breath weapon effects Special damage effects of the Riders
Note 1: The actual damage done by all kick attacks in the game is in the rightmost column, and hence bypasses magic cancellation. Note 2: The actual damage done by all headbutt attacks in the game is in the rightmost column, and hence bypasses magic cancellation.

Damage from the following attack types can possibly be affected by magic cancellation

Magic cancellation applies only to a certain types of damage delivered through only the following types of attacks. Except for the weapon attack, they all involve the monster touching the player with some part of their body:

• Claw
• Bite
• Kick (note that the actual damage done by all kick attacks in the game bypasses magic cancellation)
• Head butt (note that the actual damage done by all headbutts in the game bypasses magic cancellation)
• Touch
• Sting
• Tentacle attack (note that the actual damage done by all tentacle attacks in the game bypasses magic cancellation)
• Grabbing attacks (note that the actual damage done by all grabbing attacks in the game bypasses magic cancellation)
• Weapon attacks

Damage types affected by magic cancellation

Assuming that the attack type can be affected by magic cancellation, the following damage types will be affected too:

• Fire (e.g. fire ant bite)
• Cold (e.g. lich touch)
• Shock (e.g. electric eel bite)
• Sleep (e.g. homunculus bite)
• Poison (e.g. killer bee sting)
• Paralysis (e.g. guardian naga bite)
• Drain life (e.g. barrow wight weapon attack)
• Sticky attack (e.g. large mimic bite)
• Lycanthropy (e.g. the werejackal bite when it is in animal form)
• Slowing attack (e.g. Shade touch)
• Teleport by the quantum mechanic claw
• Sliming by the green slime touch
• Disenchanting by the disenchanter claw (note that it does not protect against the passive disenchanting attack)
• Constitution draining poison by the rabid rat bite
• Dexterity draining poison by the quasit claw
• Power draining by the energy vortex (interestingly, the attack type is engulf, and magic cancellation is hence bypassed. This may be a bug in the source code.)

Damage from the following attack types is never affected by magic cancellation

Regardless of the type of damage, the following attacks types will never be affected by magic cancellation:

• Passive attacks
• Spitting attacks
• Engulfing attacks
• Breath attacks
• Explosions from proximity
• Explosions from dying
• Gaze attacks
• Magic spells

Damage types not affected by magic cancellation

The following monster damage/effects are not affected by magic cancellation, regardless of how the attack was delivered:

• Ordinary physical damage
• Magic missile damage
• Disintegration effects
• Acid damage
• Blinding effects
• Stunning effects
• Leg damage by Xans
• Petrification effects
• Gold stealing effects by leprechaun
• Item stealing effects
• Erosion effects (including rusting, corroding and rotting)
• Confusion effects
• Digestion damage
• Healing effects by nurses
• Drowning effects
• Intelligence drain effects by mind flayer
• Disease effect by Juiblex
• Seduction effects
• Hallucination effects
• Amulet stealing effects by the Wizard of Yendor
• Intrinsic-stealing effects by gremlins
• Random clerical spell effects, magic spell effects or breath weapon effects
• Special damage effects of the Riders

Common misconceptions

• Magic cancellation does not protect against paralyzing passive attacks nor gaze attacks, which include the attacks of floating eyes and Medusa.
• Magic cancellation partially protects against disenchanters; it prevents the disenchantment though the claws, but not through the disenchanters passive attack.
• Magic cancellation does not protect against the hissing attack of the cockatrice.

References

• Source:Mhitu.c
• Source:Monattk.h

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