Unlocking tool

(
Name	skeleton key
Appearance	key
Base price	10 zm
Weight	3
Material	[[{{{material}}}]]
Monster use	Will not be used by monsters.

(
Name	lock pick
Appearance	lock pick
Base price	20 zm
Weight	4
Material	[[{{{material}}}]]
Monster use	Will not be used by monsters.

(
Name	credit card
Appearance	credit card
Base price	10 zm
Weight	1
Material	[[{{{material}}}]]
Monster use	Will not be used by monsters.

There are three unlocking tools in NetHack: the skeleton key, the lock pick (osaku to Samurai) and the credit card. The skeleton key and the lock pick allow you to lock and unlock doors and chests, while the credit card can only unlock them. Credit cards have nothing to do with money in NetHack; they appear as unlocking devices because of their popularity in films for jimmying open door locks.

Usage

The chance of successfully locking or unlocking a door depends on which tool you use, your dexterity, the type of lock, and whether or not you are a Rogue. The per-turn probabilities of success are listed in the table below.

Tool	For Rogues		For non-Rogues
	Door	Box	Door	Box
skeleton key	(70+Dex)%	(75+Dex)%	(70+Dex)%	(75+Dex)%
lock pick	(3*Dex + 30)%	(4*Dex + 25)%	(3*Dex)%	(4*Dex)%
credit card	(2*Dex + 20)%	(Dex + 20)%	(2*Dex)%	(Dex)%

"Box" includes chests and large boxes.

If you have not succeeded after 50 turns, you give up.

This exercises your dexterity, even if you don't succeed.

Generation

All unlocking tools are generated uncursed.

Other effects

If a watchman sees you picking a lock, he may warn you or get hostile. If a warning is given, a trap is automatically added to the door in question.

Strategy

Credit cards are the lightest unlocking tool, but also the slowest, and they won't lock. Lock picks are the heaviest and most expensive, and for a Rogue with 18 dexterity give a 97% chance of (un)locking a box in one turn. However, in all other circumstances, skeleton keys are faster, as well as cheaper and lighter.

Rust does not impede the operation of any unlocking too, however cursed tools have only half the chance to unlock versus uncursed tools.

History

All the unlocking tools first appear in NetHack 3.0.0.

In addition, the NetHack 3.0 Series had special shaped keys that fit specific locks on chests and large boxes. You might see "a chest (triangular keyhole)", for example, and a "triangular key" would open its lock much more quickly than a skeleton key; but a "square key" would not fit.

Doors did not have locks of any specific shape, and the shaped keys could not open them; you had to use one of the other unlocking tools.

Keys, and the locks that they fit, were as follows in NetHack 3.0.10:

Key	Lock
round	round
square	square
triangular	triangular
oval	oval
octagonal	octagonal
hexagonal	hexagonal
cylindrical	wide
irregular	notched
conical	large round
wedge-shaped	large square

In time, the shaped keys were felt to add nothing of value to the game, and in NetHack 3.1.0 they were removed.

See also

• wand of opening
• wand of locking
• spellbook of knock
• spellbook of wizard lock
• The Master Key of Thievery, an artifact skeleton key
• The Platinum Yendorian Express Card, an artifact credit card

This page is based on a spoiler by Dylan O'Donnell. The original license is:

Redistribution, copying, and editing of these spoilers, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

1. The original contributors to any spoiler must continue to be credited.
2. Any modifications to the spoiler must be acknowledged and credited.