Magic lamp

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( Lamp.png
Name magic lamp
Appearance lamp
Base price 50 zm
Weight 20
Material copper
Monster use Will not be used by monsters.

A magic lamp is a light source that appears in NetHack. It is made of copper, and appears as a lamp when unidentified.

The magic lamp is subject to a few rumors, with all but one of them being true.

Generation

Magic lamps cannot be wished for, and you will instead get an ordinary oil lamp.

Description

While also used to illuminate areas like a normal oil lamp, a magic lamp will never run out of power. Additionally, each time you rub a magic lamp, there is a 1/3 chance that "You see a puff of smoke", and another 1/3 chance that "Nothing happens"; the remaining 1/3 of the time, a djinni appears, and the lamp is auto-identified and turned into an oil lamp of the same BUC with 1000-1500 turns of charges.[1]

One of the following five outcomes occurs at this point, with the relative probability depending on the beatitude of the lamp:[2]

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 in its regular state (hostile, or sometimes peaceful, if you are neutral).
"You disturbed me, fool!"

Strategy

Always make sure a magic lamp is blessed before rubbing - an early magic lamp stands a high chance of being wasted if you rub it without knowing its BUC status. Be wary of rubbing unpaid magic lamps as well, as the shopkeeper will charge you a usage fee if you manage to extract the genie. Thankfully, magic lamps are easily distinguished from normal ones via price identification.

Some players prefer an inexhaustible light source to an extra wish, depending on their circumstances; the lamp can always be rubbed for a wish later with no trouble, making it a useful tool to bring into Gehennom and other dark areas. If you reach the Astral Plane with a magic lamp, it may be worth blessing for the chance to wish up a necessary item, though it can also serve as a light source for jumping.

History

The magic lamp first appears in NetHack 2.3e.

Origin

The idea of a djinni dwelling in a magic lamp was popularized by the Middle-Eastern folk tale Aladdin. It is one of the best-known tales associated with The Book of One Thousand and One Nights (The Arabian Nights), despite not being part of the original text - it was added by the French Antoine Galland, based on a folk tale he heard from the Syrian storyteller Hanna Diyab.

The tale has many variations, and the lamp is typically an item that the impoverished Aladdin retrieves from a booby-trapped cave for a sorceror pretending to be a sibling of his late father. After escaping the cave with the aid of a djinni in a magic ring, Aladdin brings the lamp to his mother, who tries to rub it clean so they can sell it to buy food for their supper; this releases a second far more powerful genie appears who is bound to do the bidding of the person holding the lamp.

Variants

Some variants alter the magic lamp's base price to make it less ridiculously easy to purchase.

Advent calendar

In variants using the advent calendar patch, the magic lamp is one of many possible 'Christmas presents' in the 24th room.

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, the magic lamp's base cost is increased to 1000zm; even more expensive magic lamps can be found in the black market. SLASH'EM also adds the magic candle, and obtaining one means that magic lamps can be safely rubbed for their wishes.

The Sunless Sea is a special level that features a guaranteed magic lamp, though it may be underwater.

UnNetHack

Main article: Wish#UnNetHack

In UnNetHack, wishes cannot be used on magical items unless they are from a wand of wishing. However, magic lamps are made eligible for wishing themselves, as they are not guaranteed sources of wishes themselves. The black market still has a chance to sell magic lamps at exorbitant prices.

The Ruins of Moria branch always contains an uncursed magic lamp on the last floor, carried by the Watcher in the Water.

dNetHack

In dNetHack, a special level called The Sea contains a guaranteed magic lamp, similar to The Sunless Sea of SLASH'EM. Each map also has a guaranteed amulet of magical breathing in the event the lamp is underwater.

NetHack Fourk

In NetHack Fourk, it is possible to use a blessed scroll of wishing to wish for a magic lamp.

EvilHack

In EvilHack, magic lamps can be wished for. Additionally, cursed magic lamps give off darkness instead of light; the aura of darkness covers the same radius, and overrides any light source.

The November NetHack Tournament

In The November NetHack Tournament, magic lamps cannot be placed into the swap chest.

References