Potion of monster detection

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Revision as of 13:45, 31 December 2016 by Phol ende wodan (talk | contribs) (Update to 3.6.0, add strategy use)
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! Pink potion.png
Name monster detection
Appearance random
Base price 150 zm
Weight 20
Monster use Will not be used by monsters.

A potion of monster detection will show all monsters on the current level when quaffed.

  • A blessed potion will show all monsters on the map for 21–60 (more) turns.[1] Long worm tails will not be displayed.
  • An uncursed potion will show just the monsters against a black background,[2] and will exercise Wisdom if any are found.[3] Long worm tails will be displayed.
  • A cursed potion has the same effect as an uncursed potion, but will also wake all sleeping and paralyzed monsters on the level.[4] (“Monsters sense the presence of you.”) Long worm tails will be displayed.

If you already have 300 or more turns of monster detection, a blessed potion will only add one more.

If you quaff a non-blessed potion while there are no monsters on the current level, you will receive the message You feel threatened unless you are a beginner.

If you quaff a potion of monster detection while hallucinating, it will not reveal the monsters' true identities. However several snapshots can make the typical movement patterns of shopkeepers and priests visible.

Strategy

Some players save one or two of these potions to bless and drink on the Astral Plane, because it is the quickest and easiest way to locate and keep track of all the monsters, and it doesn't have any of the disadvantages of telepathy (you don't have to blind yourself, and it works on mindless monsters).

Otherwise, it's not a terribly useful potion and is a good candidate for dilution.

See also

References

This page may need to be updated for the current version of NetHack.

It may contain text specific to NetHack 3.6.0. Information on this page may be out of date.

Editors: After reviewing this page and making necessary edits, please change the {{nethack-360}} tag to the current version's tag or {{noversion}} as appropriate.