Ring of free action
| = | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | free action | ||
| Appearance | random | ||
| Base price | 200 zm | ||
| Weight | 3 | ||
| Probability out of rings | 3.57% | ||
| Probability out of items in: | |||
| containers | Rogue level | Gehennom | Elsewhere |
| 0.179% | 0.179% | 0.286% | 0.107% |
Wearing a ring of free action gives you the free action extrinsic, which protects you from paralysis.
This immunity includes protection from:
- Paralysis container traps
- A thrown or quaffed potion of paralysis or potion of sleeping
- Paralysis or stunning spells (reduced to one turn)
In addition, protection from the paralyzing attacks of the following monsters:
- Floating eyes ("You momentarily stiffen under the floating eye's gaze!)
- Gelatinous cubes
- Ghouls
- Guardian nagas
- Shades
- Yeenoghu
Free action does not:
- Protect you from being "paralyzed" by fear when an enormous ghost appears in a deserted temple, or you chat to a skeleton
- Protect you from sleep, except from potions of sleeping
- Protect you from stunning, except from spells
- Protect you from any grabbing attacks, including drowning
- Protect you from bear traps, pits, spider webs, or any physically binding traps
- Protect you from stoning
- Allow you to move freely on the Plane of Air or Plane of Water
- Prevent you from being incapacitated by lightning in clouds on the Plane of Air
- Grant any extra turns
- Protect against helplessness caused by engraving, a cursed spellbook, fumbling,[1] or hurtling through the air while levitating.
Identifying a ring of free action indirectly is difficult, since observing the effects would likely require the player to undergo a paralysis attack. Quaffing a potion of paralysis in a locked closet while standing on a permanent Elbereth or scroll of scare monster is probably the absolutely safest method. Meleeing a gelatinous cube is also relatively safe, but the paranoid may perform this under similar circumstances. Keep in mind that attacking any creature will erode Elbereth.
Eating the ring will give you intrinsic sleep resistance instead of free action.
Dropping a ring of free action into a sink produces the message, "You see the ring slide right down the drain!"
A ring of free action is useful enough in high-density endgame areas such as Moloch's Sanctum and the Astral Plane that some players will wish or polypile for one if they have not found one by the time they get there. Thrown potions of paralysis are quite common, and getting hit by one and paralyzed for several turns while surrounded by aligned priests or, worse, one of the Riders, can be very painful or even deadly. If you go in without one, it's wise to avoid being surrounded if at all possible and have an amulet of life saving or at least some potions of full healing ready for use.
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, the ring does protect against grabbing attacks, including those of both drowning monsters and mind flayers, with a chance dependent on your Luck - 50% at 0 Luck, 90% when maxed out. It gives the message "<foo> grabs you, but you quickly free yourself!"
References
This page may need to be updated for the current version of NetHack.
It may contain text specific to NetHack 3.4.3. Information on this page may be out of date.
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