Talk:BUC

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I would appreciate some discussion on this page of why a blessed item is better than an uncursed or cursed one. What does blessing an item do?

I would like this too - some articles specifically mention how B/U/C affects the item's use, but it would be nice if there was a catch-all to lend a general impression. Cursed status is pretty revealing for wielded and worn items, but it would be nice to know how they affect the math scores. But even nicer to have would be how blessed status affects some items - to know which are worth blessing. For example, how does blessed affect rings that grant an extrinsic? E.g., does blessing a ring of slow digestion slow digestion further? Or wands. Does B/U/C even matter for wands? --Keyboardashtray 14:55, 28 November 2007 (UTC)

Should blessed, uncursed, and cursed have their own articles? --Ihope127 19:35, 15 April 2006 (UTC)

So far I don't see the need as this article is just a stub, too. At least uncursed shouldn't need an article as it is the base assumption and not a special case. But of course we can create articles for everything if anyone comes up with some decent content. :) I linked the words in your message as article seeds anyway. If nothing else, they could be created as redirects to here. It's easy to change later if decided so. This article should probably discuss different methods of identifying and changing the BUC status of various objects. --ZeroOne 22:13, 15 April 2006 (UTC)

Gain level actually reduces, not increases your dungeon level. Unless you're playing Steamband... --211.30.227.32 10:10, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

I think that's more of a personal preference. Going down stairs will increase the dungeon level number, but you are going lower in the dungeon, thus going up stairs decreases your dungeon level number, but you are going higher in the dungeon. It's like the whole "the glass is half empty" argument. --MadDawg2552 05:40, 17 January 2007 (UTC)


What are the effects on an item if it is blessed or cursed. Scrolls and potions have ti in their article, but I can't find mention on blessed and cursed effects on armor and weapons. --Antidox

Weapons and armor that are cursed are unremovable, and if they take up both hands, stop you from being able to cast spells.
Yes, but what about blessed? --Antidox
I believe that:
  1. Blessed armor is slightly more resistant to damage (fire/erode/rot/etc).
  2. Blessed weapons will affect some of the
  3. And because some of the nastier beasties (and fountains and a cursed scroll of remove curse) can "cursify?" your items, a blessed item will go from blessed to uncursed, while the equivalent uncursed item will become cursed.
Qwip 18:43, 26 September 2007 (UTC)
Cursed scrolls of remove curse have no effect other than removing an iron chain. A ?oRC read while confused can bless or curse any item that (a) could have been decursed if not confused and (b) is presently uncursed.--Ray Chason 19:26, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

Blessed comestibles

Contrary to popular belief, blessed comestibles can be rotten, as well as being able to rot. See eat.c#eatcorpse (the relevant code is at eat.c#line1307, where it is determined if a corpse is rotten. Note the lack of reference to otmp->blessed.) An empirical test in wizmode (wish up 99 blessed wraith corpses, eat them until getting a "Blecch! Rotten food!" message) also confirms this. (Blessed non-corpse comestibles can also be rotten, although the code is at eat.c#line2050. Marcmagus 17:01, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

wand clear


Is the section on effects of cursing on wands comprehensive? Either way such should be in the article.

canceling booze

Somebody keeps removing this:

A corner case is cancelling sickness to juice with a cursed unicorn horn - the result is cursed.

I don't buy into the argument it should be removed because the headers cancellation and alchemy are supposedly wrong.

  • The effect of a unihorn on potions is so close to cancellation it should probably be called that way. The mess in the source code doesn't mean we should confuse players.
  • Whatever you call it, a nearly-complete spoiler wiki has to be comprehensive, so players seeking some loophole don't have to wade through the source code.
  • Why remove information useful to actual games? At least the foodless article explains liquid diet, and the BUC status of booze is important in such a scenario.

Unless somebody gives a better suggestion, or the remover gives a good argument not to, I will restore the section in a few days. This goes for the edits to BUC, alchemy, cancellation, and foodless. --Tjr 16:52, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

Toned down the language. Sorry for the flames! --Tjr 04:36, 27 October 2011 (UTC)


My point:
Information need not be lost: I have replaced that.
* Cancelling a potion works on ALL potions: dipping a unicorn horn only has similar effects on a specific few, and has completely different effects with other potions.
* The apparent similarity between the unicorn horn and cancelling on those potions (sickness -> fruit juice, hallucination, confusion, blindness -> water) is only superficial: it merely comes from the fact that sickness is "biologically contaminated fruit juice" and that both remove said contamination in different ways, not from any relation between dipping a unicorn horn and cancellation.
* Thus, the dipping of a unicorn horn into a potion is NOT cancelling it.
220.255.2.63 04:43, 28 October 2011 (UTC)
Ok, you have a point. --Tjr 11:21, 28 October 2011 (UTC)
Your recent reversion of some changes about this is wrong. As I said, the dipping of unicorn horn is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from canceling. It should be covered separately, not lumped into something else which it it not. 220.255.2.54 06:14, 6 November 2011 (UTC)
In case you're talking about this edit to alchemy: I made a mistake, and I'm quite happy an anon (you?) reverted it. Thanks.
In case you're talking about my changes to foodless, BUC, cancellation:
  • You have a point that unihorn-"cancellation" is arguably neither cancellation nor alchemy. To be fair, I stopped claiming that.
  • My point is gathering information useful to actual games all in one place, namely how to turn sickness into juice. An example to demonstrate it is useful: to get nutrition in my all-conduct attempts, I would farm a throne for potions and convert them all to blessed booze. Since all-conduct precludes randomized death drops, polypiling, and book reading, the only inexhaustable way to make juice is with a unicorn horn. This mechanism isn't limited to all-conduct games, so I think it is useful and on-topic to mention unicorn horns.
  • Lumping together: Many players will only vaguely remember something, and come to the wiki looking for details. I believe it is appropriate to mention "neighboring" subjects.
In any case, I'm glad you have corrected a misconception, and are still pointing to potential problems.-Tjr 17:17, 6 November 2011 (UTC)

Always uncursed, etc.

I think we should make note of items that are always generated uncursed (or always cursed, or whatever applies). I tried reading the game's source code to obtain this information, but I couldn't make sense of it. - Furrykef 20:25, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

blessed to cursed in no time

I keep having items uncursed or blessed become cursed rather quickly. There are these demons in... well below the castle level. They keep summoning more and more and more monsters. I can deal with that. All be it rather slowly, Ive only killed one of the fetchers and three left. Got to wade through hordes of never ending monsters to get them. MY PROBLEM , my things keep getting cursed. An entire inventory of them. How can i stop this, or at least slow this process? My stash is on lvl 4. going back and forth is frusterating

Magic resistance or half spell damage reduces the items cursed to 1d3, both together to 1d2. The spell is a melee spell, so Elbereth will stop many monsters from being able to cast it at you (notable exceptions include the Wizard of Yendor and Archons). Learning the remove curse spell can greatly reduce the need for holy water, as you will only then need it to bless items that need to be blessed, such as luckstones. Saturating your inventory with junk items, such as gems (okay, they're not junk per se, but it doesn't matter if they're cursed), can reduce the chance of something you care about getting cursed. Writing remove curse scrolls also helps reduce the need for holy water, as it can uncurse your entire inventory in one go.
Also, you should be keeping your uncursing gear (holy water/scrolls of remove curse for most items, wand of cancellation for bags of holding) with you, safely in bags. Not something that belongs in a stash, really. Also, what demons are these you're encountering below the Castle? Nalfeshnees? Or is it Demogorgon, Dispater, or Orcus? -Ion frigate 05:09, 3 April 2012 (UTC)


It is the Nalfeshnee, there were four now three. I cant reach them. So many nasties. I put on a towel, but the map is full! I have mc3 and mr. I could put a blessed bag in a regular bag?? would the bag get cursed and curse the contents?

No, putting one bag in another will invariably cause them both to explode, destroying all their contents. You can attempt to avoid this by stacking the inner bag inside nested stacks, but you need seven to do this, and it still has a chance (6.25%) of exploding. Bags do protect their contents from being cursed, though.
Nalfeshnees are not particularly difficult enemies, by the way; the only way they could fill up the map with nasties like that is if you're doing a pitiful amount of damage. Sort through your stash and bags, pick out the enchant armor/weapon scrolls and good artifact weapons and magical armor, enchant it all up, then seriously, throw the rest in the nearest lava pit. What on earth are you carrying that's weighing you down so much? -Ion frigate 00:03, 4 April 2012 (UTC)


Im not being weighed down, also am wearing speed boots. first time down there i was paralyzed. Then the nasties just stacked. NO there not hard to kill, it is the amount of them. every other turn or so they will summon more. Getting bashed on by 8 different bad guys that will be replaced is a handfull. Any suggestions to clear it out? Or at least the Nalfeshees'? As far as the bags i meant putting a bag of holding in a regular bag. if the normal bag was cursed would all the contents be too? THANKS for all the help. It has helped. Hopefully i dont die, to many close call s >.>

Oh sorry, I read "regular" as "uncursed" - yes, putting a bag of holding in a sack will protect it from getting cursed, at a cost of making items in the bag of holding require two turns to access (that's deadly in the case of stoning, though your lizard corpses should be in open inventory anyway), plus possibly another turn to put the bag of holding back in. As for clearing it out, Elbereth and a strong weapon. Go for the summoners, or get out of their LOS. Levelport will also work, if you have a cursed scroll of teleportation or a source of confusion and an uncursed one. How'd you get paralyzed, though? A thrown potion wouldn't last near long enough for monsters to fill up the level. -Ion frigate 03:48, 4 April 2012 (UTC)

They threw a potion of parlyze(sp). The problems just compounded from there. Found out dispater was with them, or got there somehow. unbeknowst to my knowledge he followed me up some levels brought more badies, ended up smacking him once every time he tel'd in and out in the levels that look like a maze. Glad I can save my BoH from mass cursing. I decided to put one of MANY different kinds of glass in my inventory. 1 each. I shall be heading back to moloch or whatever under the castle. I musyt be unlucky with all this crap >.> Rather a newb more likly. this is my.... oh idk made it 30 times forther than any two of all the times i died. i should find some forum or something i suppose