Warning
Warning is a property conveyed by wearing a ring of warning, carrying certain artifacts, or acquired by certain roles. It gives you advance warning of nearby monsters you can't see by representing them with a number from 1 to 5 based on their level. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
In graphical user interfaces using the default tileset, such as the Windows client nethackw, the numbers are replaced with colored question marks: 
. Colors of the question marks correspond to the colors of the numbers given above.
Caution: Moving with m while blind will still attack in some cases, possibly petrifying you. This happens whenever the warning mark does not cover an I from a remembered monster position. Likely, this is a bug.
Effects
The exact criteria for warning to show you monster locations are:[1]
- The monster must not be peaceful.
- You must be under 10 tiles from it (i.e., it must be strictly within a ten-tile circle centered at you).[2]
- Its level must be greater than or equal to 4.
The number used to represent a monster is ML/4, where ML is the monster's level (though this will go no higher than 5, and 0 is not displayed). The glyphs displayed are described as an "unknown creature causing you <feeling>", where <feeling> is one of concern, anxiety, disquiet, alarm, or dread for warning levels one to five respectively. Warning levels will be chosen at random if you are hallucinating.
Sources
Intrinsic warning can be obtained by:
- eating a ring of warning
- reaching a certain experience level:
Extrinsic warning can be obtained by:
- wearing a ring of warning
- carrying the Orb of Fate or the Master Key of Thievery
Strategy
Warning is considered a useful ring in ring strategy.
Warning can't tell you exactly which monster you're up against, unlike ESP, however, if you have both and the monster isn't seen through telepathy even though you're near enough (or blind) then you know it must be one of the mindless kind. The following table lists which monsters each warning may represent in this case. Note that a monster's level can vary within some limits, so for example an ochre jelly can merit a warning number 1 or 2, depending on the dungeon level and your experience when it is created:
| Warning symbol | Possible monsters when also telepathic |
|---|---|
| (I, no warning) | bejvvyFFFFFFFMMPZZZZZZZ''' |
| 1,
|
bbeeejjjvvvvvvyyEEEEFFMMMMMMMMPPPZZZZZ'''''' |
| 2,
|
beeejvvvEEEEMMMMPPZZZ'''' |
| 3,
|
vEEEEMPZZ'''' |
| 4,
|
Z'''' |
| 5,
|
''' |
Messages
- "You feel sensitive!"
- You gained intrinsic warning through level gain. (Except in SLASH'EM, a Necromancer at level 3 only gains intrinsic warning against undead.)
- "You feel less sensitive!"
- You lost intrinsic warning through level drain.
History
The current warning system was first implemented in NetHack 3.3.1. In prior versions, warning displayed messages when a hostile monster was nearby.[3] The messages were as follows:
- "Your Sting glows light blue!"
- You are wielding Sting, and the monster is an orc.
- "Your rings both glow <color>!"
- You are wearing two rings of warning.
- "Your left/right ring glows <color>!"
- You are wearing one ring of warning, on your left/right hand.
- "You feel apprehensive as you sense a <color> flash."
- You have intrinsic warning, or warning from an artifact.
Messages that are higher in the above list took precedence over the ones that are lower.
The color of the flash was determined in the same way as the warning numbers in modern versions: pink corresponds to "1", red to "2", ruby to "3", purple to "4", and black to "5".
When the hero was hallucinating, the colors were replaced by hallucinatory colors, rings were referred to as "mood rings", and the message for intrinsic warning or warning from an artifact was replaced by "Your spider-sense is tingling...", a reference to Spider-Man. No warning messages were displayed when the hero was blind.
No warning messages were displayed if one had been displayed within your last ten actions, unless the new message reflected a higher level of warning than the previous one. Nevertheless, at the time, warning was not popular among NetHack players, who considered it nearly useless at best, and a highly-annoying source of spam messages at worst.
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, The Candle of Eternal Flame and The Storm Whistle grant warning.
Notes
- ↑ display.h in NetHack 3.4.3, line 38
- ↑ display.h, line 44, but see also hack.h, line 288 and dist2 in hacklib.c.
- ↑ mon.c in NetHack_3.3.0, line 267
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.
Editors: After reviewing this page and making necessary edits, please change the {{nethack-343}} tag to the current version's tag or {{noversion}} as appropriate.
