Healing potions
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Healing potions are potions of healing, extra healing, and full healing. They have similar effects.
Contents
Generation
All Healers start the game with 4 non-cursed potions of healing and 4 non-cursed potions of extra healing, all Monks start the game with 3 non-cursed potions of healing, and all Tourists start the game with 2 non-cursed potions of extra healing.
Shopkeepers have a 1⁄2 chance of being generated with potions of healing and extra healing (one of each kind), 1⁄4 chance of being generated with potion of healing only, and 1⁄4 chance of neither.[1] In addition, intelligent monsters, except Pestilence, may generate with a random healing potion as a defensive item.
In a health food shop, 4% of items are potions of healing, and 3% are potions of full healing.[2]
A random potion has 5.7% chance to be a potion of healing, 4.7% chance to be a potion of extra healing, and 1% chance to be a potion of full healing.
Description
Quaffing
Quaffing a healing potion will do the following:
- Increase your HP (see Table 1 for exact amount).
- If your HP is restored above maxium, your maximum HP may be increased (see Table 1 for exact amount), and your HP sets to maximum.
- Cure some of the following: blindness, deafness, sickness, vomiting, hallucination (see Table 2).
- Exercise constitution. For potions of extra healing and full healing, also exercise strength
- Quaffing a blessed potion of full healing will also restore one lost experience level if you have any, but also decreases your maximum experience level by one.[3] It is better to use potion of restore ability for this purpose, as it does not affect your maximum experience level. See Potion of full healing for more information.
| Beatitude | Potion of healing | Potion of extra healing | Potion of full healing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blessed | 8d4 and 1 | 8d8 and 5 | 400 and 8 |
| Uncursed | 6d4 and 1 | 6d8 and 2 | 400 and 4 |
| Cursed | 4d4 and 0 | 4d8 and 0 | 400 and 0 |
| Beatitude | Healing | Extra healing or full healing |
|---|---|---|
| Blessed | Bli, Sic | Bli, Sic, Hal |
| Uncursed | Bli | Bli, Sic, Hal |
| Cursed | Nothing | Bli, Hal |
- Bli - Blindness and Deafness
- Sic - Sickness and Vomiting
- Hal - Hallucinations
Effects on a monster
Monsters can also quaff the potion to heal for the same amount, though it can only additionally cure blindness (unless it is a cursed potion of healing).
Monsters hit by the potion are fully healed and, if it was a blessed potion of healing, non-cursed potion of extra healing, or any potion of full-healing, are also unblinded.[4]
Pestilence is damaged by the potion, but the effects will always be completely resisted unless Pestilence is severely level drained first.[5]
Inhaling
Inhaling vapors from a healing potion of any beatitude will exercise constitution and heal 1, 2, or 3 HP for a potion of healing, extra healing, or full healing respectively.
In addition, inhaling the vapors can cure blindness and deafness. To do this, a potion of healing should be blessed, a potion of extra healing should be non-cursed, and a potion of full healing can be of any beatitude.
Alchemy
Using potions of gain level or gain energy, and potions of speed at the first step, you may turn healing potions into potions of full healing or gain ability, following the route:
- healing → extra healing → full healing → gain ability
See List of alchemy recipes for more information.
Other dipping
Dipping a poisoned weapon into healing potions will remove the poison and use up one potion.
Strategy
The potion of healing is a decent resource for starting and early character; spellcasters are typically better off using the healing spell in most situations unless they are aiming to conserve power or reduce the weight of their inventory. Later in the game, when the potion's healing is less effective, you should consider alchemizing them into potions of extra healing, and then to full healing if possible. If saving speed potions for use in the late stages of the game, and/or reserving your other alchemy components for full healing potions, you can instead wield or throw healing potions at your pets, which always restores them to full health (although this is still considered abuse).
History
The potions of healing and extra healing first appears in Hack 1.21, a variant of Jay Fenlason's Hack; Hack 1.21 also has the potion of extra hit points, whose functions are effectively folded into the various healing potions in Hack for PDP-11 and PDX. The potion is included in the initial item list for Hack 1.0.
The potion of full healing first appears in SLASH 6, and makes its vanilla debut in NetHack 3.3.0.
Messages
- You feel better.
- You quaffed a potion of healing.
- You feel much better.
- You quaffed a potion of extra healing.
- You feel completely healed.
- You quaffed a potion of full healing.
- <Foo> looks better.
- A monster quaffed a potion of healing.
- <Foo> looks much better.
- A monster quaffed a potion of extra healing.
- <Foo> looks completely healed.
- A monster quaffed a potion of full healing.
- <Foo> looks sound and hale again.
- A monster was hit with a healing potion.
References
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 684
- ↑ src/shknam.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 320
- ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1012
- ↑ src/muse.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 958
- ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1429: Healing potions do potion of sickness effects to Pestilence, subject to Pestilence's 100 monster magic resistance. This means that Pestilence needs to be drained below level 6 for the potions to have a few percent chance of affecting Pestilence.
