K-ration
A K-ration is a kind of comestible that appears in Nethack. Similar to a C-ration, it can be eaten in one move, and is suitable for vegans.
Generation
Yendorian Army fighters have a 1⁄3 chance of being generated with a K-ration.[1]
Strategy
K-rations can be eaten in one move, making them valuable for quick nutrition in desperate situations, and are plentiful if you can clear out barracks, such as those found in Fort Ludios and the Castle. Though K-rations and C-rations are effectively identical, K-rations have a higher nutrition value and are tied with the lembas wafer for the highest amount of nutrition per turn, unless you are an elven character. This makes them highly preferred on the Astral Plane, particularly if you have to deal with Famine.
History
The K-ration first appears in NetHack 2.3e.
Origin
K-rations were daily combat rations for the US Army in World War II. Packed in three wax-paper boxes (one for each meal), they largely consisted of canned entrees and biscuits. The entrees were usually meat-based, and even the biscuits were not vegan, containing animal byproducts such as eggs and milk.[2]
Intended as an emergency ration for short-term use, K-rations were lighter and more compact than C-rations. They also provided significantly fewer calories than C-rations, in contrast to their superior nutritional value in Nethack (400 vs. 300). Despite K-rations' intended use as a short-term stopgap, in many cases they were given to soldiers for weeks or even months at a time. Their low caloric content often led to malnutrition, a situation made worse by their monotonous menus which frequently caused men to not eat the entire ration.
Messages
- This K-ration is bland.
- You ate a non-cursed K-ration.
Encyclopedia entry
The K ration was the [ Quartermaster Subsistence Research and Development Laboratory's ] answer to the demand for an individual, easy-to-carry ration that could be used in assault and combat operations. It was noted for compactness and superior packaging and was acknowledged as the ration that provided the greatest variety of nutritionally balanced components within the smallest space.
