Alchemy smock

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[   alchemy smock
Appearance	apron
Slot	cloak
AC	1
Special	MC1 acid resistance poison resistance
Base price	50 zm
Weight	10
Material	cloth

An alchemy smock is a type of cloak that appears in NetHack. It is a magical cloak that is made of cloth, and appears as an apron when unidentified.

Generation

The alchemy smock makes up ⁹⁄₁₀₀₀ (0.9%) of all armor that is randomly generated on the ground, in general shops or as death drops. Used armor dealerships and antique weapon outlets can also stock alchemy smocks.

Description

While worn, an alchemy smock grants 1 base AC along with acid resistance, poison resistance and MC1. Monsters wearing an alchemy smock will only gain poison resistance, due to limitations in how object extrinsics are defined and handled between monsters and the hero.

Despite the name, an alchemy smock has no actual effects on alchemy.

Reading an alchemy smock will break illiterate conduct and print a message displaying the text on the smock, which can include one of many YAFMs that are mostly cooking-related.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.

Per commit 0891ef4e, monsters gain acid resistance from a worn alchemy smock.

Per commit b8664198, worn alchemy smocks reduce the chance of alchemy with random potions causing explosions to ¹⁄₃₀.

Strategy

An early alchemy smock is quite useful, allowing non-orcish heroes to safely eat corpses of poisonous monsters such as killer bees and gain poison resistance as an intrinsic. Once you have poison resistance, the smock can be given to humanoid pets that lack the resistance.

The alchemy smock is also one of the few extrinsic sources of acid resistance, with the others being yellow dragon scales or the corresponding dragon scale mail. However, acid damage is infrequent and avoidable enough for players through other means, so the alchemy smock is usually not required for this purpose—it still has a few uses, such as a cloak for a mind flayer (or master mind flayer) polyform in order to prevent passive acid damage when attacking ochre jellies or spotted jellies. Though pets cannot obtain acid resistance from the smock, some well-kitted humanoid pets will still appreciate a source of poison resistance.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.

Per commit 8d2407f1, pets can gain intrinsics from eating corpses, providing other methods for them to gain poison resistance. In addition, worn alchemy smocks are a good choice of cloak for (master) mind flayer pets to protect them from the passives of jellies.

History

The alchemy smock is introduced in NetHack 3.3.0.

The ability to read alchemy smocks is added in NetHack 3.6.0.

Messages

The possible messages displayed from reading an alchemy smock are listed here.

"Kiss the cook"

"I'm making SCIENCE!"

"Don't mess with the chef"

"Don't make me poison you"

"Gehennom's Kitchen"

"Rat: The other white meat"

"If you can't stand the heat, get out of Gehennom!"

"If we weren't meant to eat animals, why are they made out of meat?"

"If you don't like the food, I'll stab you"

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.

Per commit aa7f01ee, a new message for reading an alchemy smock is added:

"If you see me running, try to keep up..."

The message is similar to an already-existing T-shirt message, and both are references to The Sum of All Fears, with the one on the alchemy smock tailored to be closer to the original quote. This is notably also the second possible message on an alchemy smock that is not related to cooking in some manner.

Variants

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, the alchemy smock is replaced by the lab coat, which provides the same properties but also grants MC3 while worn and reduces damage from alchemic blasts (which applies to all sources of acid resistance).

NetHack brass

In NetHack brass, the frilled apron also appears an apron when unidentified, though wearing a non-cursed apron can easily distinguish which of the two it is.

dNetHack

In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, the alchemy smock grants 0 base AC, 1 base DR and MC3 while worn.

Hack'EM

In Hack'EM, upgrading a poisonous cloak will produce an alchemy smock and vice versa. As in SLASH'EM, sources of acid resistance reduce damage from alchemic blasts.