Potion of speed
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| |
|---|---|
| Name | speed |
| Appearance | random |
| Base price | 200 zm |
| Weight | 20 |
| Monster use | May be used by monsters as misc items. |
A potion of speed is a type of magical potion that appears in NetHack. The default randomized appearance associated with the potion is a "dark green potion".[1]
Generation
Wizards may be given a potion of speed as any of the three random potions in their starting inventory.[2]
Potions of speed make up 21⁄500 (4.2%) of all potions that are randomly generated on the ground, in general shops or as death drops. Liquor emporiums can also stock potions of speed.
Randomly generated monsters have an effective 5⁄18 chance of generating with a potion of speed as a miscellaneous item.[3]
Description
Quaffing a potion of speed grants speed to its drinker, with the effects being different for a hero or a monster:
- A hero drinking the potion gains very fast speed temporarily and exercises dexterity, and will auto-identify the potion unless they already have very fast speed.[4][5] The duration depends on the potion's beatitude, and stacks with existing turns of very fast speed:[6] a blessed potion lasts for 160–169 more turns, while an uncursed potion lasts for 100–109 more turns, and a cursed one lasts for 40–49 more turns. A non-cursed potion also grants the hero intrinsic speed and heals wounded legs unless the hero is riding.[7]
- A monster quaffing the potion is given fast monster speed regardless of the potion's beatitude, and will also be given speed if they are hit by the potion (which does not make them hostile).[8]
A hero inhaling vapors from a broken potion of speed exercises dexterity and gains up to 5 more turns of very fast speed if they did not already possess speed, followed by prompting the player to type-name the potion.[9]
Mixing a potion of speed with a potion of healing can create a potion of extra healing, and mixing the potion with a potion of fruit juice can create a potion of booze.[10][11]
Strategy
Early in the game, a potion of speed allows you to outrun enemies you either aren't ready for or need separation from (e.g., Team Ant), or pummel enemies that have you trapped—even cursed potions are worth drinking in this regard.
For a hero that finds or decide to wish for speed boots later on, these potions become viable candidates for upgrading healing potions to extra healing potions, and this also works for dipping a stack of them in a potion of healing. However, potions of speed are more valuable as a means of restoring lost speed, even for heroes with speed boots: this makes them still worth holding on to, especially for the endgame where a hero can swap their speed boots for jumping boots and combine them with several potions and/or applications of the haste self spell) to move quickly after clearing a path through monsters with a zapped wand of teleportation. This is viable as late as the Astral Plane, where the hero will generally be in a hurry to find their high altar.
History
The potion of speed appears in Hack 1.21 and Hack for PDP-11, which are both based on Jay Fenlason's Hack, and is included in the initial item list for Hack 1.0. From this version to NetHack 3.4.3, including variants based on those versions, the speed system works much differently, and both the hero and monsters move at constant rates, meaning that intrinsic speed makes escaping monsters and employing hit and run much more reliable—the current speed system is introduced in NetHack 3.6.1.
NetHack 5.0.0 adds the ability for the hero to gain intrinsic speed from the potion via commit 95972d71, which also makes speed from the wand of speed monster temporary.
steelypips.org has a set of spoilers for the potion of speed's behavior in NetHack 3.4.3.
Messages
- You are suddenly moving much faster.
- You gained very fast speed from quaffing the potion.
- Your legs get new energy.
- You extended the duration of very fast speed by quaffing the potion.
- Your quickness feels very natural.
- You gained intrinsic speed from quaffing the potion.[12]
- Your knees seem more flexible now.
- You inhaled the vapors from a broken potion of speed.
Variants
NetHack variants released prior to NetHack 5.0.0 may independently implement potions of speed as a source of intrinsic speed.
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, Flame Mages, Ice Mages, Necromancers, and Wizards may be given a potion of speed as any of the random potions in their starting inventories.[13][14][15][16]
Two potions of speed are generated in the outside area of Grund's Stronghold at level creation, with four more placed randomly inside the stronghold itself.
The potion of speed behaves as it does in NetHack 3.4.3.
UnNetHack
In UnNetHack, a hero inhaling the vapors of a potion of speed will auto-identify that potion.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, the potion of speed behaves as it does in NetHack 5.0.0.
The Paladin is always generated with a potion of speed.
SlashTHEM
In SlashTHEM, in addition to SLASH'EM details, brewing a potion of speed using a chemistry set uses up three charges.
References
- ↑ include/objects.h in NetHack 5.0.0, line 1135
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 172
- ↑ src/muse.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 2672-L2676
- ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 1051-L1070: peffect_speed() function
- ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 1385-L1388
- ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 1063
- ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 1056-L1061
- ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 1817-L1820
- ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 2065-2070
- ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 2138-L2140
- ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 2187-L2188
- ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 1067
- ↑ u_init.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 66
- ↑ u_init.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 96
- ↑ u_init.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 137
- ↑ u_init.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 246
