Scroll of charging
? 
| |
|---|---|
| Name | charging |
| Appearance | random |
| Base price | 300 zm |
| Weight | 5 |
| Ink to write | 8–15 |
| Monster use | Will not be used by monsters. |
A scroll of charging is a type of scroll that appears in NetHack.
Contents
Generation
Monks may be given a scroll of charging as the random scroll in their starting inventory.[1] Wizards may be given a scroll of charging as any of the three random scrolls in their starting inventory.[2]
Scrolls of charging make up 3⁄200 (1.5%) of all scrolls randomly generated on the ground, in shops or as death drops. General stores, second-hand bookstores and rare books shops can sell scrolls of charging.
Writing a scroll of charging with a magic marker takes up 8 to 15 charges.
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 10a5e674, some shopkeepers can be generated with scrolls of charging: shopkeepers of general stores have a 4⁄5 chance of generating with a scroll, while shopkeepers of jewelry stores have a 1⁄2 chance, and shopkeepers of hardware stores and quality apparel and accessories stores always generate with the scroll. This is partly a pun on shopkeepers "charging" their customers.Description
A hero reading the scroll of charging will auto-identify if it is not known and be used up, followed by different effects that depend on the scroll's beatitude and whether or not the hero is confused.[3][4][5] Monsters will not read this scroll.
If the hero is not confused and reads a scroll of charging, the player is prompted to choose an item to charge from their inventory, which will list either all items or only chargeable items (other than oil lamps and brass lanterns) depending on the player's settings.[6] If the chosen item can be charged, then the scroll will increment its charge counter by 1[7][8]—a non-cursed scroll will grant one or more additional charges, with a blessed scroll having a much higher probability of setting the item's charges to the maximum, while a cursed scroll will instead set the number of charges on the item to zero, and these effects apply even if the item is cancelled (i.e. at -1).[9] See the linked sub-section of the article on charging for more precise details on its effects.
If the hero is confused and reads a scroll of charging, a non-cursed scroll will set their current energy to its maximum:[10] if the hero was at or near full energy when reading the scroll, they will also have their current energy increased by 6d4 for a blessed scroll or 4d4 for an uncursed scroll and have their maximum energy set to that amount. If the hero is confused and reads a cursed scroll, their current energy is set to 0.[11]
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 4e1cf071, oil lamps and brass lanterns are shown in the default charging prompt.Strategy
The scroll of charging is invaluable for re-using tools, wands and other similar items: if a hero comes across a wand of wishing, either randomly or from making it to the guaranteed one in the Castle, and they have not yet identified the scroll, 2-3 blessed scrolls of charging are a highly-recommended first wish for the wand; if the hero knows the scroll and also has a way to make scrolls of blank paper and bless them, then a magic marker may be a more sensible wish.
For general usage, the scroll is most often used to charge valuable wands (such as a wand of death or wand of polymorph) and magic markers. Most rings that can be charged are usually not kept for ascension kits, and also have an annoyingly high chance of exploding at lower enchantments: a ring being charged has its current enchantment checked first, with a n⁄7 probability of exploding instead of changing its enchantment if 0 < n < 7, and the ring will always explode if the ring's enchantment is a value that is either -5 or less, or +7 or greater.[12][13] Even so, some rings like the ring of protection and ring of increase damage are still useful enough to occasionally spend a scroll on (e.g. putting on the latter ring to boost dagger- and arrow-storms).
Tourists that obtain their quest artifact, The Platinum Yendorian Express Card, can usually invoke the blessed artifact over intervals of a few hundred turns for the purposes described above: they can still make use of the scroll of charging to charge items if the artifact is currently ignoring them, and the scroll can also be read while confused to restore energy for casting-focused Tourists. The Platinum Yendorian Express Card is also important for some illiterate conduct builds, since it can replicate the effects of the scroll without breaking that conduct.
Players with spellcasting-focused heroes, particularly those who are foregoing artifact wishes or going wishless in general, will gain a lot from the effects of reading scrolls of charging while confused; this is especially true during the ascension run, when their power is being drained by the Amulet of Yendor. Spellcasting heroes who are not committed to such conducts can possibly wish for the Mitre of Holiness or the Eye of the Aethiopica depending on their own role and alignment.
Some speed ascension playstyles rely on multiple wands of probing, requiring the player to write many scrolls of charging via magic marker to replenish their charges: such players make frequent use of an air elemental polyself for speed, e.g. to find the vibrating square, though they are blind while in that state—zapping themselves with a wand of probing reveals the appearance of unknown objects that the hero will have picked up while traveling, as well as displaying the labels of freshly-written scrolls and making them readable.
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 615edb1c, wands of wishing only generate with one charge, and charging the wand only adds a singular charge. This is done as part of spreading wishes out through the late stages of the game, and thus means that a hero will have to prioritize wishing for different items over the course of a game.
Among other things, this means that the scroll of charging is not likely to be as high-priority of a wish candidate for players: the lowered cap on charges mean that fewer wishes can be obtained from a singular wand of wishing, but at 3 wishes each they provide their wishes more consistently (one before recharging, a second after charging and a third via wresting), and such wishes should be tailored towards the hero's most immediate needs. Though this is already the case with prioritizing wishes in NetHack 3.6.7 (and previous stable versions), the nature of the upcoming changes mean that a hero is much less likely to "solve" their ideal kit immediately upon finding a wand of wishing or be left with several "spare" wishes after using some of the charges.
Combined with several other changes made to specifically balance wishes and the game's difficulty in general, a hero that reaches the Castle should usually still have sufficient enough resources to proceed into the later stages of the game, and players should adjust their strategies accordingly in order to lean much less on having an excess of wishes to ascend. Additionally, this gives an incentive to use the wand's wish on a good/necessary item immediately and then wait for a source of charging to use the other wishes later, depending on how urgently they need it—in the case of a hero finding a random wand of wishing, if they have no pressing needs and do not know the scroll's label, wishing for 2-3 uncursed or blessed scrolls of charging can be sufficient.
The aforementioned changes include spreading out items that heroes usually make wishes for: shopkeepers generating with scrolls of charging is one such example that provides a source of the scroll for heroes willing to take them on directly and risk murder penalties or (much more likely) use strong pets to kill them.History
The scroll of charging first appears in NetHack 3.0.0. In Hack 1.21, which is based on Jay Fenlason's Hack, a scroll of charge wand exists that can be considered a precursor to the scroll of charging.
From NetHack 3.0.0 to NetHack 3.4.3, including some variants based on those versions, a freshly-read scroll of charging still appears in the hero's inventory when deciding what item to charge—this is bug C343-161, and is fixed in NetHack 3.6.0 via commit 8308afc7 and refined via commit d439b123 so that the scroll is used up before pulling up the menu for the inventory.
Messages
- This is a charging scroll.
- You read a scroll of any beatitude.
- You feel charged up!
- You read a noncursed scroll, while confused.
- You feel discharged.
- You read a cursed scroll, while confused.
- You have a feeling of loss.
- You tried to charge an item that cannot be charged, which has no effect.
Variants
UnNetHack
In UnNetHack, charging an applicable item with a blessed scroll of charging will also reveal its current charges and charge counter.
A bag of tricks can be charged by putting a non-cursed scroll of charging into it, which uses up the scroll: doing so while the bag is being used as a container will destroy its contents in the process, as will charging such a bag by any other means.
AceHack
In AceHack, charging an item with the scroll of charging identifies the number of charges, including the number of turns that a light source will remain active for.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, the scroll of charging still works on "future tech", which are items normally only found on Anachrononauts and Androids or in the Anachrononaut and Android quests—these items can also be charged with a power pack, a form of future tech which also functions the same for "present" magical items.
Preservative engines interact with the scroll of charging differently from most other tools: a cursed scroll of charging used on a preservative engine will set its charges to the maximum of 8, while a blessed scroll instead removes all charges, and an uncursed scroll will add one charge up to the maximum of 8.
Asmodeus is always generated with a scroll of charging.
FIQHack
In FIQHack, a hero reading a non-cursed scroll of charging while confused can undo cancellation afflicting them.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, Infidels start each game with 2 uncursed scrolls of charging.
References
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 89
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 167
- ↑ src/read.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1514
- ↑ src/read.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1531
- ↑ src/read.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1538
- ↑ src/read.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1540
- ↑ src/read.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1542: calls recharge()
- ↑ src/read.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 467: recharge() fuction
- ↑ src/read.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 483
- ↑ src/read.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1519-L1526
- ↑ src/read.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1516
- ↑ src/read.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 541: "destruction depends on current state, not adjustment"
- ↑ src/read.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 542-L546
