Spellbook of detect food
| spellbook of + detect food 
| |
|---|---|
| Appearance | random |
| Abundance | 3% |
| Base price | 200 zm |
| Weight | 50 |
| Turns to read | 3 |
| Ink to write | 10–19 |
| Spell type | divination |
| Level | 2 |
| Power cost | 10 Pw |
| Direction | non-directional |
| Equivalent | scroll of food detection |
In NetHack, the spellbook of detect food can be read to learn the spell of detect food. It is a level 2 divination spell, and the spellbook takes 5 actions to read.
Contents
Generation
Priests may be given a spellbook of detect food as one of the two spellbooks in their starting inventory.[1][2][3] Wizards may be given a spellbook of detect food as the secondary spellbook in their starting inventory.[4][2]
Spellbooks of detect food make up 3⁄100 (3%) of all randomly-generated spellbooks. General stores, second-hand bookstores and rare books stores can stock spellbooks of detect food.
Writing a spellbook of detect food with a magic marker uses up 10 to 19 charges.
Description
When successfully cast, the spell of identify replicates the effect of reading a scroll of food detection, with the exact effects dependent on the hero's skill in divination spells:[5][6]
- At Basic or lower, the spell of detect food has the same effect as reading the uncursed scroll, and the hero is shown the location of all comestibles on the level against a blank map in a manner similar to a potion of object detection.[7][8] The hero can navigate this screen by moving their cursor to highlight particular objects, and any other key that does not perform a navigation action will exit this screen.[9][10][11] The current location of any detected food items are recorded on the map when returning to normal play.
- Casting the spell at Skilled or higher will emulate a blessed scroll of food detection rather than an uncursed one, granting the food appraisal intrinsic in addition to the above effect.[12]
The spell of detect food does not drain nutrition when cast, and also can be cast when the hero would otherwise be too low on nutrition to cast spells.[13][14]
Strategy
The spell of detect food has a niche for finding food on the hero's current level whenever you are short on permafood, though the spell itself does not mark whether those food sources are safe or not, e.g. corpses that are tainted from age, poisonous, cause stoning, and so on. The closest to a safeguard against this that the spell offers is the food appraisal intrinsic granted from casting it at Skilled or higher, and even then the intrinsic will expire once it warns you of potentially dangerous food, regardless of if you elect to eat it or not. With this in mind, the spell's lack of nutrition burn and the ability to cast it even while low on nutrition can still be potentially life-saving by themselves on occasion.
The spell naturally loses much of its value as the hero amasses a cache of permafood, especially once they can clear Fort Ludios or the Castle, but it can still be useful if the hero is Skilled in divination spells: they can apply the aforementioned food appraisal intrinsic as a safeguard against typos or eating corpses with misremembered ages. The spell can also be used to check for the corpses of reviving monsters such as trolls and track whether or not they have resurrected.
History
The spellbook of detect food and its spell first appear in NetHack 1.3d.
Messages
Variants
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, some roles can start with the spellbook of detect food:
- Archeologists have a 1⁄5 chance of starting with the spellbook of detect food as their sole spellbook.[15]
- Priests have a 1⁄9 chance of starting with the spellbook of detect food as their secondary spellbook.[16]
- Wizards have a 1⁄5 chance of starting with the spellbook of detect food as their tertiary spellbook.[17]
dNetHack
In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, drow Healers start the game with a blessed spellbook of detect food.
xNetHack
In xNetHack, the spellbook of detect food no longer randomly generates, though it can still be wished for or written.
SlashTHEM
In SlashTHEM, in addition to SLASH'EM details, the spell of detect food is the special spell of the Drunk role.
Hack'EM
In Hack'EM, the spell of detect food is lowered to a level 1 divination spell.
References
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 107
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 src/u_init.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1020: all starting spellbooks have at most level 3 spells
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1050: no duplicate spellbooks
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 169
- ↑ src/spell.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1145: case calls seffects() in read.c
- ↑ src/spell.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1155: all spells with scroll equivalents fall through to this line
- ↑ src/read.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 999
- ↑ src/read.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1478
- ↑ src/detect.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 455: food_detect() function
- ↑ src/detect.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 524: temporary map is drawn using this code
- ↑ src/detect.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 563: temporary map navigation
- ↑ src/spell.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1149
- ↑ src/spell.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 932
- ↑ src/spell.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 967
- ↑ u_init.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 1017
- ↑ u_init.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 1140
- ↑ u_init.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 1269
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