BUC - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: hatnote

2025-12-24T03:14:50Z

hatnote

Scyrmion: /* Generation */ Fix probabilities to be correct

2025-06-04T23:58:39Z

‎Generation: Fix probabilities to be correct

Anndec: /* Blessed items */ fix typo

2024-10-20T16:04:34Z

‎Blessed items: fix typo

Umbire the Phantom: potholes, etc.

2024-02-11T10:28:17Z

potholes, etc.

Ardub23: Rewrote lead paragraph to explain what BUC is, not just what words the letters stand for

2024-01-16T07:13:54Z

Rewrote lead paragraph to explain what BUC is, not just what words the letters stand for

Ais523: /* BUC identification */ copyedit

2023-12-11T03:42:10Z

‎BUC identification: copyedit

Derekt75: /* Generation */ loadstones can be generated uncursed in a container

2023-03-21T20:50:42Z

‎Generation: loadstones can be generated uncursed in a container

Derekt75: Generation odds

2023-03-21T18:55:26Z

Generation odds

Derekt75: /* Cursed items */ cursed leashes can't be removed/dropped

2023-03-21T16:16:46Z

‎Cursed items: cursed leashes can't be removed/dropped

Derekt75: moving encyclopedia entry to end of article

2023-03-20T20:34:56Z

moving encyclopedia entry to end of article

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:14, 24 December 2025
Line 1:		Line 1:
		+	{{otheruses\|blessed and cursed items, which are sometimes called "holy" and "unholy" respectively\|the object properties\|Holy (property)}}
	Every [[item]] in ''[[NetHack]]'', except for [[gold piece]]s, may be '''blessed''' or '''cursed'''; an item that is neither is described as '''uncursed'''. An item cannot be both blessed and cursed; the two cancel each other out. An item's state of being blessed, uncursed, or cursed is commonly called its '''BUC''', '''BUC status''', or '''beatitude'''.		Every [[item]] in ''[[NetHack]]'', except for [[gold piece]]s, may be '''blessed''' or '''cursed'''; an item that is neither is described as '''uncursed'''. An item cannot be both blessed and cursed; the two cancel each other out. An item's state of being blessed, uncursed, or cursed is commonly called its '''BUC''', '''BUC status''', or '''beatitude'''.

@@ Line 99: / Line 99: @@
 | colspan="4" style="background-color: #DDFFDD"| '''[[Amulet]]s'''
 |-
-|[[amulet of change]]||0.50%||9.50%||90.50%
+|[[amulet of change]]||0.50%||9.00%||90.50%
 |-
-|[[amulet of restful sleep]]||0.50%||9.50%||90.50%
+|[[amulet of restful sleep]]||0.50%||9.00%||90.50%
 |-
-|[[amulet of strangulation]]||0.50%||9.50%||90.50%
+|[[amulet of strangulation]]||0.50%||9.00%||90.50%
 |-
 |Other amulets||5.00%||90.00%||5.00%

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 *Blessed [[tin]]s require only one turn to open no matter what opening tool you use (or even if you use no tool at all).
 *Some [[tools]] work better when they're blessed. Notable examples include the [[bag of holding]] and [[unicorn horn]].
-**Blessed item generators generates blessed items:
+**Blessed item generators generate blessed items:
 ***A blessed [[horn of plenty]] will produce blessed foods and potions.
 ***A blessed [[tinning kit]] will make blessed tins.

@@ Line 45: / Line 45: @@
 However, there are items which have special uses when cursed, if you know they are cursed:
 * A cursed [[potion of gain level]] transports you one dungeon level upwards, which has several uses.
-* A cursed [[potion of invisibility]] will wake all sleeping and meditating monsters on the level. [[Covetous]] monsters such as your [[quest nemesis]], [[demon#Unique_demons|named demons]], and the [[Wizard of Yendor]] will quickly warp to you after being awakened, allowing you to fight them without having to make your way to their location.
+* A cursed [[potion of invisibility]] will wake all sleeping and meditating monsters on the level. [[Covetous]] monsters such as your [[quest nemesis]], [[demon lords and princes]], and the [[Wizard of Yendor]] will quickly warp to you after being awakened, allowing you to fight them without having to make your way to their location.
-* A cursed [[scroll of genocide]] creates 4&ndash;6 specified monsters.  This has many potential uses; to name a few: experience levels, maximum hit points, intrinsics, intelligence or strength gain, Luck, unihorn, dragon scale mail, or powerful pets. See [[Genocide#Reverse genocide|Genocide §&nbsp;Reverse genocide]] for details.<!-- Please don't expand the details in here: we don't want this brief overview to become too long to read. -->
+* A cursed [[scroll of genocide]] creates 4&ndash;6 specified monsters. This has many potential uses: experience levels, maximum hit points, intrinsics, intelligence or strength gain, luck, unihorn, dragon scale mail, or powerful pets. See [[Genocide#Reverse genocide|Genocide §&nbsp;Reverse genocide]] for details.<!-- Please don't expand the details in here: we don't want this brief overview to become too long to read. -->
 * A cursed [[scroll of teleportation]] will [[levelport]] you instead of regular teleportation, which is especially useful if you have [[teleport control]].
 * A cursed [[scroll of gold detection]] shows traps as gold.  However, a non-cursed one shows traps as traps if you are confused.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''BUC''' is an acronym meaning '''blessed'''/'''uncursed'''/'''cursed'''. It is usually used in phrases such as "BUC identified", meaning an [[item]] whose "'''BUC status'''" is known. Another term is '''beatitude''' (which technically means only "the state of being blessed", but in the context of NetHack generally means an object's ''relative blessedness'', i.e. its BUC status).
+Every [[item]] in ''[[NetHack]]'', except for [[gold piece]]s, may be '''blessed''' or '''cursed'''; an item that is neither is described as '''uncursed'''. An item cannot be both blessed and cursed; the two cancel each other out. An item's state of being blessed, uncursed, or cursed is commonly called its '''BUC''', '''BUC status''', or '''beatitude'''.
-'''Non-cursed''' is generally used to mean "either blessed or uncursed". This shorthand is useful because many items behave similarly whether blessed or uncursed, but very differently if cursed.
+'''Non-cursed''' is generally used to mean "either blessed or uncursed". This term is useful because many items behave similarly whether blessed or uncursed, but very differently if cursed.
 ==Blessed items==
@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 *Blessed [[weapon]]s do 1d4 extra damage to [[undead]] and [[major demon]]s.{{refsrc|src/weapon.c|325|version=NetHack 3.6.1}}
 **Blessed [[missile]]s (e.g., arrows, darts, and throwing stars) have a significantly lower chance of disappearing when used.
-*Most blessed [[scroll]]s and [[potion]]s work better if they are beneficial, or have their harm reduced/nullified if they are harmful.
+*Most blessed [[scroll]]s and [[potion]]s work better if they are beneficial, or have their harm reduced or nullified if they are harmful.
 *Blessed [[spellbook]]s can always be read successfully, regardless of the spell's level, your level, or your [[intelligence]] score.
 *Blessed [[tin]]s require only one turn to open no matter what opening tool you use (or even if you use no tool at all).
@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 ***A blessed [[horn of plenty]] will produce blessed foods and potions.
 ***A blessed [[tinning kit]] will make blessed tins.
-***A blessed [[magic marker]] will make uncursed blank spellbooks/scrolls into blessed ones, and cursed ones uncursed.
+***A blessed [[magic marker]] will make uncursed blank spellbooks and scrolls into blessed ones, and cursed ones uncursed.
 ** Blessed tools with charges will also resist the effect of a cursed [[scroll of charging]].
 *Blessed [[touchstone]] can be applied to identify other stones, while uncursed one can be applied only by Archeologist.
@@ Line 68: / Line 68: @@
 * [[Dip]]ping an object into a [[potion of holy water]] will change the BUC status from cursed to uncursed, and from uncursed to blessed, using one potion of holy water each time you dip it. Dipping a blessed item into holy water will not consume the potion and not [[wet]] the object.
 * An uncursed [[scroll of remove curse]] will remove the cursed status from the wielded object (whether it is a [[weapon]] or not), all worn items ([[armor]], [[rings]], [[amulet]], [[blindfold]], [[towel]], and [[lenses]]), any [[leash]]es currently in use, and any carried [[loadstone]]s.{{refsrc|src/read.c|1277|version=NetHack 3.6.1}} A blessed scroll of remove curse will remove the cursed status from every object in your inventory. A cursed scroll of remove curse "disintegrates" and removes no curses, though it will still end any [[punishment]].
-* A non-cursed [[scroll of enchant armor]] or [[scroll of enchant weapon]] will uncurse the armor/weapon it targets. A blessed scroll of enchant armor will bless uncursed armor.
+* A non-cursed scroll of {{? of|enchant armor|or=1|enchant weapon}} will uncurse the armor or weapon it targets. A blessed scroll of enchant armor will bless uncursed armor.
 * Your deity may bless and repair your weapon or uncurse your inventory when you pray on an [[altar]], depending on your [[Luck]] (see [[prayer]] for details).
 * When stepping on a [[magic trap]], there is a 4.8% chance of an uncursing effect, equivalent to an uncursed scroll of remove curse.
@@ Line 202: / Line 202: @@
 |}
-Items generated on "[[fake bones]]" are cursed 100% of the time.
+Items generated on "[[fake bones]]" are always cursed.
 ==Encyclopedia entry==

@@ Line 57: / Line 57: @@
 An [[altar]] can be used to detect the beatitude of an item by means of the coloured flashes when the item is [[drop]]ped on it, an amber flash indicates that the item is blessed, whereas a black flash means the item is cursed, if there is no flash the item is uncursed. Identifying an item this way is impossible when blind, and when hallucinating it is impossible to tell blessed and cursed items apart since the flash will appear different; however, the lack of a flash can still tell you that the item is uncursed.
-For some items, such as [[gold piece]]s or [[scroll of mail|scrolls of mail]], the beatitude has no meaning and is always omitted. For some other items, such as weapons or rings with charges, it is not shown if the object is uncursed, if you have [[identification|fully identified]] the item. [[Priest]]s never see the uncursed-status, and can automatically tell the beatitude of any item they see, even if it has yet to be identified. If you want the game to override this behavior and show "uncursed" on every item you have identified as such, set the [[Options#implicit_uncursed|implicit_uncursed]] option to FALSE.
+For some items, such as [[gold piece]]s or [[scroll of mail|scrolls of mail]], the beatitude has no meaning and is always omitted. For some other items, such as weapons or rings with charges, it is not shown if the object is uncursed, if you have [[identification|fully identified]] the item. [[Priest]]s can automatically tell the beatitude of any item they see, even if it has yet to be identified; as such, "uncursed" is not displayed for them, because for a Priest, any item that does not display as blessed or cursed must necessarily be uncursed. If you want the game to override this behavior and show "uncursed" on every item you have identified as such, set the [[Options#implicit_uncursed|implicit_uncursed]] option to FALSE.
 A [[scroll of identify]] will also show you the BUC status of an item.

@@ Line 191: / Line 191: @@
 | colspan="4" style="background-color: #DDFFDD"| '''[[Gem]]s/[[Stone]]s'''
 |-
-|[[loadstone]]||0.00%||0.00%||100.00%
+|[[loadstone]] on floor||0.00%||0.00%||100.00%
 |-
 |Other stones||0.00%||100.00%||0.00%

@@ Line 91: / Line 91: @@
 ==Game messages==
 In-game, the phrase "Items of unknown B/C/U status" appears in the drop menu, but the "BUC" ordering is more common in discussions.
 ==Encyclopedia entry==

@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 A cursed item, on the other hand, is usually bad. Cursed items are more difficult to bless, and almost all of them will at least impede the item's performance, if not incurring an ill-intended effect.
-* Anything that can be worn or wielded is reluctant to be taken off or put aside if it's cursed. This includes [[amulet]]s, [[weapon]]s, [[weapon-tool]]s, [[armor]], [[tin opener]]s, [[iron chain]]s, [[heavy iron ball]]s, and [[ring]]s. This also applies to monsters: Seeing a monster attempt to wield a cursed weapon or [[weapon-tool]] will produce a message about it sticking to their hand, as does a monster attempting to wield another weapon while already wielding a cursed weapon. In either case, this formally identifies the item as cursed.
+* Anything that can be worn or wielded is reluctant to be taken off or put aside if it's cursed. This includes [[amulet]]s, [[ring]]s, [[weapon]]s, [[weapon-tool]]s, [[armor]], [[tin opener]]s, [[iron chain]]s, [[heavy iron ball]]s, and [[leash]]es. This also applies to monsters: Seeing a monster attempt to wield a cursed weapon or [[weapon-tool]] will produce a message about it sticking to their hand, as does a monster attempting to wield another weapon while already wielding a cursed weapon. In either case, this formally identifies the item as cursed.
 * [[Potion]]s and [[scroll]]s generally work worse if they are cursed: if they are harmful, the harm is generally amplified, and if they are beneficial, the benefit may be reduced or nullified, or a totally different (usually harmful) effect occurs.
 * [[Wand]]s have a chance of exploding when you zap them while they are cursed.
@@ Line 52: / Line 52: @@
 * A cursed [[scroll of confuse monster]] confuses you. This is useful if you don't have other sources of [[confusion]].
 * Pets are reluctant to enter a square with a cursed item (unless there is food in that square too). Because of that, cursed items can be used to restrict their movements, most notably in Sokoban to prevent them from getting stuck behind a boulder.
 ==BUC identification==