Bag of holding - Revision history

Netzhack: /* Handling nested bags of holding */ wording & typos

2026-05-02T10:16:41Z

‎Handling nested bags of holding: wording & typos

Umbire the Phantom: formatting and copyedit pass

2026-03-11T06:25:20Z

formatting and copyedit pass

Show changes

JASON10668: Add languages template.

2026-03-10T11:45:30Z

Add languages template.

Umbire the Phantom: /* SLASH'EM */ word choice

2025-02-06T17:47:15Z

‎SLASH'EM: word choice

Umbire the Phantom: /* Origin */ follow-up on this

2025-02-06T16:13:55Z

‎Origin: follow-up on this

Umbire the Phantom: copyedit - turns out I still have 20 minutes

2025-02-06T16:11:02Z

copyedit - turns out I still have 20 minutes

Ion frigate: added origin - feel like there's more to be found on the lore of magic bags, but i'll look into that later

2025-02-06T10:13:25Z

added origin - feel like there's more to be found on the lore of magic bags, but i'll look into that later

Umbire the Phantom: /* Nesting bags of holding */ replace botched link

2024-06-01T03:12:10Z

‎Nesting bags of holding: replace botched link

Furey: /* Nesting bags of holding */ wordsmith about the exact point of explosion risk

2024-06-01T03:00:06Z

‎Nesting bags of holding: wordsmith about the exact point of explosion risk

Umbire the Phantom: /* Exploding a bag of holding */ upcoming

2024-04-15T23:48:20Z

‎Exploding a bag of holding: upcoming

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 ===Handling nested bags of holding===
-As {{sa|Nesting bags|mentioned prior}}, it is risky by possible to first put items that would ordinarily cause a bag of holding to explode into sacks or oilskin sacks, and then place them inside the bag of holding without causing an explosion. The table in the linked section covers the amount of sacks that is most reasonable to use for this purpose: in general, two nested bags of holding at most are useful, since the payload is limited by your ability to lift the innermost bag rather than by the outermost bg's weight, and you risk an explosion each time you re-place the (nested) innermost bag in the outer bag. If you wish, you may choose to continue to nest the bags of holding further; the chance of success with certain configurations of sacks between the bags of holding is given below:
+As {{sa|Nesting bags|mentioned above}}, it is risky but possible to first put items that would ordinarily cause a bag of holding to explode into sacks or oilskin sacks, and then place them inside the bag of holding, without causing an explosion. The table in the linked section covers the number of sacks that is most reasonable to use for this purpose: in general, two nested bags of holding at most are useful, since the payload is limited by your ability to lift the innermost bag rather than by the outermost bag's weight, and you risk an explosion each time you re-insert the innermost nested bag in the outer bag. If you wish, you may choose to continue to nest the bags of holding further; the chance of success with certain configurations of sacks between the bags of holding is given below:
 {|class="wikitable"
 !Number of bags of holding

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:45, 10 March 2026
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		+	{{languages}}
	{{tool		{{tool
	\|name=bag of holding		\|name=bag of holding

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 Due to the ability to upgrade, the amulet of reflection is generally the more valuable Sokoban prize: there is still a {{frac|2}} chance of each reward, even with [[Sokoban (SLASH'EM)|the new levels]] introduced in the variant.
-SLASH'EM has a 'showweight' [[option]] that explicitly displays the amount of weight your character is carrying - informally identifying bags of holding is trivial with this option turned on. The Wallet of Perseus also enables informal identification of a bag of holding via the '[[naming artifacts]]' trick.
+SLASH'EM has a 'showweight' [[option]] that explicitly displays the amount of weight the hero is carrying - informally identifying bags of holding is trivial with this option turned on. The Wallet of Perseus also enables informal identification of a bag of holding via the '[[naming artifacts]]' trick.
 ===NetHack brass===

@@ Line 167: / Line 167: @@
 ==Origin==
-The bag of holding is an iconic item from [[Dungeons and Dragons]], and has appeared in numerous other modern fantasy works (sometimes under different names).  In its original form in D&D, it is described as "opening into a nondimensional space", meaning that items inside not do not encumber the player at all, although unlike in ''NetHack'' the bag has a limited capacity.  Morevoer, the bag is even more fragile than in ''NetHack'': it can be destroyed by being pierced with a sharp object (from inside or out), or by attempting to fill it beyond its maximum capacity.
+The bag of holding is an iconic item from ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'', and has appeared in numerous other modern fantasy works since then, sometimes under different names&mdash;magical bags with increased capacity also occur in other contexts within folktales, mythology and works of fantasy. In its original form in ''Dungeons & Dragons'', the bag of holding is described as "opening into a nondimensional space", meaning that items inside not do not encumber the player at all, although unlike in ''NetHack'' the bag has a limited capacity and is much more fragile: it can be destroyed by being pierced with a sharp object (from inside or out), or by attempting to fill it beyond its maximum capacity.
 ==Messages==

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 The prize at the end of [[Sokoban]] always has a {{frac|2}} chance of being a bag of holding.
-{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Both prizes are no longer equally likely for each floor. Instead, [[Sokoban Level 4a]] has a {{frac|3|4}} chance of the prize being a bag of holding, while 4b has a {{frac|4}} chance of the prize being a bag of holding.}}
+{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|[[Sokoban Level 4a]] has a {{frac|3|4}} chance of the prize being a bag of holding, while 4b has a {{frac|4}} chance of the prize being a bag of holding.}}
 ==Description==
@@ Line 164: / Line 164: @@
 The bag of holding first appears in [[NetHack 3.0.0]].
-From [[NetHack 3.3.0]] to [[NetHack 3.4.3]], including some variants based on those versions, [[Sokoban Level 4a]] always has a bag of holding as the prize.
+From [[NetHack 3.3.0]] to [[NetHack 3.4.3]], including some variants based on those versions, [[Sokoban Level 4a]] always has a bag of holding as the prize, while [[Sokoban Level 4b]] always has an [[amulet of reflection]].
 ==Origin==
@@ Line 176: / Line 176: @@
 ==Variants==
 ===SLASH'EM===
-In [[SLASH'EM]], you can [[upgrade]] an ordinary [[sack]] or [[oilskin sack]] into a bag of holding. This typically makes the amulet of reflection found at the end of Sokoban a more valuable prize - there is still a {{frac|2}} chance of each reward, even with [[Sokoban (SLASH'EM)|the new levels]] introduced in the variant.
+In [[SLASH'EM]], [[upgrading]] a sack or oilskin sack can produce a bag of holding. The [[Wallet of Perseus]] is an [[unaligned]] [[artifact]] bag of holding that has enhanced weight reduction.
-The [[Wallet of Perseus]] is an [[unaligned]] [[artifact]] bag of holding that has enhanced weight reduction, and enables you to informally identify a bag of holding via the '[[naming artifacts]]' trick.
+Due to the ability to upgrade, the amulet of reflection is generally the more valuable Sokoban prize: there is still a {{frac|2}} chance of each reward, even with [[Sokoban (SLASH'EM)|the new levels]] introduced in the variant.
-SLASH'EM has a 'showweight' [[option]] that explicitly displays the amount of weight your character is carrying - informally identifying bags of holding is trivial with this option turned on.
+SLASH'EM has a 'showweight' [[option]] that explicitly displays the amount of weight your character is carrying - informally identifying bags of holding is trivial with this option turned on. The Wallet of Perseus also enables informal identification of a bag of holding via the '[[naming artifacts]]' trick.
 ===NetHack brass===
@@ Line 186: / Line 186: @@
 ===GruntHack===
-In [[GruntHack]], causing a bag of holding to explode does not destroy the contents of the bag, but scatters them and the player throughout the dungeon via [[level teleport]].
+In [[GruntHack]], causing a bag of holding to explode does not destroy the contents of the bag, but scatters them and the hero throughout the dungeon via [[level teleport]].
 [[Sokoban (GruntHack)|Sokoban]] in GruntHack also offers a choice between 3 prizes, with one being a guaranteed bag of holding.
@@ Line 199: / Line 199: @@
 ===AceHack===
-In [[AceHack]], inserting a bag of tricks or a wand of cancellation inside a bag of holding will drain them of their charges rather than destroying any items inside - you can still destroy bags of holding by nesting them, but you will receive a confirmation prompt when doing so. This also applies to [[NetHack 4]], a 'successor' variant to AceHack.
+In [[AceHack]], inserting a bag of tricks or a wand of cancellation inside a bag of holding will drain them of their charges rather than destroying any items inside. A hero can still destroy bags of holding by nesting them, but will receive a confirmation prompt when doing so. This also applies to [[NetHack 4]], a 'successor' variant to AceHack.
 ===NetHack Fourk===
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 ===EvilHack===
 In [[EvilHack]], an exploding bag of holding functions as in SporkHack and some other variants: {{frac|13}} of the contents are destroyed along with the bag and inserted item, and the rest are scattered, destroying fragile items.
 [[Sokoban (EvilHack)|Sokoban]] in EvilHack offers 3 different type of prize item, and its prize tool has a {{frac|2}} chance of being a bag of holding.

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:13, 6 February 2025
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	From [[NetHack 3.3.0]] to [[NetHack 3.4.3]], including some variants based on those versions, [[Sokoban Level 4a]] always has a bag of holding as the prize.		From [[NetHack 3.3.0]] to [[NetHack 3.4.3]], including some variants based on those versions, [[Sokoban Level 4a]] always has a bag of holding as the prize.
		+
		+	==Origin==
		+	The bag of holding is an iconic item from [[Dungeons and Dragons]], and has appeared in numerous other modern fantasy works (sometimes under different names). In its original form in D&D, it is described as "opening into a nondimensional space", meaning that items inside not do not encumber the player at all, although unlike in ''NetHack'' the bag has a limited capacity. Morevoer, the bag is even more fragile than in ''NetHack'': it can be destroyed by being pierced with a sharp object (from inside or out), or by attempting to fill it beyond its maximum capacity.

	==Messages==		==Messages==

@@ Line 159: / Line 159: @@
 For example, if you use 7 sacks between each of three bags of holding like this (H for bag of holding, s for sack): HsssssssHsssssssH (denoted as "7,7" in the table above), the chance of successful nesting would be 1-(8/128) for the first nesting, and then (1-(8/128)) * (1-(16/128)) for the second nesting; each of the two 'inner' bags of holding put into the outermost bag must pass its own independent roll for the nesting to succeed {{refsrc|src/pickup.c|2229|nethack=3.6.7}} - this gives the example scenario roughly a 23.1% chance that something will explode.
-Some players either consider the 6.25% chance of explosion from nesting to be an acceptable risk, or assume from a test in wizard mode that it is safe. If you are confident you can withstand the explosion, you can risk it before you leave the main dungeon to increase your score or bring specific items to the [[demigod bar]].<ref>[http://groups.google.co.uk/group/rec.games.roguelike.nethack/msg/3c393a4f7b6a432f? RGRN: "YAFAP - Scrappity - Arc - Gno - Neu - Survivor (Long)"]</ref>
+Some players either consider the 6.25% chance of explosion from nesting to be an acceptable risk, or assume from a test in wizard mode that it is safe. If you are confident you can withstand the explosion, you can risk it before you leave the main dungeon to increase your score or bring specific items to the [[demigod bar]].<ref>[https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.roguelike.nethack/c/Ex3Guunt_pk/m/WsUDboLuWF4J RGRN: "YAFAP - Scrappity - Arc - Gno - Neu - Survivor (Long)"]</ref>
 ==History==

@@ Line 68: / Line 68: @@
 It is possible, though risky, to first put items that would ordinarily cause a bag of holding to explode into sacks or oilskin sacks and then place them inside the bag of holding, without causing an explosion.
-In general, two nested bags of holding at most are useful - the payload is limited by your ability to lift the innermost bag, not by the outermost weight, and you risk an explosion every time you add contents.
+In general, two nested bags of holding at most are useful - the payload is limited by your ability to lift the innermost bag, not by the outermost weight, and you risk an explosion each time you place the (nested) innermost bag in the outer bag.
 The chance of an explosion occurring then depends on the amount of nesting:<ref name="nesting"/>

@@ Line 43: / Line 43: @@
 * Other bags containing any of the above items, though they have a chance of not exploding [[#Nesting bags of holding|if you nest them]].<ref name="nesting"/>
-{{upcoming|3.7.0|Per {{commit|71754910db3be6effface4de88c35a056fe70c2c}}, exploding bags of holding scatter their contents rather than destroying them outright: [[fragile]] items are destroyed, and if caused by a bag of tricks, it is still lost along with the bag itself. Per {{commit|6fd51c29ef120744098348798c17b7ee0595065f}}, {{frac|13}} of the bag's contents are lost (not counting fragile items that are destroyed after), and per {{commit|ce1f4788cdbccaba1533bec1e478c0cc9bd550cf}}, monsters hit by scattered items are angered.}}
+{{upcoming|3.7.0|Per {{commit|71754910db3be6effface4de88c35a056fe70c2c}}, exploding bags of holding scatter their contents rather than destroying them outright: [[fragile]] items are destroyed, and if caused by a bag of tricks, it is still lost along with the bag itself, while if caused by another bag of holding, that bag explodes as well per {{commit|9cdcf7b2194960c6ea8b98f2e2a6e71ee4a7959a}}. Per {{commit|6fd51c29ef120744098348798c17b7ee0595065f}}, {{frac|13}} of an exploded bag's contents are lost (not counting fragile items that are destroyed after), and per {{commit|ce1f4788cdbccaba1533bec1e478c0cc9bd550cf}}, monsters hit by scattered items are angered.}}
 ==Strategy==