Gray stone - Revision history

JASON10668: Add languages template.

2026-03-04T06:08:55Z

Add languages template.

Umbire the Phantom: style guide on variant templates, move todo

2024-01-20T16:59:16Z

style guide on variant templates, move todo

Umbire the Phantom at 14:04, 23 July 2022

2022-07-23T14:04:23Z

Ardub23: /* Variants */ Added xNetHack section

2020-11-23T06:24:53Z

‎Variants: Added xNetHack section

Phol ende wodan: as with other "set of items" pages, put the types of stones in a list rather than a sentence

2020-03-23T16:05:49Z

as with other "set of items" pages, put the types of stones in a list rather than a sentence

Pinkbeast: ce

2019-08-16T10:25:18Z

Nethacker: /* Identification */

2019-08-16T07:14:07Z

‎Identification

Ardub23: Rearranged to consolidate variant info (NHW:Style guide § Variants) and noted #tip for gray stones in containers

2019-07-27T03:08:51Z

Rearranged to consolidate variant info (NHW:Style guide § Variants) and noted #tip for gray stones in containers

Tomsod: /* Sporkhack */ it's called "salt chunk" now

2018-08-22T02:08:03Z

‎Sporkhack: it's called "salt chunk" now

Luxidream: no new rocks in 3.6.1

2018-07-22T06:27:31Z

no new rocks in 3.6.1

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:08, 4 March 2026
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		+	{{languages}}
	In ''[[NetHack]]'', a '''gray stone''' is the appearance given for these four items:		In ''[[NetHack]]'', a '''gray stone''' is the appearance given for these four items:
	* [[flint stone]]		* [[flint stone]]

@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 ==Variants==
 ===SLASH'EM===
 [[SLASH'EM]] introduces two additional gray stone types: [[whetstone]]s and [[healthstone]]s. Any cursed gray stone that isn't a loadstone must be a healthstone, unless it came from a bones pile. Price identification is also useful: the whetstone's base price is 45zm, and the healthstone's is 60zm.
@@ Line 53: / Line 52: @@
 ===xNetHack===
 [[xNetHack]] removes loadstones and introduces [[thiefstone]]s.
+{{todo|Do whetstones, healthstones or lumps of salt break when thrown?}}
 {{nethack-361|offset=1}}
 [[Category:Gems]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-A '''gray stone''' is one of:
+In ''[[NetHack]]'', a '''gray stone''' is the appearance given for these four items:
 * [[flint stone]]
 * [[loadstone]]

@@ Line 46: / Line 46: @@
 {{todo|Do whetstones, healthstones, or lumps of salt break when thrown?}}
 ===SLASH'EM===
-[[SLASH'EM]] introduces two additional gray stone types: [[whetstone]]s and [[healthstone]]s. Any cursed gray stone that isn't a loadstone must be a healthstone, unless it came from a bones pile. Price identification is also useful: the [[whetstone]]'s base price is 45zm, and the [[healthstone]]'s is 60zm.
+[[SLASH'EM]] introduces two additional gray stone types: [[whetstone]]s and [[healthstone]]s. Any cursed gray stone that isn't a loadstone must be a healthstone, unless it came from a bones pile. Price identification is also useful: the whetstone's base price is 45zm, and the healthstone's is 60zm.
 ===SporkHack===
-[[SporkHack]] introduces the [[salt chunk]]. Additionally, rubbing a flint stone with a metal object will strike sparks, scaring some monsters, and identifying the stone.
+[[SporkHack]] introduces the [[salt chunk]]. Additionally, rubbing a flint stone with a metal object will strike sparks, scaring some monsters and identifying the stone.
 {{nethack-361|offset=1}}
 {{slashem-7E7}}
 [[Category:Gems]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-A '''gray stone''' is either a [[flint stone]], a [[loadstone]], a [[touchstone]], or a [[luckstone]]. Touchstones and luckstones are usually beneficial, and loadstones are usually harmful; flint stones are mundane. Distinguishing the four types is not hard, but to do so requires some tricks.
+A '''gray stone''' is one of:
 All gray stones except [[curse]]d loadstones can be thrown or slung. Flint stones may break when you do this (like [[arrow]]s and some other [[projectile]]s), but luckstones, touchstones, and loadstones can be thrown as many times as you want.
@@ Line 9: / Line 15: @@
 If an unidentified gray stone is in a container, use [[Tip|#tip]] rather than [[Loot|#loot]] to remove the stone. With some rare exceptions described below, the [[loadstone]] can then be distinguished by attempting to kick it; the loadstone will not move and produce a "Thump!" instead. Don't worry about losing the stone&mdash;only flint projectiles can disappear.
-If the stone is greased, on ice, or in air (Astral Plane), and you are strong enough, it may move slightly. In that case, kick any non-fragile, light object (e.g. scroll, dart, arrow), and check if it moves further than the gray stone.
+If the stone is greased, on ice, or in air (on the [[Plane of Air]]), and you are strong enough, it may move slightly. In that case, kick any non-fragile, light object (e.g. scroll, dart, arrow), and check if it moves further than the gray stone.
 If your strength is 3, and you are neither Samurai nor Monk nor wearing kicking boots, all objects will produce "Thump!", so this method doesn't work.  Wait till your strength becomes at least 4.
@@ Line 38: / Line 44: @@
 ==Variants==
-{{stub|Do whetstones, healthstones, or lumps of salt break when thrown?}}
+{{todo|Do whetstones, healthstones, or lumps of salt break when thrown?}}
 ===SLASH'EM===
 [[SLASH'EM]] introduces two additional gray stone types: [[whetstone]]s and [[healthstone]]s. Any cursed gray stone that isn't a loadstone must be a healthstone, unless it came from a bones pile. Price identification is also useful: the [[whetstone]]'s base price is 45zm, and the [[healthstone]]'s is 60zm.

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 If an unidentified gray stone is in a container, use [[Tip|#tip]] rather than [[Loot|#loot]] to remove the stone. With some rare exceptions described below, the [[loadstone]] can then be distinguished by attempting to kick it; the loadstone will not move and produce a "Thump!" instead. Don't worry about losing the stone&mdash;only flint projectiles can disappear.
-If the stone is greased, on ice, or in air (Astral Plane), and you are strong enough, it may move some. In that case, kick any non-fragile, light object (e.g. scroll, dart, arrow), and check if it moves longer than the gray stone.
+If the stone is greased, on ice, or in air (Astral Plane), and you are strong enough, it may move slightly. In that case, kick any non-fragile, light object (e.g. scroll, dart, arrow), and check if it moves further than the gray stone.
-If your strength is 3, and you are neither Samurai or Monk nor wearing kicking boots, all objects will produce "Thump!", so this method doesn't work.  Wait till your strength becomes at least 4.
+If your strength is 3, and you are neither Samurai nor Monk nor wearing kicking boots, all objects will produce "Thump!", so this method doesn't work.  Wait till your strength becomes at least 4.
-If your strength is 22 or more, the loadstone may move in some circumstances, but not more than 2 squares, while any other gray stone will move at least 10 squares.  Alternatively, remove the stuff providing excessive strength (gauntlets of power, rings of strength) before kicking.
+If your strength is 22 or more, the loadstone may move in some circumstances, but not more than 2 squares, while any other gray stone will move at least 10 squares.  Alternatively, remove items providing excessive strength (gauntlets of power, rings of strength) before kicking.
-All loadstones out of containers, and 10/11 of loadstones in containers, are generated cursed. If, however, the loadstone is not cursed, and you can see it as a Priest, it is safe to pick it up, as they autocurse when dropped.  Similarly, it is safe to pick up a loadstone if it was cancelled.
+All loadstones out of containers, and 10/11 of loadstones in containers, are generated cursed. If, however, you are a Priest and can see a gray stone is not cursed, it is safe to pick it up, as loadstones autocurse when dropped.  Similarly, it is safe to pick up a loadstone if it was cancelled.
 === Other stones ===

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 ==Identification==
-If an unidentified gray stone is in a container, use [[Tip|#tip]] rather than [[Loot|#loot]] to remove the stone. The [[loadstone]] can then be distinguished by attempting to kick it; unless your character is very [[strength|strong]], [[polymorph]]ed into a [[sasquatch]] or another very strong monster, or wearing [[kicking boots]], the loadstone will not move and produce a "Thump!" instead. Don't worry about losing the stone&mdash;only flint projectiles can disappear. Alternatively, you can simply curse-test the stone on the ground, either by [[Curse-testing#Pet_testing|pet testing]] or by being a [[priest]]. If the stone is [[BUC#Noncursed|noncursed]] it is safe to pick up, since loadstones auto-curse only when they are dropped. If you pick up a loadstone, #name it so that you'll recognize another one when you see it.
 Rubbing an iron item on a touchstone produces its signature "[[scritch, scritch]]", which indirectly identifies it. If you rub a gem on a blessed touchstone, both the gem and the touchstone will automatically be identified. Gray stones count as gems in this context.
@@ Line 15: / Line 28: @@
 ===Price identification===
 Gray stones can be distinguished by [[price identification]]: the base price of a luckstone is 60 zorkmids, a touchstone is 45 zorkmids, and a flint stone or loadstone is 1 zorkmid.
 ===Exploit===
 In [[NetHack 3.4.3]], a somewhat dubious way of distinguishing the difference between flint stones from luckstones is to use the [[naming artifacts|artifact naming trick]] by attempting to [[name]] (not [[call]]) them "[[The Heart of Ahriman]]". If the stone is a luckstone, your hand will slip as it is not possible to name the base item of an [[artifact]] after its artifact.

@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 ===Sporkhack===
-* [[lump of salt]]
+* [[salt chunk]]
 ==Identification==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Gray stones are a class of items, of which in vanilla NetHack 3/4s are normally interesting, and 2/4 are almost always beneficial. The individual types are not hard to distinguish, but to do so requires some tricks.
+Gray stones are a class of items, of which in vanilla NetHack three are normally interesting, and two are almost always beneficial. The individual types are not hard to distinguish, but to do so requires some tricks.
 Gray stones can be thrown or slung, [[flint stone]]s may break when you do this (like [[arrow]]s and some other [[projectile]]s), but [[luckstone]]s, [[touchstone]]s, and [[loadstone]]s can be thrown as many times as you want.
@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
-{{nethack-343|offset=1}}
+{{nethack-361|offset=1}}
 {{slashem-7E7}}
 [[Category:Gems]]