Helm of opposite alignment - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: /* Variants */ dnh playermons

2026-07-12T22:20:13Z

‎Variants: dnh playermons

Umbire the Phantom: template

2026-07-10T13:33:14Z

template

Umbire the Phantom: correction, playermons

2026-07-09T17:55:15Z

correction, playermons

Umbire the Phantom: /* Description */ word choice

2026-07-09T17:37:41Z

‎Description: word choice

Umbire the Phantom: /* dNetHack */ forgot Nitocris

2026-07-09T17:24:54Z

‎dNetHack: forgot Nitocris

Umbire the Phantom: /* dNetHack */ arthur/neferet

2026-07-09T17:21:37Z

‎dNetHack: arthur/neferet

Umbire the Phantom: missed a ref

2026-07-09T16:53:29Z

missed a ref

Umbire the Phantom: /* EvilHack */ pothole

2026-07-09T16:52:36Z

‎EvilHack: pothole

Umbire the Phantom: mostly variant pass to top it all off

2026-07-09T16:50:48Z

mostly variant pass to top it all off

Umbire the Phantom: cite offering while confused

2026-07-09T16:26:11Z

cite offering while confused

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:20, 12 July 2026
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	If the helm of opposite alignment is randomized to a [[Band (helm)\|band]], it will appear as a "'''tiara of treachery'''"—in a game where this is the case, [[King Arthur]], [[Neferet the Green]] and [[Nitocris]] will be given [[helms of brilliance]] instead of bands.		If the helm of opposite alignment is randomized to a [[Band (helm)\|band]], it will appear as a "'''tiara of treachery'''"—in a game where this is the case, [[King Arthur]], [[Neferet the Green]] and [[Nitocris]] will be given [[helms of brilliance]] instead of bands.
		+
		+	[[Player monster (dNetHack)\|Player monsters]] generated on the Astral Plane have an effective {{frac\|7\|32}} chance of being generated with a helm of opposite alignment as their initial helm before role-based replacements.

	===FIQHack===		===FIQHack===

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
    |slot=helm
    |ac=1
-   |special=<ul><li>[[autocurse]]s</li><li>opposite alignment</li></ul>
+   |special=<ul><li>[[autocurse]]s</li><li>converts hero to<br/>opposite alignment</li></ul>
    |cost=50
    |weight=50

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 ==Generation==
-Helms of opposite alignment make up {{frac|3|500}} (0.6%) of all armor that is randomly generated on the ground, in general [[shop]]s or as [[death drop]]s. Used armor dealerships and antique weapon outlets can also stock helms of opposite alignment.
+Helms of opposite alignment make up {{frac|100}} (1%) of all armor that is randomly generated on the ground, in general [[shop]]s or as [[death drop]]s. Used armor dealerships and antique weapon outlets can also stock helms of opposite alignment.
 A randomly-generated helm of opposite alignment has a 90.45% chance of being [[cursed]] and possibly negatively [[Enchantment|enchanted]], a 1.45% chance of being blessed and possibly positively enchanted, and a 8.1% chance of being uncursed.{{refsrc|src/mkobj.c|1086-L1097|nethack=5.0.0}}
 ==Description==

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 Attempting to wear the helm of opposite alignment while in the hero's [[Quest]] branch will always fail, with a specific message depending on if they have permanently converted their alignment or not, and auto-identify the helm{{refsrc|src/do_wear.c|2228-L2237|nethack=5.0.0}}&mdash;this will still remove any divine protection, but does not affect the hero's alignment record.
-If the hero's [[god]] was angry prior to wearing the helm, their "new" god will retain the previous god's anger status. Gods will not consider a worn cursed helm of opposite alignment as a [[trouble]], and will not uncurse a worn helm of opposite alignment in order to prevent switching allegiance to a different god.{{refsrc|src/pray.c|313-L317|nethack=5.0.0}}{{refsrc|src/pray.c|1293-L1295|nethack=5.0.0}} A player that [[ascend]]s while the hero is wearing a helm of opposite alignment will cut the player's final [[score]] by {{frac|3}}.
+If the hero's [[deity]] was angry prior to wearing the helm, their "new" deity will retain the previous one's anger status. The gods will not consider a worn cursed helm of opposite alignment as a [[trouble]], and will not uncurse a worn helm of opposite alignment in order to prevent the hero from switching allegiance to a different one.{{refsrc|src/pray.c|313-L317|nethack=5.0.0}}{{refsrc|src/pray.c|1293-L1295|nethack=5.0.0}} A player that [[ascend]]s while the hero is wearing a helm of opposite alignment will cut the player's final [[score]] by {{frac|3}}.
-Monsters can wear this helm, which will cause it to autocurse as it does for the hero but does not change their alignment{{refsrc|src/worn.c|908-L910|nethack=5.0.0}}&mdash;[[aligned priest]]s and [[minion]]s, whose alignments are linked to their god, will never put one on.{{refsrc|src/worn.c|862-L867|nethack=5.0.0}}
+Monsters can wear this helm, which will cause it to autocurse as it does for the hero but does not change their alignment{{refsrc|src/worn.c|908-L910|nethack=5.0.0}}&mdash;[[aligned cleric]]s, [[high cleric]]s and [[minion]]s will never put one on, since their alignments are linked to the deity they serve.{{refsrc|src/worn.c|862-L867|nethack=5.0.0}}
 ==Strategy==

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 In [[dNetHack]], [[notdNetHack]] and [[notnotdNetHack]], the helm of opposite alignment functions similarly to its behavior in NetHack 3.4.3. It grants 1 base AC and 1 base [[DR]] while worn, changes the hero's alignment and autocurses upon wearing it, and its base weight is reduced to 30 [[aum]].
-If the helm of opposite alignment is randomized to a [[Band (helm)|band]], it will appear as a "'''tiara of treachery'''"&mdash;in a game where this is the case, [[King Arthur]] and [[Neferet the Green]] will be given [[helms of brilliance]] instead of bands.
+If the helm of opposite alignment is randomized to a [[Band (helm)|band]], it will appear as a "'''tiara of treachery'''"&mdash;in a game where this is the case, [[King Arthur]], [[Neferet the Green]] and [[Nitocris]] will be given [[helms of brilliance]] instead of bands.
 ===FIQHack===

@@ Line 71: / Line 71: @@
 ===dNetHack===
-In [[dNetHack]], [[notdNetHack]] and [[notnotdNetHack]], the helm of opposite alignment functions similarly to its behavior in NetHack 3.4.3. It grants 1 base AC and 1 base [[DR]] while worn, changes the hero's alignment and autocurses upon wearing it, and its base weight is reduced to 30 [[aum]]. If randomized to a [[Band (helm)|band]], it will appear as a "'''tiara of treachery'''".
+In [[dNetHack]], [[notdNetHack]] and [[notnotdNetHack]], the helm of opposite alignment functions similarly to its behavior in NetHack 3.4.3. It grants 1 base AC and 1 base [[DR]] while worn, changes the hero's alignment and autocurses upon wearing it, and its base weight is reduced to 30 [[aum]].
 ===FIQHack===

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 * In addition to not uncursing a worn helm of opposite alignment, a hero's god will never gift the helm as a sacrifice gift.
 * [[Knight/EvilHack|Knights]] cannot use the worn helm to obtain [[Excalibur]] (which can only be obtained by dipping if the hero is a lawful Knight) or [[Dirge (EvilHack)|Dirge]] (which can only be obtained when a chaotic Knight performs same-race sacrifice while wielding a compatible long sword item).
-* Infidels that wear a helm of opposite alignment are always converted to lawful, as they are typically unaligned. This allows them to make holy water while wearing the helm.
+* [[Infidel]]s that wear a helm of opposite alignment are always converted to lawful, as they are typically unaligned. This allows them to make holy water while wearing the helm.
 * An [[Aasimar (starting race)|aasimar]] hero that puts on a helm of opposite alignment will cause their deity to intervene before the alignment change occurs, destroying the helm in an explosion that deals 2d12 [[physical damage]] and leaves them stunned for several turns. This incurs an alignment abuse penalty of -3.
 * Attempting to offer the Amulet to a different deity while using a helm of opposite alignment has a {{frac|3}} chance of the hero's original god noticing the deception, incurring many severe penalties: the original god is angered, a &minus;5 penalty to alignment and [[luck]] is applied, and the helm is destroyed. Successfully ascending while converted to a different alignment using the helm will be treated as an ascension "in dishonor", with a {{frac|3}} score reduction; ascending while using the helm to convert ''back'' to the character's starting alignment grants a 1.5x score bonus, compared to the 2x bonus obtained from remaining loyal.

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 {{message|Your mind oscillates <briefly/wildly>.|You wore a helm of opposite alignment and changed your alignment, identifying the helm&mdash;the word "wildly" is used if the hero is [[hallucinating]].{{refsrc|src/attrib.c|1345|nethack=5.0.0}}}}
 {{message|Your mind is <back in sync with your body/much of a muchness>.|You took off a helm of opposite alignment and changed back to your previous alignment, with the latter phrasing used if the hero is hallucinating.{{refsrc|src/attrib.c|1352-L1356|nethack=5.0.0}}}}
-{{message|You narrowly avoid losing all chance at your goal.|As above while in your Quest branch, which prevents the hero wearing the helm.{{refsrc|src/do_wear.c|2231|nethack=5.0.0}}}}
+{{message|You narrowly avoid losing all chance at your goal.|You attempted to wear the helm while in your Quest branch, which prevents the action being completed.{{refsrc|src/do_wear.c|2231|nethack=5.0.0}}}}
 {{message|You are suddenly overcome with shame and change your mind.|As above, while in the Quest branch and already perma-converted.{{refsrc|src/do_wear.c|2233|nethack=5.0.0}}}}
 ==Variants==
 ===SLASH'EM===
 In [[SLASH'EM]], the helm of opposite alignment functions as it does in NetHack 3.4.3.
-A chaotic or neutral hero can take advantage of the helm of opposite alignment to get tamed lawful [[minion]]s from sacrifice and prayer - including [[ki-rin]]s, [[Archon]]s, [[Planetar]]s, and [[Solar]]s.
+A chaotic or neutral hero can take advantage of the helm of opposite alignment to get tamed lawful [[minion]]s such as [[ki-rin]]s, [[Archon]]s, [[Planetar]]s, and [[Solar]]s from sacrifice and prayer.
 ===SporkHack===
-In [[SporkHack]], wearing a helm of opposite alignment halves the hero's alignment record and inverts it, e.g. if their alignment record was positive at the time of wearing, it becomes negative, and a negative alignment record becomes positive; taking off a worn helm of opposite alignment also inverts the hero's alignment record. For example, if you have an alignment record of 20 and wear a helm of opposite alignment, then your alignment record becomes -10; if you uncurse or destroy the helm immediately after, your alignment record then becomes 10.
+In [[SporkHack]], wearing a helm of opposite alignment halves the hero's alignment record and inverts it, e.g. if their alignment record was positive at the time of wearing, it becomes negative, and a negative alignment record becomes positive; taking off a worn helm of opposite alignment also inverts the hero's alignment record. For example, if a hero has an alignment record of 20 and wears a helm of opposite alignment, then their alignment record becomes -10, and if they uncurse or destroy the helm immediately after, their alignment record then becomes 10.
-As a result, using a helm of opposite alignment to ascend carries a significant risk in terms of score: if your alignment record is not positive after offering the [[Amulet of Yendor]] (which boosts your alignment record by 10), you are denied the status of demigod(ess) and forced to escape in celestial disgrace.
+As a result, using a helm of opposite alignment to ascend carries a significant risk in terms of score: if the hero's alignment record is not positive after offering the [[Amulet of Yendor]] (which raises alignment record by 10), they are denied the status of demigod(ess) and forced to escape in celestial disgrace.
 ===UnNetHack===
-In [[UnNetHack]], a cursed -2 helm of opposite alignment is generated on the up [[stair]] of [[Asmodeus' Lair (UnNetHack)|Asmodeus' Lair]] at level creation.
+In [[UnNetHack]], the helm of opposite alignment functions as it does in NetHack 3.4.3.
 ===dNetHack===
@@ Line 73: / Line 77: @@
 ===xNetHack===
-In [[xNetHack]], ascending using a helm of opposite alignment will always result in a dishonorable ascension.
+In [[xNetHack]], the helm of opposite alignment mostly functions as it does in NetHack 5.0.0, but ascending with a worn a helm of opposite alignment will always result in a dishonorable ascension.
 ===SpliceHack===
-In [[SpliceHack]], a cursed -2 helm of opposite alignment is generated on the up [[stair]] of [[Asmodeus' Lair (SpliceHack)|Asmodeus' Lair]] at level creation, as in UnNetHack.
+In [[SpliceHack]],, the helm of opposite alignment functions as it does in versions of ''NetHack'' prior to 5.0.0.
 ===EvilHack===
-In [[EvilHack]], it is now possible to convert alignment while already converted through other means, and several mechanics related to the helm of opposite alignment are also altered:
+In [[EvilHack]], it is possible to convert alignment while already converted through other means, and several mechanics related to the helm of opposite alignment are also altered:
 * In addition to not uncursing a worn helm of opposite alignment, a hero's god will never gift the helm as a sacrifice gift.
-* [[Knight/EvilHack|Knights]] cannot use the worn helm to obtain [[Excalibur]], which can only be obtained by dipping if the hero is a lawful Knight, or [[Dirge (EvilHack)|Dirge]], which can only be obtained when a chaotic Knight performs same-race sacrifice while wielding a compatible long sword item.
+* [[Knight/EvilHack|Knights]] cannot use the worn helm to obtain [[Excalibur]] (which can only be obtained by dipping if the hero is a lawful Knight) or [[Dirge (EvilHack)|Dirge]] (which can only be obtained when a chaotic Knight performs same-race sacrifice while wielding a compatible long sword item).
 * Infidels that wear a helm of opposite alignment are always converted to lawful, as they are typically unaligned. This allows them to make holy water while wearing the helm.
 * Attempting to offer the Amulet to a different deity while using a helm of opposite alignment has a {{frac|3}} chance of the hero's original god noticing the deception, incurring many severe penalties: the original god is angered, a &minus;5 penalty to alignment and [[luck]] is applied, and the helm is destroyed. Successfully ascending while converted to a different alignment using the helm will be treated as an ascension "in dishonor", with a {{frac|3}} score reduction; ascending while using the helm to convert ''back'' to the character's starting alignment grants a 1.5x score bonus, compared to the 2x bonus obtained from remaining loyal.

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 Helms of opposite alignment are among the many reasons that randomly use-testing unidentified helms is a [[bad idea]]&mdash;they also share the same base cost and [[weight]] as the useful [[helm of brilliance]] and [[helm of telepathy]]. However, most helms of opposite alignment will generate cursed and can usually be avoided with relative ease, especially through methods such as pet-testing. Even so, be sure to formally [[identify]] a suspected helm of opposite alignment as soon as possible: the 10% chance of one generating non-cursed can prove a nasty surprise for an early-game player, who usually lacks any forms of curse removal and will find [[prayer]] rendered unreliable&mdash;the erinys that can be summoned may result in their subsequent death as well.
-The helm of opposite alignment is not without some niche applications: for example, a chaotic hero may become lawful to safely traverse the [[Gnomish Mines]] in the early game, though this runs the risk of a tough fight with an erinys instead; the helm can also be used to obtain [[artifact]]s of other alignments, including [[dipping]] for [[Excalibur]]. One primary use of a helm of opposite alignment for the late game and end game stages is for lawful heroes to weaken the [[mysterious force]] during a [[speed ascension]], since chaotic heroes are not teleported by as many floors when using staircases and late-game heroes are often equipped enough to handle an erinys attack.
+The helm of opposite alignment is not without some niche applications: for example, a chaotic hero may become lawful to safely traverse the [[Gnomish Mines]] in the early game, though this runs the risk of a tough fight with an erinys instead. The helm can also be used to obtain [[artifact]]s of other alignments, including [[dipping]] for [[Excalibur]]. One primary use of a helm of opposite alignment for the late game and end game stages is for lawful heroes to weaken the [[mysterious force]] during a [[speed ascension]]&mdash;chaotic heroes are not teleported by as many floors when using staircases, and late-game heroes are often equipped enough to handle an erinys attack unless they are already in a rough situation.
-On the [[Astral Plane]], a hero willing to use the helm of opposite alignment will effectively have a {{frac|2|3}} chance of ascending on the first altar they find. However, the odds are lower for neutral heroes compared to other alignments, and the confusion from wearing the helm will prevent them from [[sacrificing]] on the [[high altar]]. The time it takes to cure the confusion can result in an erinys or another sufficiently-strong monster inflicting [[knockback]] that forces the hero off the altar as well: any summoned erinyes will also be made more dangerous depending on the amount alignment abuse the hero has committed to that point, including wearing the helm in the first place.
+On the [[Astral Plane]], a hero willing to use the helm of opposite alignment will effectively have a {{frac|2|3}} chance of ascending on the first altar they find. However, the odds are lower for neutral heroes compared to other alignments, and the confusion from wearing the helm will prevent them from [[sacrificing]] on the [[high altar]].{{refsrc|src/pray.c|1864-L1867|nethack=5.0.0}} The time it takes to cure the confusion can result in an erinys or another sufficiently-strong monster inflicting [[knockback]] that forces the hero off the altar as well&mdash;any summoned erinyes will also be more dangerous to deal with depending on the amount alignment abuse the hero has committed to that point, including wearing the helm in the first place.
 While [[pet]]s can wear the helm, it serves no useful purpose beyond [[AC]] since their actual alignment will not change, and almost any other helm will be more effective for them.