Magic marker - Revision history

Ardub23: Capitalization

2026-02-22T07:34:41Z

Capitalization

Umbire the Phantom: tweaks

2026-02-02T15:07:06Z

tweaks

Umbire the Phantom: follow-up

2026-02-01T20:02:31Z

follow-up

YourAdHereCZ: add commits to new novel behavior

2026-02-01T20:00:33Z

add commits to new novel behavior

Shadow255: /* Writing success chance */ Upcoming note did not include level of spells with skilled school level. --~~~~

2025-08-01T15:23:35Z

‎Writing success chance: Upcoming note did not include level of spells with skilled school level. --~~~~

Cathartes: /* Engraving */ less->fewer (charges are countable); don't use "lucky" per NetHackWiki:Style guide

2025-02-15T01:47:03Z

‎Engraving: less->fewer (charges are countable); don't use "lucky" per NetHackWiki:Style guide

Ion frigate: upgrading

2025-02-14T17:38:25Z

upgrading

Ion frigate: and speaking of usage, it seems that "generonym" itself isn't really the standard, even though it's always what i've heard them called

2025-02-14T17:33:45Z

and speaking of usage, it seems that "generonym" itself isn't really the standard, even though it's always what i've heard them called

Ion frigate: i feel like it specifically is a generonym for thick markers meant to write on paper (as opposed to whiteboards), but apart from NetHack and my own experience, I don't have a source for that exact usage

2025-02-14T17:30:14Z

i feel like it specifically is a generonym for thick markers meant to write on paper (as opposed to whiteboards), but apart from NetHack and my own experience, I don't have a source for that exact usage

Ion frigate: lede: make clear the primary use is writing scrolls/spellbooks, not engravings

2025-02-14T17:12:56Z

lede: make clear the primary use is writing scrolls/spellbooks, not engravings

@@ Line 214: / Line 214: @@
 You will always successfully write a scroll or spellbook if your marker has enough ink and the scroll or spellbook type is formally known to you. You can check whether it is known if the actual type (in addition to the scroll label or spellbook color) is shown in your [[discoveries]] list. Merely having it type-[[name]]d does not count, even if you have called it the correct name. However, you can use the discoveries list to see the label or color, then enter that at the prompt instead, which also guarantees success.
-If the scroll or spellbook type is currently unknown to you, your chance of success depends on your Luck and whether you are a wizard.{{refsrc|write.c|201}} Regardless of whether or not you succeed or fail, you will still use an appropriate amount of ink for that scroll or spellbook.{{refsrc|write.c|175}}{{refsrc|write.c|198|comment=Ink cost calculated before logic of whether item is known}}
+If the scroll or spellbook type is currently unknown to you, your chance of success depends on your [[luck]] and whether you are a Wizard.{{refsrc|write.c|201}} Regardless of whether or not you succeed or fail, you will still use an appropriate amount of ink for that scroll or spellbook.{{refsrc|write.c|175}}{{refsrc|write.c|198|comment=Ink cost calculated before logic of whether item is known}}
 {|class="prettytable"
@@ Line 257: / Line 257: @@
 Spellbooks cannot be written while blind ("Your magic marker can't create braille text").
-You may attempt to write a scroll while blind, but this is subject to fail [[rnl|depending on your luck]], with the message "You fail to write the scroll correctly and it disappears." You have the same chance of successfully writing the scroll as a non-blind Wizard does to write an unknown scroll, so maximizing your Luck will give you a high chance of success. The game tests this after checking whether you failed to write an unknown scroll, so it is doubly hard to write an unknown scroll while blind.
+You may attempt to write a scroll while blind, but this is subject to fail [[rnl|depending on your luck]], with the message "You fail to write the scroll correctly and it disappears." You have the same chance of successfully writing the scroll as a non-blind Wizard does to write an unknown scroll, so maximizing your luck will give you a high chance of success. The game tests this after checking whether you failed to write an unknown scroll, so it is doubly hard to write an unknown scroll while blind.
 ==Strategy==
-The magic marker is a highly sought-after item, especially for [[Wizard]]s; with [[Luck]], you have a good chance of writing scrolls and spellbooks that you have not even identified yet. Magic markers also have several other applicable strategies regarding their use.
+The magic marker is a highly sought-after item, especially for [[Wizard]]s; with [[luck]], you have a good chance of writing scrolls and spellbooks that you have not even identified yet. Magic markers also have several other applicable strategies regarding their use.
 ===Engraving===
@@ Line 269: / Line 269: @@
 ===Writing===
-Provided your [[Luck]] is maximized, it may be worthwhile to attempt to write unknown scrolls or spellbooks even if you are a non-[[Wizard]], depending on the number of charges on your magic marker. For example, if you have a magic marker with a high number of charges, you are very likely to be able to write a scroll of charging and save a [[wish]] on the [[Castle]] [[wand of wishing|wand]]. It is also useful to write a low-level unknown spellbook that can teach a powerful utility or offensive spell, such as the [[spellbook of sleep]] or [[spellbook of jumping]]; the [[spellbook of magic missile]] is also a less easy possibility.
+Provided your [[luck]] is maximized, it may be worthwhile to attempt to write unknown scrolls or spellbooks even if you are a non-[[Wizard]], depending on the number of charges on your magic marker. For example, if you have a magic marker with a high number of charges, you are very likely to be able to write a scroll of charging and save a [[wish]] on the [[Castle]] [[wand of wishing|wand]]. It is also useful to write a low-level unknown spellbook that can teach a powerful utility or offensive spell, such as the [[spellbook of sleep]] or [[spellbook of jumping]]; the [[spellbook of magic missile]] is also a less easy possibility.
-Assuming maximized Luck, the following table gives approximate probabilities of successfully writing at least one of the specified scrolls or spellbooks, attempting repeatedly until the item is written or the marker goes dry, as a non-[[Wizard]], given an initial number of magic marker charges:
+Assuming maximized luck, the following table gives approximate probabilities of successfully writing at least one of the specified scrolls or spellbooks, attempting repeatedly until the item is written or the marker goes dry, as a non-[[Wizard]], given an initial number of magic marker charges:
 {|class="prettytable"
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 The ink 8 scrolls include [[scroll of gold detection|gold detection]] and [[scroll of magic mapping|magic mapping]], and can almost certainly be written unless your marker is nearly dry.
-If you have a source of charging and your marker has not been recharged, you have 50 more charges to attempt to write; therefore (for example) a [[Knight]] gunning for a [[spellbook of magic missile]] starting with a (0:40) magic marker, and willing to spend the entire marker if necessary, has about an 88% chance of obtaining it in total with maxed Luck. (Specifically, it is about a 60% chance of getting it without recharging, plus 70% times 40% probability that they get it after recharging. This is not quite the same probability as a marker with 90 charges, since typically a few leftover charges are "wasted" after the last attempt before recharging.)
+If you have a source of charging and your marker has not been recharged, you have 50 more charges to attempt to write; therefore (for example) a [[Knight]] gunning for a [[spellbook of magic missile]] starting with a (0:40) magic marker, and willing to spend the entire marker if necessary, has about an 88% chance of obtaining it in total with maxed luck. (Specifically, it is about a 60% chance of getting it without recharging, plus 70% times 40% probability that they get it after recharging. This is not quite the same probability as a marker with 90 charges, since typically a few leftover charges are "wasted" after the last attempt before recharging.)
 ==History==
@@ Line 540: / Line 540: @@
 ===dNetHack===
-In [[dNetHack]], wizards can no longer start the game with a magic marker. The ruined library at the top of the [[Lost Cities]] branch of the [[Neutral Quest (dNetHack)|Neutral Quest]] always contains a magic marker.
+In [[dNetHack]], Wizards can no longer start the game with a magic marker. The ruined library at the top of the [[Lost Cities]] branch of the [[Neutral Quest (dNetHack)|Neutral Quest]] always contains a magic marker.
 Markers subjected to water damage from Lethe water, e.g. from falling into Lethe waters or being hit by a [[rust trap]] with Lethe water, lose several charges.

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 Magic markers have a low probability of being created by [[polypiling]] [[Magical items#magical tools|magical tools]]; it is also possible to create them from non-magical tools, but the probability of this occurring is quite small (roughly a {{frac|20}} chance versus {{frac|9|20}} for magical tools).
-{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|As of {{commit|9d910773d0a5421a259a228f638f87a04ef2d7a0}}, magic markers generated in starting inventory have only 19&ndash;23 charges.  Initial inventory chances are also changed: 13.5% of Archeologists, 20% of Priests, 25% of Monks, 4.42368% of Tourists, and all Wizards now start with a magic marker.}}
+{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Per {{commit|9d910773d0a5421a259a228f638f87a04ef2d7a0}}, magic markers generated in a hero's starting inventory will have 19&ndash;23 charges. The odds of a marker generating this way are also changed: all Wizards start with a magic marker, along with 13.5% of Archeologists, 20% of Priests, 25% of Monks, and 4.42368% of Tourists.}}
 ==Description==
@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 Similarly, you may write any spellbook by entering the full name ("spellbook of detect food"), the short form ("detect food"), or the appearance ("indigo spellbook"). Unlike with scrolls, you may not copy a spellbook by appearance unless you have formally identified the spellbook. Attempting to write a [[novel]] will produce a random novel; attempting to write the [[Book of the Dead]] will always fail.
-{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|As of {{commit|a1bf4c2786be13fe038edb8b114a201671e14c16}}, novels can no longer be written with a magic marker, and as of {{commit|87749392b0f8f3194ffb62bcf7215a932e0b86cb}}, the [[blank spellbook]] selected to write a novel on has a {{frac|3}} chance of being destroyed in the attempt.}}
+{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Per {{commit|a1bf4c2786be13fe038edb8b114a201671e14c16}}, novels can no longer be written with a magic marker, and per {{commit|87749392b0f8f3194ffb62bcf7215a932e0b86cb}}, the [[blank spellbook]] selected to write a novel on has a {{frac|3}} chance of being destroyed in the attempt.}}
 ===Beatitude===

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
   |material=plastic
 }}
 A '''magic marker''' is a type of [[magical tool]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]''. Its primary use is to create magic [[scroll]]s and [[spellbook]]s, and it can also be used to create semi-permanent [[engraving]]s.
@@ Line 36: / Line 35: @@
 Similarly, you may write any spellbook by entering the full name ("spellbook of detect food"), the short form ("detect food"), or the appearance ("indigo spellbook"). Unlike with scrolls, you may not copy a spellbook by appearance unless you have formally identified the spellbook. Attempting to write a [[novel]] will produce a random novel; attempting to write the [[Book of the Dead]] will always fail.
-{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|As of {{commit|a1bf4c2786be13fe038edb8b114a201671e14c16}}, novels can no longer be written with a magic marker, and as of {{commit|87749392b0f8f3194ffb62bcf7215a932e0b86cb}}, the [[blank spellbook]] you select to write a novel on has a {{frac|1|3}} chance of being destroyed in the attempt.}}
+{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|As of {{commit|a1bf4c2786be13fe038edb8b114a201671e14c16}}, novels can no longer be written with a magic marker, and as of {{commit|87749392b0f8f3194ffb62bcf7215a932e0b86cb}}, the [[blank spellbook]] selected to write a novel on has a {{frac|3}} chance of being destroyed in the attempt.}}
 ===Beatitude===

@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 Similarly, you may write any spellbook by entering the full name ("spellbook of detect food"), the short form ("detect food"), or the appearance ("indigo spellbook"). Unlike with scrolls, you may not copy a spellbook by appearance unless you have formally identified the spellbook. Attempting to write a [[novel]] will produce a random novel; attempting to write the [[Book of the Dead]] will always fail.
-{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Novels can no longer be written with a magic marker, and the [[blank spellbook]] you select to write on may be destroyed in the attempt.}}
+{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|As of {{commit|a1bf4c2786be13fe038edb8b114a201671e14c16}}, novels can no longer be written with a magic marker, and as of {{commit|87749392b0f8f3194ffb62bcf7215a932e0b86cb}}, the [[blank spellbook]] you select to write a novel on has a {{frac|1|3}} chance of being destroyed in the attempt.}}
 ===Beatitude===

@@ Line 253: / Line 253: @@
 {{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|If you know a spell without having learned its spellbook (e.g. divine knowledge of the spell), you will be able to write the spellbook if your memory of the spell is reasonably fresh, and have a decreasing chance of writing it if it's going stale.
-Per {{commit|319dfbdaa3e608e88e39e0a296a9c41febfc1a59}}, Wizards no longer have a bonus to writing unknown spellbooks, but can instead learn spellbook identities by increasing their skill level in a specific school of magic: Basic skill level in a school of magic grants knowledge of spells up to level 2 in that skillset, while skilled grants knowledge of spells up to level, and Expert skill grants knowledge of spells up to level 7 (i.e. all spells in that school).}}
+Per {{commit|319dfbdaa3e608e88e39e0a296a9c41febfc1a59}}, Wizards no longer have a bonus to writing unknown spellbooks, but can instead learn spellbook identities by increasing their skill level in a specific school of magic: Basic skill level in a school of magic grants knowledge of spells up to level 2 in that skillset, while skilled grants knowledge of spells up to level 4, and Expert skill grants knowledge of spells up to level 7 (i.e. all spells in that school).}}
 ===Writing while blind===

@@ Line 264: / Line 264: @@
 ===Engraving===
-Engraving [[Elbereth]] with a magic marker is generally viewed as a waste of charges, since the same effect can be achieved using an [[athame]] or a [[wand of digging]]. However, if these or other similar methods are unavailable, it is more than worth it to use the marker, since you will prefer being alive with four less charges to dying with an unused marker. This scenario tends to occur most often with a character that is lucky enough to start the game with one.
+Engraving [[Elbereth]] with a magic marker is generally viewed as a waste of charges, since the same effect can be achieved using an [[athame]] or a [[wand of digging]]. However, if these or other similar methods are unavailable, it is more than worth it to use the marker, since you will prefer being alive with four fewer charges to dying with an unused marker. This scenario tends to occur most often with a character that is fortunate enough to start the game with one.
 ===Charging===

@@ Line 528: / Line 528: @@
 |}
 {{clear}}
 ===GruntHack===

@@ Line 336: / Line 336: @@
 ==Origin==
 {{wikipedia|Magic marker}}
-The Magic Marker is a popular brand of marker pen created by Sidney Rosenthal in 1953, and consists of a glass or plastic tube of ink with a wick (or nib) made of felt which is used to transfer the ink to the writing surface. The upper part of the marker also contains a cap to prevent the marker from drying out. [[Wiktionary:magic marker|The term]] has become something of a [[Wikipedia:Generic trademark|generonym]], although officially it is still held as a trademark of the Bic corporation.
+The Magic Marker is a popular brand of marker pen created by Sidney Rosenthal in 1953, and consists of a glass or plastic tube of ink with a wick (or nib) made of felt which is used to transfer the ink to the writing surface. The upper part of the marker also contains a cap to prevent the marker from drying out. [[Wiktionary:magic marker|The term]] has become something of a [[Wikipedia:Generic trademark|generic trademark]], although officially it is still held as a trademark of the Bic corporation.
 The magic marker of ''NetHack'' is based on a [[pun]], as its ink contains actual magic.

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 }}
-A '''magic marker''' is a type of [[magical tool]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]''. It can be used to write on various surfaces and can even create magic [[scroll]]s and [[spellbook]]s.
+A '''magic marker''' is a type of [[magical tool]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]''. Its primary use is to create magic [[scroll]]s and [[spellbook]]s, and it can also be used to create semi-permanent [[engraving]]s.
 ==Generation==