Phlebotomy kit - Revision history

Klepto: Shuffle and correct inconsistencies in the desciption sub-header section.

2026-01-19T22:03:47Z

Shuffle and correct inconsistencies in the desciption sub-header section.

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Umbire the Phantom: follow-up

2026-01-19T19:13:44Z

follow-up

Klepto: Match wording used in the smithing menu.

2026-01-19T15:22:43Z

Match wording used in the smithing menu.

Umbire the Phantom: ty riker

2026-01-18T23:02:28Z

ty riker

Umbire the Phantom: /* Strategy */ typo

2026-01-18T22:57:45Z

‎Strategy: typo

Umbire the Phantom: /* Strategy */ redirect

2026-01-18T22:56:20Z

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Umbire the Phantom: follow-up the discussion in ##nethack-variants

2026-01-18T22:48:39Z

follow-up the discussion in ##nethack-variants

Umbire the Phantom: follow-up after some consulting with klepto

2026-01-18T22:02:52Z

follow-up after some consulting with klepto

Umbire the Phantom: /* Origin */ bit of smithing

2026-01-18T21:49:18Z

‎Origin: bit of smithing

Umbire the Phantom: /* Description */ bold the first warning, diff. tweak

2026-01-18T21:39:55Z

‎Description: bold the first warning, diff. tweak

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 [[Altar]]s that are aligned to [[defilement]] (not counting altars in the [[Undead Hunter quest]] or any high altars) will have a phlebotomy kit generated on their square.
-[[Treesinger]]s are capable of making [[Smithing (dNetHack)|copies]] of phlebotomy kits that will be made of [[cloth]], which requires the [[hero]] to show them one&mdash;phlebotomy kits made this way will always be uncharged.
+[[Treesinger]]s are capable of [[Smithing (dNetHack)|making copies]] of phlebotomy kits if the [[hero]] shows them one&mdash;phlebotomy kits made this way will be made of [[cloth]] and will always be uncharged.
 ==Description==

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 [[Altar]]s that are aligned to [[defilement]] (not counting altars in the [[Undead Hunter quest]] or any high altars) will have a phlebotomy kit generated on their square.
-[[Treesinger]]s are capable of [[Smithing (dNetHack)|crafting]] phlebotomy kits that are made of [[cloth]], which requires the [[hero]] to show them the item&mdash;phlebotomy kits made this way will always be uncharged.
+[[Treesinger]]s are capable of making [[Smithing (dNetHack)|copies]] of phlebotomy kits that will be made of [[cloth]], which requires the [[hero]] to show them one&mdash;phlebotomy kits made this way will always be uncharged.
 ==Description==

@@ Line 39: / Line 39: @@
 A hero with a phlebotomy kit in their open inventory can proceed down the defilement [[Research (dNetHack)|research path]] if they have an active [[defilement glyph]] implanted: applying a phlebotomy kit with sufficient research in defilement will display the option to "exsanguinate yourself" (corresponding to the preservation research path), while a vampiric hero will also see the option to "distill your blood" (corresponding to the vampire defilement research path). Preservation research has 6 upgrades, while vampire defilement has 7, and both paths are linear&mdash;progression in either path counts towards making a "great breakthrough" and meeting the conditions for a [[Score|full-scoring]] [[ascension]], which requires a minimum of 6 upgrades total from either or both of the research paths.
-Selecting either option will advance the hero in their research and grant an appropriate upgrade while also reducing their current [[intelligence]] and [[wisdom]] scores by 1, which is intended to not be immediately regainable via [[restore ability]]&mdash;this latter behavior is currently bugged. Every third upgrade taken on the research path will also permanently reduce the maximum intelligence and wisdom possible for that character (e.g. from a worn [[helm of brilliance]]) by 1; this also stacks with reductions from [[parasitology]] research. A hypothetical hero that completes both defilement research paths will thus have their intelligence and wisdom maximums reduced by 4, producing a cap of 21 for each compared to the normal 25.
+Selecting either option will advance the hero in their research and grant an appropriate upgrade while also reducing their current and peak [[intelligence]] and [[wisdom]] scores by 1 (which is normal for [[abuse]] of [[attribute]]s in dNetHack compared to other variants). Every third upgrade taken on the research path will also permanently reduce the maximum intelligence and wisdom possible for that character (e.g. from a worn [[helm of brilliance]]) by 1; this also stacks with reductions from [[parasitology]] research. A hypothetical hero that completes both defilement research paths will thus have their intelligence and wisdom maximums reduced by 4, producing a cap of 21 for each compared to the normal 25.
 ==Strategy==

@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
 Undead Hunter heroes that reach experience level 8 and have a usable [[bag]] on hand, but have not found a [[tinning kit]] to produce blood with, will want to consider making as many potions of their blood as possible with the kit for long-term healing: this is because they are not guaranteed to have a means of replenishing potions lost to hazards such as [[Fire (element)|fire damage]], and sources of [[charging]] and additional phlebotomy kits may be quite sparse throughout the dungeon. Among the more reliable options, a [[hardware store]] or lighting store [[shopkeeper]] (e.g. in [[Minetown]] or [[User:Chris/dNetHack/dNethack Outlands#Gate Town|Gatetown]]) may offer [[charging]] among [[Shopkeeper services|their services]], and Undead Hunters will find additional phlebotomy kits accompanying any altars to defilement they encounter in the dungeon.
-The phlebotomy kit's greatest strength in the early game also proves its greatest handicap at higher [[level]]s: as the hero progresses and gains further experience levels, the experience drain becomes much more costly, and the hero may be able to surpass the healing properties of transfusions with [[alchemy]] to make [[potions of extra healing]] and {{! of|full healing}}. In regards to handling matters of intelligence and wisdom loss, binding the [[Spirits (dNetHack)|spirit]] [[Huginn and Muninn]] will set the hero's intelligence and wisdom to 25 for the duration of the binding.
+The phlebotomy kit's greatest strength in the early game also proves its greatest handicap at higher [[level]]s: as the hero progresses and gains further experience levels, the experience drain becomes much more costly, and the hero may be able to surpass the healing properties of transfusions with [[alchemy]] to make [[potions of extra healing]] and {{! of|full healing}}. In regards to handling matters of intelligence and wisdom loss, binding the [[Spirits (dNetHack)|spirit]] [[Huginn and Munnin]] will set the hero's intelligence and wisdom to 25 for the duration of the binding.
 ==Origin==

@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
 Undead Hunter heroes that reach experience level 8 and have a usable [[bag]] on hand, but have not found a [[tinning kit]] to produce blood with, will want to consider making as many potions of their blood as possible with the kit for long-term healing: this is because they are not guaranteed to have a means of replenishing potions lost to hazards such as [[Fire (element)|fire damage]], and sources of [[charging]] and additional phlebotomy kits may be quite sparse throughout the dungeon. Among the more reliable options, a [[hardware store]] or lighting store [[shopkeeper]] (e.g. in [[Minetown]] or [[User:Chris/dNetHack/dNethack Outlands#Gate Town|Gatetown]]) may offer [[charging]] among [[Shopkeeper services|their services]], and Undead Hunters will find additional phlebotomy kits accompanying any altars to defilement they encounter in the dungeon.
-The phlebotomy kit's greatest strength in the early game also proves its greatest handicap at higher [[level]]s: as the hero progresses and gains further experience levels, the experience drain becomes much more costly, and the hero may be able to surpass the healing properties of transfusions with [[alchemy]] to make [[potions of extra healing]] and {{! of|full healing}}. In regards to handling matters of intelligence and wisdom loss, binding the [[Spirits (dNetHack)|spirit]] [[User:Chris/dNetHack/dNethack Roles/Binder/Huginn and Muninn|Huginn and Muninn]] will set the hero's intelligence and wisdom to 25 for the duration of the binding.
+The phlebotomy kit's greatest strength in the early game also proves its greatest handicap at higher [[level]]s: as the hero progresses and gains further experience levels, the experience drain becomes much more costly, and the hero may be able to surpass the healing properties of transfusions with [[alchemy]] to make [[potions of extra healing]] and {{! of|full healing}}. In regards to handling matters of intelligence and wisdom loss, binding the [[Spirits (dNetHack)|spirit]] [[Huginn and Muninn]] will set the hero's intelligence and wisdom to 25 for the duration of the binding.
 ==Origin==

@@ Line 37: / Line 37: @@
 ===Research===
-For Undead Hunters, having a phlebotomy kit in their open inventory will allow progression in the defilement [[Research (dNetHack)|research path]] if the [[defilement glyph]] is slotted and active: an Undead Hunter that applies a phlebotomy kit with sufficient research in defilement will gain the option to "exsanguinate yourself" (corresponding to the preservation research path), while a vampiric Undead Hunter will also see the option to "distill your blood" (corresponding to the vampire defilement research path). Preservation research has 6 upgrades, while vampire defilement has 7, and both paths are linear&mdash;progression in either path counts towards making a "great breakthrough" and meeting the conditions for a [[Score|full-scoring]] [[ascension]], which requires a minimum of 6 upgrades total from either or both of the research paths.
+A hero with a phlebotomy kit in their open inventory can proceed down the defilement [[Research (dNetHack)|research path]] if they have an active [[defilement glyph]] implanted: applying a phlebotomy kit with sufficient research in defilement will display the option to "exsanguinate yourself" (corresponding to the preservation research path), while a vampiric hero will also see the option to "distill your blood" (corresponding to the vampire defilement research path). Preservation research has 6 upgrades, while vampire defilement has 7, and both paths are linear&mdash;progression in either path counts towards making a "great breakthrough" and meeting the conditions for a [[Score|full-scoring]] [[ascension]], which requires a minimum of 6 upgrades total from either or both of the research paths.
-Selecting either option will advance the Undead Hunter in their research and grant an appropriate upgrade while also reducing their current [[intelligence]] and [[wisdom]] scores by 1, which can be regained with a means of [[restore ability]] as normal&mdash;however, every third upgrade taken on the research path will permanently reduce the maximum intelligence and wisdom possible for that character (e.g. from a worn [[helm of brilliance]]) by 1; this also stacks with reductions from [[parasitology]] research. A hypothetical Undead Hunter that completes both defilement research paths will thus have their intelligence and wisdom maximums reduced by 4, producing a cap of 21 for each compared to the normal 25.
+Selecting either option will advance the hero in their research and grant an appropriate upgrade while also reducing their current [[intelligence]] and [[wisdom]] scores by 1, which can be regained with a means of [[restore ability]] as normal&mdash;however, every third upgrade taken on the research path will permanently reduce the maximum intelligence and wisdom possible for that character (e.g. from a worn [[helm of brilliance]]) by 1; this also stacks with reductions from [[parasitology]] research. A hypothetical Undead Hunter that completes both defilement research paths will thus have their intelligence and wisdom maximums reduced by 4, producing a cap of 21 for each compared to the normal 25.
 ==Strategy==
-Undead Hunters are the roles most likely to utilize phlebotomy kits, and will want to reserve their starting blood potions for use with their phlebotomy kits to replace emergency [[prayer]] when they are at low HP, since most of them will not be able to procure a more reliable healing source until far later in the game. In the early game, drawing blood always carries some risk unless performed in a safe environment such as [[Sokoban]], and drawing more than one potion at a time is very likely to result in sudden death. An Undead Hunter can use the kit to keep their experience level low for purposes such as [[protection racket]]s, though this means temporarily foregoing the intrinsic [[speed]] that they normally gain at XL 7.
+{{todo|Consider mentioning uses for other roles?}}
 Undead Hunter heroes that reach experience level 8 and have not found a [[tinning kit]] to produce blood with will want to consider exhausting their phlebotomy kit on making as many potions of their blood as possible for long-term healing, since they are not guaranteed to have a means of replenishing blood potions that are lost to hazards such as [[Fire (element)|fire damage]]. Both sources of [[charging]] and additional phlebotomy kits may be quite sparse throughout the dungeon: among the more reliable options, a [[hardware store]] or lighting store [[shopkeeper]] (e.g. in [[Minetown]] or [[User:Chris/dNetHack/dNethack Outlands#Gate Town|Gatetown]]) may offer [[charging]] among [[Shopkeeper services|their services]], and Undead Hunters will find additional phlebotomy kits accompanying any altars to defilement they encounter in the dungeon.
-The phlebotomy kit's greatest strength in the early game also proves its greatest handicap at higher [[level]]s: as the Undead Hunter progresses and gains further experience levels, the experience drain becomes much more costly, and the hero may be able to surpass the healing properties of transfusions with [[alchemy]] to make [[potions of extra healing]] and {{! of|full healing}}. In regards to handling matters of intelligence and wisdom loss, binding the [[Spirits (dNetHack)|spirit]] [[User:Chris/dNetHack/dNethack Roles/Binder/Huginn and Muninn|Huginn and Muninn]] will set the hero's intelligence and wisdom to 25 for the duration of the binding.
+The phlebotomy kit's greatest strength in the early game also proves its greatest handicap at higher [[level]]s: as the hero progresses and gains further experience levels, the experience drain becomes much more costly, and the hero may be able to surpass the healing properties of transfusions with [[alchemy]] to make [[potions of extra healing]] and {{! of|full healing}}. In regards to handling matters of intelligence and wisdom loss, binding the [[Spirits (dNetHack)|spirit]] [[User:Chris/dNetHack/dNethack Roles/Binder/Huginn and Muninn|Huginn and Muninn]] will set the hero's intelligence and wisdom to 25 for the duration of the binding.
 ==Origin==
 {{wikipedia|Phlebotomy}}
 {{wikipedia|Venipuncture}}
-Phlebotomy is the process of making a puncture in a vein, usually in the arm or hand, with a delivery tube (or [[Wikipedia:cannula|cannula]]) for the purpose of drawing blood. The procedure itself is known as a "venipuncture", which is also used for intravenous therapy&mdash;therapeutic phlebotomy is carried out in the treatment of some blood disorders. A person who performs a phlebotomy is called a phlebotomist, although most doctors, nurses, and other technicians can also carry out a phlebotomy. The phlebotomy kit of dNetHack is partly based on the large leather medical bags employed by Victorian-era general physicians making house calls, as well as doctors using the bag as a travel apothecary or medicine chest&mdash;the kit also evidently contains the tools required to draw and handle blood for various purposes, such as intravenous injections and [[Wikipedia:Bloodletting|bloodletting]] (and apparently instructions on operation, since it is not especially restricted by role).
+Phlebotomy is the process of making a puncture in a vein, usually in the arm or hand, with a delivery tube (or [[Wikipedia:cannula|cannula]]) for the purpose of drawing blood. The procedure itself is known as a "venipuncture", which is also used for intravenous therapy&mdash;therapeutic phlebotomy is carried out in the treatment of some blood disorders. A person who performs a phlebotomy is called a phlebotomist, although most doctors, nurses, and other technicians can also carry out a phlebotomy. The phlebotomy kit of dNetHack is partly based on the large leather medical bags employed by Victorian-era general physicians making house calls, as well as doctors using the bag as a travel apothecary or medicine chest&mdash;the kit also evidently contains the tools required to draw and handle blood for various purposes, such as intravenous injections and [[Wikipedia:Bloodletting|bloodletting]] (and apparently instructions on operation, since it is not at all restricted by the hero's role).
 The item is also based on the 2015 action role-playing game ''[[wikipedia:Bloodborne|Bloodborne]]'', where players create a protagonist known as a Hunter (the basis for the Undead Hunter of dNetHack) and try to find the source of a blood-borne plague which transforms the residents of the decrepit Gothic and Victorian-era inspired Yharnam into horrific beasts. These Hunters carry [https://www.bloodborne-wiki.com/2015/03/blood-vial.html blood vials] in their packs that they can use as a source of healing: the blood vial is a mysterious form of serum that is administered by [[bloodborne:The Healing Church|the Healing Church]] and used in [[bloodborne:Blood Ministration|blood ministrations]] such as the one the player character undergoes in the game's opening cut-scene.

@@ Line 57: / Line 57: @@
 The blood vials of ''Bloodborne'' are visibly inspired by early real-world attempts at blood transfusion, as well as bloodletting and other pre-germ theory medicinal practices. The first successful human-to-human blood transfusion was performed by [[wikipedia:James Blundell (physician)|James Blundell]] in 1818, though it would not see widespread adoption in medical practice until the first World War: early transfusions carried a high mortality rate due to lacking an understanding of blood types (established by [[wikipedia:Karl Landsteiner|Karl Landsteiner]] in 1901) and the necessary sterilization of equipment, as incompatible blood causes the recipient's immune system to reject the donated blood and results in clotting within the circulatory system; this in turn can lead to several symptoms such as chills, chest pain and nausea, and if left untreated can lead to illnesses such as anemia, acute kidney failure or entering complete shock, eventually cascading into multiple organ failure and death.
-The risks of early blood transfusion are reflected in the effects that occur when using a phlebotomy kit in dNetHack and its derivatives to transfuse blood that is cursed or belongs to an "unrelated" monster as a non-vampire hero. Conversely, vampires are unaffected due to being unholy creatures that traditionally require blood in order to survive (hence cursed blood being more effective), and are also portrayed in folklore as capable of consuming any type of blood that is not intrinsically dangerous to them.
+The risks of early blood transfusion are reflected in the effects that occur when a non-vampire hero in dNetHack and its derivatives uses a phlebotomy kit to transfuse blood that is cursed or belongs to an "unrelated" monster. Conversely, vampires are unaffected due to being unholy creatures that require blood in order to survive (hence cursed blood being more effective), and they are also traditionally portrayed as capable of consuming any type of blood that is not intrinsically dangerous to them.
 ==Messages==

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 * If the hero is not a vampire and attempts a transfusion with cursed blood, they will suffer a heart attack and take damage equal to {{frac|3}} of their maximum HP, in addition to any of the other effects that would occur normally.
 * If the hero performs a transfusion with non-cursed blood of the same race, they will [[exercise]] [[constitution]], heal an amount of HP equal to {{sfrac|(4 * Maxhp) + 9|10}} (or approximately {{frac|4|10}}maxhp + 1), gain 100 nutrition (or 50 if the blood is diluted), and will also cure [[illness]] if the blood was from a blessed potion.
-* If the hero is ''not'' a vampire and performs a transfusion with blood of another race, they will develop a non-[[vomit]]able illness (signaled by the  usual message for contracting illness), as well as suffering a heart attack if the potion was also cursed. Any immediate effects of eating that monster's corpse will occur, e.g. cockatrice blood will cause instant stoning.
+* If the hero is ''not'' a vampire and performs a transfusion with blood of another race, they will develop a non-[[vomit]]able illness (signaled by the  usual message for contracting illness), as well as suffering a heart attack if the potion was also cursed. Any immediate effects of eating that monster's corpse will occur, e.g. '''cockatrice blood will cause instant stoning.'''
 * Vampire heroes will not suffer heart attacks or illness from transfusing blood that is cursed or of a different race:
-** If the hero ''is'' a vampire and performs a transfusion with the blood of another race, they will heal for 2d8 HP and gain the same amount of nutrition as if they had quaffed the blood directly: this will be {{frac|3|10}} of the nutrition granted by eating the corpse if the potion used was cursed, and {{frac|5}} of the nutrition value otherwise, and the nutrition gain is halved if diluted blood was used. Any immediate effects of eating that monster's corpse will occur, e.g. [[cockatrice]] blood will cause instant [[stoning]].
+** If the hero is a vampire and performs a transfusion with the blood of another race, they will heal for 2d8 HP and gain the same amount of nutrition as if they had quaffed the blood directly: this will be {{frac|3|10}} of the nutrition granted by eating the corpse if the potion used was cursed, and {{frac|5}} of the nutrition value otherwise, and the nutrition gain is halved if diluted blood was used. Any immediate effects of eating that monster's corpse will occur, e.g. [[cockatrice]] blood will cause instant [[stoning]].
 ** If the hero is a vampire performing a transfusion with the blood of a vampire (which will usually be either a starting potion or one made from drawing blood), they will be healed as above even if cursed blood was used&mdash;they additionally gain nutrition 120 for cursed blood and 80 otherwise.
@@ Line 39: / Line 39: @@
 For Undead Hunters, having a phlebotomy kit in their open inventory will allow progression in the defilement [[Research (dNetHack)|research path]] if the [[defilement glyph]] is slotted and active: an Undead Hunter that applies a phlebotomy kit with sufficient research in defilement will gain the option to "exsanguinate yourself" (corresponding to the preservation research path), while a vampiric Undead Hunter will also see the option to "distill your blood" (corresponding to the vampire defilement research path). Preservation research has 6 upgrades, while vampire defilement has 7, and both paths are linear&mdash;progression in either path counts towards making a "great breakthrough" and meeting the conditions for a [[Score|full-scoring]] [[ascension]], which requires a minimum of 6 upgrades total from either or both of the research paths.
 Selecting either option will advance the Undead Hunter in their research and grant an appropriate upgrade while also reducing their current [[intelligence]] and [[wisdom]] scores by 1, which can be regained with a means of [[restore ability]] as normal&mdash;however, every third upgrade taken on the research path will permanently reduce the maximum intelligence and wisdom possible for that character (e.g. from a worn [[helm of brilliance]]) by 1; this also stacks with reductions from [[parasitology]] research. A hypothetical Undead Hunter that completes both defilement research paths will thus have their intelligence and wisdom maximums reduced by 4, producing a cap of 21 for each compared to the normal 25.
 ==Strategy==