Silver dragon scale mail - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: detail why gray would be less ideal

2026-05-07T15:04:20Z

detail why gray would be less ideal

Foobie blambl: /* Strategy */ changed "silver" to "gray" in "while Wizards will almost always default to silver dragon mail"

2026-05-07T14:58:04Z

‎Strategy: changed "silver" to "gray" in "while Wizards will almost always default to silver dragon mail"

Crunch: "due since" -> "since" (assuming someone was writing "due to" and switched horses midstream)

2025-11-06T03:44:07Z

"due since" -> "since" (assuming someone was writing "due to" and switched horses midstream)

Furey: "Perks versus silver DSM" -> "Perks versus gray DSM". Copy paste much?

2024-06-20T02:09:28Z

"Perks versus silver DSM" -> "Perks versus gray DSM". Copy paste much?

Furey: /* TNNT (the game) */ delete tangential information about TNNT. deathmatch covers this.

2024-06-20T01:34:42Z

‎TNNT (the game): delete tangential information about TNNT. deathmatch covers this.

Furey: Link directly to new page TNNT (the game).

2024-06-18T04:57:15Z

Link directly to new page TNNT (the game).

Furey: /* Perks versus silver DSM */ linkify rebound

2024-06-18T00:37:57Z

‎Perks versus silver DSM: linkify rebound

Furey: /* Strategy */ fix botched sentence

2024-06-10T05:28:32Z

‎Strategy: fix botched sentence

Furey: /* Generation */ typo fix

2024-06-10T05:27:31Z

‎Generation: typo fix

Furey: "The November NetHack Tournament" -> "TNNT (the game)"

2024-06-08T10:27:35Z

"The November NetHack Tournament" -> "TNNT (the game)"

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 ==Strategy==
 {{main|Dragon scale mail}}
-Silver dragon scale mail is one of the two most coveted types of dragon scale mail, with the other being [[gray dragon scale mail]]. Reflection is a fairly rare property outside of [[artifact]] sources, naturally making it a good first [[wish]] for many characters and a popular item in [[ascension kit]]s - it is usually combined with a [[cloak of magic resistance]] and/or other non-body armor source of [[magic resistance]].
+Silver dragon scale mail is one of the two most coveted types of dragon scale mail, with the other being [[gray dragon scale mail]]. Reflection is a fairly rare property outside of [[artifact]] sources, naturally making it a good first [[wish]] for many characters and a popular item in [[ascension kit]]s&mdash;it is usually combined with a [[cloak of magic resistance]] and/or other non-body armor source of [[magic resistance]].
 In terms of advantages as a candidate for wishes or ascension kits, silver dragon scale mail keeps the amulet slot open for the [[amulet of life saving]] to be worn, and also keeps the [[shield]] slot free for [[twoweapon]]ing or use of either a [[small shield]] (which is [[spellcasting]]-friendly) or an [[elven shield]] (which can generally reach the highest [[enchantment]] among shields). Silver dragon mail also completely blocks damage to a character and their inventory from [[ray]]s produced by [[wand]]s, some [[monster spell]]s and [[breath weapon]]s. While magic resistance is harder to obtain without wishing compared to reflection, though an early series of wishes (e.g. usually a lucky [[wand of wishing]]) can remove this factor, leaving it more up to a player's desired character build and their character's capabilities.
@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 ===Perks versus gray DSM===
 {{main|GDSM versus SDSM}}
-Characters that can twoweapon will lean towards silver dragon scale mail for its ability to keep the shield slot free, while [[Wizard]]s will almost always default to gray dragon mail since they have early access to magic resistance. Reflection is also much harder to obtain via [[artifact]] wishing, compared to the plentiful artifact sources of magic resistance available for non-chaotic characters (though chaotic non-Wizards can still wish for Magicbane, if they are willing to deal with blasting damage). Characters in roles with a [[Quest]] that is likely to feature a high amount of wands and/or a nemesis with deadly breath attacks may tend towards silver dragon scale mail as well. If a particular build is not that concerned about [[magic cancellation]] (e.g. they plan to kill monsters with dangerous melee attacks before they can strike), they may consider silver dragon mail to pair with a cloak of magic resistance.
+Heroes that can perform [[two-weapon combat]] will lean towards silver dragon scale mail for its ability to keep the shield and amulet slots free. Conversely, [[Wizard]]s will very often gravitate to silver dragon mail since they have early access to multiple sources of magic resistance, and other reflection sources will either interfere with spellcasting (i.e. [[Shield of reflection|the shield]]) or take up a slot they want for their quest artifact (i.e. [[Amulet of reflection|the amulet]]), though there is the odd Wizard here and there that will opt for gray dragon mail.
-Relying on body armor for reflection introduces some notable risks: a character that obtains silver dragon scale mail first with no sources of magic resistance is vulnerable to [[polymorph trap]]s - while a silver dragon is not a particularly bad form to be in, their mail will be reverted to scales at minimum, and the scales may be destroyed if they run into another polymorph trap in silver dragon form. Reflection protects a character from the [[wand of death]], but does '''''not''''' stop the [[touch of death]] spell, which means possible doom if they cannot obtain magic resistance before running into a high-level hostile spellcaster (or a [[shapeshifter]] in the form of one). Additionally, while reflection can be obtained through a few non-dragon armor sources, the magic resistance source(s) for a character with SDSM will almost always have to include a cloak of magic resistance: this restricts their ability to improve magic cancellation, and the alternative of relying on an artifact source introduces the risk of a quest artifact being stolen by the [[Wizard of Yendor]], prolonging encounters against him even if the cloak is worn as a backup.
+Reflection is also much harder to obtain via [[artifact]] wishing, compared to the plentiful artifact sources of magic resistance available for non-chaotic characters&mdash;chaotic non-Wizards can still wish for Magicbane if they are willing to deal with blasting damage). Characters in roles with a [[Quest]] that is likely to feature a high amount of wands and/or a nemesis with deadly breath attacks may tend towards silver dragon scale mail as well. If a particular build is not that concerned about [[magic cancellation]] (e.g. they plan to kill monsters with dangerous melee attacks before they can strike), they may consider silver dragon mail to pair with a cloak of magic resistance.
 Opting for silver dragon mail early can prevent accidents involving [[floating eye]]s, though these can be mitigated with careful play. Monsters that attempt to use wands against you are also likely to be killed by the reflected rays - the wand of death in particular is a more "welcome" discovery to a character wearing SDSM, and the armor can also preserve wand charges for later use if the [[rebound]] kills the attacking monster. Though the [[wand of striking]] is not blocked by reflection, its damage is not much of a threat against characters with decent HP, and worn silver dragon scale mail is enough AC on its own that the wand will often miss. Reflection is also a stellar aid against a [[black dragon]]'s disintegration breath, which can then be further trivialized by eating the dragon's [[corpse]] or [[tin]].

@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 ===Perks versus gray DSM===
 {{main|GDSM versus SDSM}}
-Characters that can twoweapon will lean towards silver dragon scale mail for its ability to keep the shield slot free, while [[Wizard]]s will almost always default to silver dragon mail since they have early access to magic resistance. Reflection is also much harder to obtain via [[artifact]] wishing, compared to the plentiful artifact sources of magic resistance available for non-chaotic characters (though chaotic non-Wizards can still wish for Magicbane, if they are willing to deal with blasting damage). Characters in roles with a [[Quest]] that is likely to feature a high amount of wands and/or a nemesis with deadly breath attacks may tend towards silver dragon scale mail as well. If a particular build is not that concerned about [[magic cancellation]] (e.g. they plan to kill monsters with dangerous melee attacks before they can strike), they may consider silver dragon mail to pair with a cloak of magic resistance.
+Characters that can twoweapon will lean towards silver dragon scale mail for its ability to keep the shield slot free, while [[Wizard]]s will almost always default to gray dragon mail since they have early access to magic resistance. Reflection is also much harder to obtain via [[artifact]] wishing, compared to the plentiful artifact sources of magic resistance available for non-chaotic characters (though chaotic non-Wizards can still wish for Magicbane, if they are willing to deal with blasting damage). Characters in roles with a [[Quest]] that is likely to feature a high amount of wands and/or a nemesis with deadly breath attacks may tend towards silver dragon scale mail as well. If a particular build is not that concerned about [[magic cancellation]] (e.g. they plan to kill monsters with dangerous melee attacks before they can strike), they may consider silver dragon mail to pair with a cloak of magic resistance.
 Relying on body armor for reflection introduces some notable risks: a character that obtains silver dragon scale mail first with no sources of magic resistance is vulnerable to [[polymorph trap]]s - while a silver dragon is not a particularly bad form to be in, their mail will be reverted to scales at minimum, and the scales may be destroyed if they run into another polymorph trap in silver dragon form. Reflection protects a character from the [[wand of death]], but does '''''not''''' stop the [[touch of death]] spell, which means possible doom if they cannot obtain magic resistance before running into a high-level hostile spellcaster (or a [[shapeshifter]] in the form of one). Additionally, while reflection can be obtained through a few non-dragon armor sources, the magic resistance source(s) for a character with SDSM will almost always have to include a cloak of magic resistance: this restricts their ability to improve magic cancellation, and the alternative of relying on an artifact source introduces the risk of a quest artifact being stolen by the [[Wizard of Yendor]], prolonging encounters against him even if the cloak is worn as a backup.

@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 ===Perks versus gray DSM===
 {{main|GDSM versus SDSM}}
-Characters that can twoweapon will lean towards silver dragon scale mail for its ability to keep the shield slot free, while [[Wizard]]s will almost always default to silver dragon mail due since they have early access to magic resistance. Reflection is also much harder to obtain via [[artifact]] wishing, compared to the plentiful artifact sources of magic resistance available for non-chaotic characters (though chaotic non-Wizards can still wish for Magicbane, if they are willing to deal with blasting damage). Characters in roles with a [[Quest]] that is likely to feature a high amount of wands and/or a nemesis with deadly breath attacks may tend towards silver dragon scale mail as well. If a particular build is not that concerned about [[magic cancellation]] (e.g. they plan to kill monsters with dangerous melee attacks before they can strike), they may consider silver dragon mail to pair with a cloak of magic resistance.
+Characters that can twoweapon will lean towards silver dragon scale mail for its ability to keep the shield slot free, while [[Wizard]]s will almost always default to silver dragon mail since they have early access to magic resistance. Reflection is also much harder to obtain via [[artifact]] wishing, compared to the plentiful artifact sources of magic resistance available for non-chaotic characters (though chaotic non-Wizards can still wish for Magicbane, if they are willing to deal with blasting damage). Characters in roles with a [[Quest]] that is likely to feature a high amount of wands and/or a nemesis with deadly breath attacks may tend towards silver dragon scale mail as well. If a particular build is not that concerned about [[magic cancellation]] (e.g. they plan to kill monsters with dangerous melee attacks before they can strike), they may consider silver dragon mail to pair with a cloak of magic resistance.
 Relying on body armor for reflection introduces some notable risks: a character that obtains silver dragon scale mail first with no sources of magic resistance is vulnerable to [[polymorph trap]]s - while a silver dragon is not a particularly bad form to be in, their mail will be reverted to scales at minimum, and the scales may be destroyed if they run into another polymorph trap in silver dragon form. Reflection protects a character from the [[wand of death]], but does '''''not''''' stop the [[touch of death]] spell, which means possible doom if they cannot obtain magic resistance before running into a high-level hostile spellcaster (or a [[shapeshifter]] in the form of one). Additionally, while reflection can be obtained through a few non-dragon armor sources, the magic resistance source(s) for a character with SDSM will almost always have to include a cloak of magic resistance: this restricts their ability to improve magic cancellation, and the alternative of relying on an artifact source introduces the risk of a quest artifact being stolen by the [[Wizard of Yendor]], prolonging encounters against him even if the cloak is worn as a backup.

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 In terms of advantages as a candidate for wishes or ascension kits, silver dragon scale mail keeps the amulet slot open for the [[amulet of life saving]] to be worn, and also keeps the [[shield]] slot free for [[twoweapon]]ing or use of either a [[small shield]] (which is [[spellcasting]]-friendly) or an [[elven shield]] (which can generally reach the highest [[enchantment]] among shields). Silver dragon mail also completely blocks damage to a character and their inventory from [[ray]]s produced by [[wand]]s, some [[monster spell]]s and [[breath weapon]]s. While magic resistance is harder to obtain without wishing compared to reflection, though an early series of wishes (e.g. usually a lucky [[wand of wishing]]) can remove this factor, leaving it more up to a player's desired character build and their character's capabilities.
-===Perks versus silver DSM===
+===Perks versus gray DSM===
 {{main|GDSM versus SDSM}}
 Characters that can twoweapon will lean towards silver dragon scale mail for its ability to keep the shield slot free, while [[Wizard]]s will almost always default to silver dragon mail due since they have early access to magic resistance. Reflection is also much harder to obtain via [[artifact]] wishing, compared to the plentiful artifact sources of magic resistance available for non-chaotic characters (though chaotic non-Wizards can still wish for Magicbane, if they are willing to deal with blasting damage). Characters in roles with a [[Quest]] that is likely to feature a high amount of wands and/or a nemesis with deadly breath attacks may tend towards silver dragon scale mail as well. If a particular build is not that concerned about [[magic cancellation]] (e.g. they plan to kill monsters with dangerous melee attacks before they can strike), they may consider silver dragon mail to pair with a cloak of magic resistance.

@@ Line 65: / Line 65: @@
 ===FIQHack===
 In [[FIQHack]], worn silver dragon scale mail confers no additional properties, but provides reflection that affects dragonbreath and rays from wands [[Wands Balance Patch|used at Skilled or higher]]. It also weighs 300 aum like all dragon scale mail in FIQHack (which is halved while worn).
 ===SlashTHEM===

@@ Line 67: / Line 67: @@
 ===TNNT (the game)===
-In [[TNNT|TNNT (the game)]], the [[deathmatch]] opponent has a {{frac|2}} chance of generating with silver dragon scale mail if they represent a non-Monk character that lacks body armor.
+In [[TNNT (the game)]], the [[deathmatch]] opponent has a {{frac|2}} chance of generating with silver dragon scale mail if they represent a non-Monk character that lacks body armor.
 ===SlashTHEM===

@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 Relying on body armor for reflection introduces some notable risks: a character that obtains silver dragon scale mail first with no sources of magic resistance is vulnerable to [[polymorph trap]]s - while a silver dragon is not a particularly bad form to be in, their mail will be reverted to scales at minimum, and the scales may be destroyed if they run into another polymorph trap in silver dragon form. Reflection protects a character from the [[wand of death]], but does '''''not''''' stop the [[touch of death]] spell, which means possible doom if they cannot obtain magic resistance before running into a high-level hostile spellcaster (or a [[shapeshifter]] in the form of one). Additionally, while reflection can be obtained through a few non-dragon armor sources, the magic resistance source(s) for a character with SDSM will almost always have to include a cloak of magic resistance: this restricts their ability to improve magic cancellation, and the alternative of relying on an artifact source introduces the risk of a quest artifact being stolen by the [[Wizard of Yendor]], prolonging encounters against him even if the cloak is worn as a backup.
-Opting for silver dragon mail early can prevent accidents involving [[floating eye]]s, though these can be mitigated with careful play. Monsters that attempt to use wands against you are also likely to be killed by the reflected rays - the wand of death in particular is a more "welcome" discovery to a character wearing SDSM, and the armor can also preserve wand charges for later use if the rebound kills the attacking monster. Though the [[wand of striking]] is not blocked by reflection, its damage is not much of a threat against characters with decent HP, and worn silver dragon scale mail is enough AC on its own that the wand will often miss. Reflection is also a stellar aid against a [[black dragon]]'s disintegration breath, which can then be further trivialized by eating the dragon's [[corpse]] or [[tin]].
+Opting for silver dragon mail early can prevent accidents involving [[floating eye]]s, though these can be mitigated with careful play. Monsters that attempt to use wands against you are also likely to be killed by the reflected rays - the wand of death in particular is a more "welcome" discovery to a character wearing SDSM, and the armor can also preserve wand charges for later use if the [[rebound]] kills the attacking monster. Though the [[wand of striking]] is not blocked by reflection, its damage is not much of a threat against characters with decent HP, and worn silver dragon scale mail is enough AC on its own that the wand will often miss. Reflection is also a stellar aid against a [[black dragon]]'s disintegration breath, which can then be further trivialized by eating the dragon's [[corpse]] or [[tin]].
 ==History==

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 Silver dragon scale mail is not randomly generated. Reading a non-cursed [[scroll of enchant armor]] that targets worn [[gray dragon scales]] will convert them into mail, with a blessed scroll adding a point of [[enchantment]].
-[[Player monster]]s that are not [[Monk (player monster)|monks]] generated on the [[Astral Plane]] have a {{frac|9}} chance of [[Monster starting inventory|generating with]] gray dragon scale mail as their initial body armor before role-specific replacements{{refsrc|src/mplayer.c|156|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment=initial body armor for Astral playermons is random DSM, with equal probability}} - [[Wizard (player monster)|wizards]] have an effective {{frac|4}} chance of forcing silverdragon scale mail in place of their initial body armor.{{refsrc|src/mplayer.c|249|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment={{frac|2}} for wizards to get specific DSM and {{frac|2}} to get silver DSM}}
+[[Player monster]]s that are not [[Monk (player monster)|monks]] generated on the [[Astral Plane]] have a {{frac|9}} chance of [[Monster starting inventory|generating with]] gray dragon scale mail as their initial body armor before role-specific replacements{{refsrc|src/mplayer.c|156|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment=initial body armor for Astral playermons is random DSM, with equal probability}} - [[Wizard (player monster)|wizards]] have an effective {{frac|4}} chance of forcing silver dragon scale mail in place of their initial body armor.{{refsrc|src/mplayer.c|249|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment={{frac|2}} for wizards to get specific DSM and {{frac|2}} to get silver DSM}}
 ==Description==