Spellbook of cone of cold - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: /* Hack'EM */ tweak as above

2026-02-20T15:36:55Z

‎Hack'EM: tweak as above

Umbire the Phantom: /* EvilHack */ special spell change

2026-02-20T15:36:38Z

‎EvilHack: special spell change

Umbire the Phantom: /* dNetHack */ detail

2026-02-20T13:59:03Z

‎dNetHack: detail

Umbire the Phantom: /* Strategy */ pothole

2025-07-10T13:57:04Z

‎Strategy: pothole

Umbire the Phantom: /* Description */ precise cite

2025-07-04T05:55:26Z

‎Description: precise cite

Umbire the Phantom: /* Generation */ pothole

2025-07-04T04:30:18Z

‎Generation: pothole

Umbire the Phantom: /* SLASH'EM */ pothole

2025-07-04T00:02:50Z

‎SLASH'EM: pothole

Umbire the Phantom: tweak

2025-07-02T01:58:18Z

tweak

Umbire the Phantom: cite wall bug, them, FIQ, hack'em

2025-06-29T17:32:57Z

cite wall bug, them, FIQ, hack'em

Umbire the Phantom: wall bug

2025-06-29T17:17:06Z

wall bug

@@ Line 138: / Line 138: @@
 ===Hack'EM===
-In [[Hack'EM]], the cone of cold is changed to a level 4 matter spell as in SLASH'EM, and the [[Valkyrie/Hack'EM|Valkyrie's]] special spell is changed to {{+ of|repair armor}}.
+In [[Hack'EM]], the cone of cold is changed to a level 4 matter spell as in SLASH'EM, and the [[Valkyrie/Hack'EM|Valkyrie's]] special spell is changed to repair armor as in EvilHack.
 [[Ice Mage/Hack'EM|Ice Mages]] start the game with a blessed spellbook of cone of cold, and their special spell is changed to {{+ of|reflection}}.

@@ Line 133: / Line 133: @@
 ===EvilHack===
-In [[EvilHack]], the hero can choose whether to cast the basic or advanced cone of cold while they are at Skilled level in attack spells.
+In [[EvilHack]], the [[Valkyrie/Hack'EM|Valkyrie's]] special spell is changed to {{+ of|repair armor}}.
 ===Hack'EM===

@@ Line 121: / Line 121: @@
 ===dNetHack===
-In [[dNetHack]], [[notdNetHack]] and [[notnotdNetHack]], the advanced cone of cold is altered and made into its own spell, {{+ of|blizzard}}&mdash;both spells can be learned from a spellbook of cone of cold.
+In [[dNetHack]], [[notdNetHack]] and [[notnotdNetHack]], the advanced effects of the cone of cold are split off and made into a separate spell, {{+ of|blizzard}}&mdash;both spells can be learned from a spellbook of cone of cold if the hero is Skilled or better in attack spells and is a [[Wizard/dNetHack|Wizard]], a neutral [[Undead Hunter]] with 6+ parasites implanted, or has the [[Spirits (dNetHack)|spirit]] [[Paimon]] bound.
 Reading [[dNetHack artifacts#The Bow of Skadi|The Bow of Skadi]] teaches the cone of cold spell. Carrying [[The Water Crystal]] grants both knowledge of the cone of cold spell and bonuses for casting the spell.

@@ Line 56: / Line 56: @@
 ==Strategy==
-The cone of cold is a decent spell when cast at Basic level, and can potentially be stronger than a frost horn at higher [[experience level]]s, though it is very [[energy]]-intensive to cast frequently: a [[wand of cold]] may be preferred over the spell for heroes that are not dedicated casters and need multiple shots in quick succession, and {{+ of|magic missile}} is often more power-efficient, especially if they are low on power and/or cannot train attack spells. It can still useful for increasing damage against single targets by bouncing them off walls, and can also be used to freeze water and lava for relatively safe crossings: '''beware of any sources of [[fire]] rays''', since they can melt the ice from under you, usually resulting in [[drowning]].
+The cone of cold is a decent spell when cast at Basic level, and can potentially be stronger than a frost horn at higher [[experience level]]s, though it is very [[energy]]-intensive to cast frequently: a [[wand of cold]] may be preferred over the spell for heroes that are not dedicated casters and need multiple shots in quick succession, and {{+ of|magic missile}} is often more power-efficient, especially if they are low on power and/or cannot train attack spells. It can still useful for increasing damage against single targets by bouncing them off walls, and can also be used to freeze water and lava for relatively safe crossings: '''beware of any sources of [[Fire (element)|fire]] rays''', since they can melt the ice from under you, usually resulting in [[drowning]].
 Bouncing the basic spell off walls can also help deal with shapeshifted [[Vampire (monster class)|vampires]] in particular, who lack cold resistance and can potentially be dispatched from the ray killing them in their transformed state and then the rebound finishing them off in their base form. The advanced cone of cold spell is potentially one of the most devastating attacks available against non-resistant monsters, with even a few explosions dealing significant damage, and it is especially useful for general crowd control (e.g. when storming the [[Castle]])&mdash;the spell is a stellar option in particular against the hostile denizens of [[Gehennom]], which frequently includes the aforementioned vampires and fire-resistant monsters.

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 ==Description==
-When successfully [[cast]], the spell behaves differently depending on the [[hero]]'s [[skill]] in attack spells, which is a trait it shares with the {{+ of|fireball}} spell.{{refsrc|src/spell.c|1049|nethack=3.6.7|comment=code block for explosions at Skilled or higher; falls through to wand equivalent at levels below Skilled}}{{refsrc|src/spell.c|1135|nethack=3.6.7|comment=all directional spells and wand equivalents fall through to this line}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|3029|nethack=3.6.7}}
+When successfully [[cast]], the spell behaves differently depending on the [[hero]]'s [[skill]] in attack spells, which is a trait it shares with the {{+ of|fireball}} spell.{{refsrc|src/spell.c|1049|nethack=3.6.7|comment=code block for explosions at Skilled or higher; falls through to wand equivalent at levels below Skilled}}{{refsrc|src/spell.c|1137|nethack=3.6.7|comment=all directional spells and wand equivalents fall through to this line}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|3029|nethack=3.6.7}}
 ===Basic spell===

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 Writing a spellbook of cone of cold with a [[magic marker]] uses up 20 to 39 charges.
-{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Per {{commit|d42efcd}}, the spellbook of invisibility generated in a [[chest]] generated within a random closet on the middle level of [[Vlad's Tower]] may be randomly replaced with a spellbook of cone of cold.}}
+{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Per {{commit|d42efcd}}, the [[spellbook of invisibility]] generated in a [[chest]] generated within a random closet on the middle level of [[Vlad's Tower]] may be randomly replaced with a spellbook of cone of cold.}}
 ==Description==

@@ Line 109: / Line 109: @@
 ===SLASH'EM===
-In [[SLASH'EM]], the cone of cold is changed to a level 4 [[matter spell]].
+In [[SLASH'EM]], the cone of cold is [[Spellcasting (SLASH'EM)|re-categorized]] to a level 4 [[matter spell]].
 [[Ice Mage]]s start the game with a blessed spellbook of cone of cold, and the spell acts as the role's special spell.{{refsrc|u_init.c|101|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2}}{{refsrc|role.c|202|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2}} The [[Valkyrie/SLASH'EM|Valkyrie's]] special spell is changed to {{+ of|lightning}}.{{refsrc|role.c|507|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2}}{{refsrc|spell.c|92|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2}}

@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 ===Basic spell===
-At Basic or lower, the spell prompts the player for a cardinal direction, then fires a [[ray]] of [[cold]] in that direction similar to [[zapping]] a [[wand of cold]] or [[applying]] a [[frost horn]]:{{refsrc|src/spell.c|1105|nethack=3.6.7}} the rays deal ({{sfrac|[[XL]]|2}}+1)d6 cold damage (with spell damage bonuses applied against monsters{{refsrc|src/zap.c|3651|nethack=3.6.7}}) to a hero or [[monster]] that they hit unless the target has [[cold resistance]]{{refsrc|src/zap.c|3643|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|3648|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|3800|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|3805|nethack=3.6.7}}&mdash;this can freeze and shatter non-{{! of|oil}} [[potion]]s in a target's open inventory regardless of cold resistance, with a {{frac|3}} chance per affected item and +d4 damage for each potion destroyed.{{refsrc|src/zap.c|3653|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|3808|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|4827|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|5068|nethack=3.6.7}}
+At Basic or lower, the spell prompts the player for a cardinal direction, then fires a [[ray]] of [[cold]] in that direction similar to [[zapping]] a [[wand of cold]] or [[applying]] a [[frost horn]]:{{refsrc|src/spell.c|1105|nethack=3.6.7}} the rays deal ({{sfrac|[[XL]]|2}}+1)d6 cold damage (with spell damage bonuses applied against monsters{{refsrc|src/zap.c|3651|nethack=3.6.7}}) to a hero or [[monster]] that they hit unless the target has [[cold resistance]] or reflection{{refsrc|src/zap.c|3643|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|3648|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|3800|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|3805|nethack=3.6.7}}&mdash;this can freeze and shatter non-{{! of|oil}} [[potion]]s in a target's open inventory regardless of cold resistance, with a {{frac|3}} chance per affected item and +d4 damage for each potion destroyed.{{refsrc|src/zap.c|3653|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|3808|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|4827|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|5068|nethack=3.6.7}}
 Monsters with [[fire resistance]] that ''lack'' cold resistance take an additional ({{sfrac|[[XL]]|2}}+1)d3 damage from the spell.{{refsrc|src/zap.c|3649|nethack=3.6.7}} A [[Knight]] carrying the [[Magic Mirror of Merlin]] in open inventory deals double damage to monsters when casting the spell.{{refsrc|src/zap.c|142|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|170|nethack=3.6.7}}
-The rays from a cone of cold will bounce off the walls, ceiling and floor, destroy any [[door]]s they make contact with (which will stop the ray), and are affected by [[reflection]].{{refsrc|src/zap.c|4634|nethack=3.6.7}} They will also freeze any [[pool]]s of water and [[lava]] that they travel over: this turns water to [[ice]] and lava to [[solid rock]] floor, reveals monsters [[hiding]] in the frozen water, and extends the duration of already-existing temporary ice that they travel over{{refsrc|src/zap.c|4481|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|4498|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|4501|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|4535|nethack=3.6.7}}&mdash;any cold rays that freeze water or lava will have their range reduced, and water on the [[Plane of Water]] will be unaffected and stop the ray.{{refsrc|src/zap.c|4486|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|4497|nethack=3.6.7}}
+The rays from a cone of cold will bounce off the walls, ceiling and floor, and destroy any [[door]]s they make contact with (which will stop the ray).{{refsrc|src/zap.c|4634|nethack=3.6.7}} They will also freeze any [[pool]]s of water and [[lava]] that they travel over: this turns water to [[ice]] and lava to [[solid rock]] floor, reveals monsters [[hiding]] in the frozen water, and extends the duration of already-existing temporary ice that they travel over{{refsrc|src/zap.c|4481|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|4498|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|4501|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|4535|nethack=3.6.7}}&mdash;any cold rays that freeze water or lava will have their range reduced, and water on the [[Plane of Water]] will be unaffected and stop the ray.{{refsrc|src/zap.c|4486|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|4497|nethack=3.6.7}}
 A hero zapping the spell at themselves will take 12d6 cold damage unless they have cold resistance, and has a {{frac|3}} chance of freezing and shattering non-oil potions in their open inventory.{{refsrc|src/zap.c|2335|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|2338|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|2342|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/zap.c|2346|nethack=3.6.7}}

@@ Line 71: / Line 71: @@
 The spellbook of cone of cold and its spell are introduced in [[NetHack 1.3d]]. From this version to [[NetHack 3.3.0]], including some variants based on those versions, the spell always behaves similar to a wand of cold&mdash;the advanced cone of cold used at Skilled or higher debuts as part of the [[Wizard Patch]] against [[NetHack 3.2.0]] through [[NetHack 3.2.3]], and NetHack 3.3.0 integrated it into the base code of ''NetHack''.
-From NetHack 3.3.0 to [[NetHack 3.4.3]], including some variants based on those versions, the advanced cone of cold and fireball spells cannot target monsters that the hero can see via infravision or telepathy&mdash;this is [[Bugs in NetHack 3.4.3#C341-7|bug C341-7]], and was fixed in January 2004 via {{commit|b83d8d3b5d6045ad637d23b3f01727d5ad95d6c8}}. The advanced spell also ignores walls when being cast at an otherwise-valid target square, a bug that is also present in [[NetHack 3.6.0]]&mdash;this is adjusted in [[NetHack 3.6.1]] so that it explodes at the first wall between the caster and target.
+From NetHack 3.3.0 to [[NetHack 3.4.3]], including some variants based on those versions, the advanced cone of cold and fireball spells cannot target monsters that the hero can see via infravision or telepathy&mdash;this is [[Bugs in NetHack 3.4.3#C341-7|bug C341-7]], and was fixed in January 2004 via {{commit|b83d8d3b5d6045ad637d23b3f01727d5ad95d6c8}}. The advanced spell also ignores walls when being cast at an otherwise-valid target square, a bug that is also present in [[NetHack 3.6.0]]&mdash;this is adjusted in [[NetHack 3.6.1]] via {{commit|3eb919d5ab009c5d81e63dd0091cef3c6520febf}} so that it explodes at the first wall between the caster and target.
 ==Messages==
@@ Line 114: / Line 114: @@
 The cone of cold spell is compatible with the [[sigil of control]], [[sigil of tempest]] and [[sigil of discharge]] [[techniques]].
 ====Message====
@@ Line 124: / Line 126: @@
 The eldritch style [[knightly stance]] can be used to add cold damage to wielded weapons via the cone of cold spell, at the cost of some power.
 ===EvilHack===
 In [[EvilHack]], the hero can choose whether to cast the basic or advanced cone of cold while they are at Skilled level in attack spells.
 ==References==