Spellbook of finger - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: /* Description */ word choice

2025-07-02T20:25:54Z

‎Description: word choice

Umbire the Phantom: bit more

2025-07-02T20:20:48Z

bit more

Umbire the Phantom: expand this bad boy

2025-07-02T20:17:02Z

expand this bad boy

Umbire the Phantom: direct link

2025-07-02T18:04:18Z

direct link

Umbire the Phantom: formatting

2023-09-10T12:01:09Z

formatting

Umbire the Phantom: lede

2023-06-03T04:01:01Z

lede

Umbire the Phantom: /* Strategy /

2023-06-03T03:40:28Z

‎Strategy: *

Umbire the Phantom: Formatting + copyedit

2023-06-03T03:39:49Z

Formatting + copyedit

Umbire the Phantom: de-SLEX

2022-10-05T02:40:42Z

de-SLEX

Umbire the Phantom: de-SLEX

2022-10-05T00:28:01Z

de-SLEX

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 ==Description==
-The spell of finger has a similar effect to [[zapping]] a [[wand of probing]]: successfully [[cast]]ing the spell prompts the player for a cardinal direction to fire the [[beam]] in, and any monsters in the path of the beam have their status and inventory revealed, while buried items in squares that the beam passes are revealed, and the contents of [[statue]]s and [[container]]s are shown as well. There are a few significant differences in SlashTHEM, however: the spell will usually anger any [[peaceful]] monsters it is cast at (though it has no effect on [[tame]] monsters), may wake up [[sleeping]] monsters and will not reveal the identity of [[invisible]] monsters.
+The spell of finger has a similar effect to [[zapping]] a [[wand of probing]]: successfully [[cast]]ing the spell prompts the player for a cardinal direction to fire the [[beam]] in, and any monsters in the path of the beam have their status and inventory revealed, while buried items in squares that the beam passes are revealed, and the contents of [[statue]]s and [[container]]s are shown as well. There are a few significant differences in SlashTHEM, however: the spell will usually anger any [[peaceful]] (but not [[tame]]) monsters it is cast at, may wake up [[sleeping]] monsters and will not reveal the identity of [[invisible]] monsters.
 ==Strategy==

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 In computer networking, the Name/Finger protocol and the Finger user information protocol are simple network protocols for the exchange of human-oriented status and user information. The Name/Finger protocol is based on Request for Comments document RFC 742 (December 1977) as an interface to the name and finger programs that provide status reports on a particular computer system or a particular person at network sites. The finger program was written in 1971 by Les Earnest, who created the program to solve the need of users who wanted information on other users of the network, which was useful to check the availability of a person to meet and was probably the earliest form of presence information for remote network users. The finger daemon itself (or <tt>fingerd</tt>) runs on TCP port 79.
-The program would supply information such as whether a user is currently logged-on, e-mail address, full name etc. As well as standard user information, finger displays the contents of the .project and .plan files in the user's home directory. Often this file (maintained by the user) contains either useful information about the user's current activities, similar to micro-blogging, or alternatively all manner of humor. Supplying such detailed information as e-mail addresses and full names was considered acceptable and convenient in the early days of networking, but later was considered questionable for privacy and security reasons: Finger information has been used by hackers as a way to initiate a social engineering attack on a company's computer security system, and in 1988 the infamous Morris worm exploited an overflow vulnerability in <tt>fingerd</tt> (among others) to spread. This is likely part of the reason why using the spell in SlashTHEM angers peaceful monsters that are probed by it (as anyone no doubt should be if their privacy was invaded).
+The program would supply information such as whether a user is currently logged-on, e-mail address, full name etc. As well as standard user information, finger displays the contents of the .project and .plan files in the user's home directory. Often this file (maintained by the user) contains either useful information about the user's current activities, similar to micro-blogging, or alternatively all manner of humor. Supplying such detailed information as e-mail addresses and full names was considered acceptable and convenient in the early days of networking, but later was considered questionable for privacy and security reasons: Finger information has been used by hackers as a way to initiate a social engineering attack on a company's computer security system, and in 1988 the infamous Morris worm exploited an overflow vulnerability in <tt>fingerd</tt> (among others) to spread. This is likely part of the reason why using the spell in SlashTHEM angers peaceful monsters that are probed by it (as anyone no doubt would/should be if their privacy was invaded). The protocol has long since fallen out of commonplace use.
 Of note is that the naming convention of early protocols such as Finger have their basis in [[pun]]s and other forms of wordplay and humor: according to [https://old.reddit.com/r/linuxquestions/comments/7rrazi/whats_the_rationale_behind_the_naming_of_the/dsz0h2r/ some commentary regarding the subject], in the 1970s the term "finger" had a connotation of "is a snitch", making the term a good reminder/mnemonic to the semantic of the UNIX finger command. Additionally, Les Earnest is quoted as naming the protocol for the act of pointing.

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 {{spellbook
-   |name=finger
+ |name=finger
-   |level=2
+ |level=2
-   |type=divination
+ |type=divination
-   |turns=3
+ |turns=5
-   |direction=directional
+ |direction=directional
 }}
 {{distinguish|spellbook of finger of death}}
-In [[NetHack: The Next Generation]] and [[SlashTHEM]], the '''spellbook of finger''' can be read to learn the '''spell of finger'''. It is a level 2 [[divination spell]], and the [[spellbook]] takes roughly 3 turns to read.
+In SlashTHEM, the [[spellbook]] takes 5 actions to read.
 ==Description==
-When cast, the spell has a similar effect to [[zap]]ping a [[wand of probing]] - a beam is cast in a selected direction that reveals the status and inventory of any monster in its path, as well as revealing buried items and the contents of statues and containers. There are a few significant differences, however: the spell will usually anger any [[peaceful]] monsters you cast it at, though it has no effect on [[tame]] monsters. Additionally, the spell may wake up [[sleep]]ing monsters, and will also not reveal the identity of [[invisible]] monsters.
+The spell of finger has a similar effect to [[zapping]] a [[wand of probing]]: successfully [[cast]]ing the spell prompts the player for a cardinal direction to fire the [[beam]] in, and any monsters in the path of the beam have their status and inventory revealed, while buried items in squares that the beam passes are revealed, and the contents of [[statue]]s and [[container]]s are shown as well. There are a few significant differences in SlashTHEM, however: the spell will usually anger any [[peaceful]] monsters it is cast at (though it has no effect on [[tame]] monsters), may wake up [[sleeping]] monsters and will not reveal the identity of [[invisible]] monsters.
 ==Strategy==
 Once you can cast the spell of finger reliably and have sufficient [[energy]] to do so, it can be a decent substitute for the [[wand of probing]] or [[stethoscope]] when performing maintenance on pets, or else checking the status of hostile monsters. The spell can let you save wand of probing charges for low-energy situations, and can even substitute for a stethoscope in some situations (especially since it does not require that you be adjacent).
 {{variant-343}}
 [[Category:NetHack: The Next Generation spellbooks]]
 [[Category:SlashTHEM spellbooks]]

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
     |direction=directional
 }}
-{{distinguish|finger of death}}
+{{distinguish|spellbook of finger of death}}
 In [[NetHack: The Next Generation]] and [[SlashTHEM]], the '''spellbook of finger''' can be read to learn the '''spell of finger'''. It is a level 2 [[divination spell]], and the [[spellbook]] takes roughly 3 turns to read.

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 {{distinguish|finger of death}}
-In [[NetHack: The Next Generation]] and [[SlashTHEM]], the '''spellbook of finger''' teaches the '''finger''' spell. It is a level 2 [[divination spell]], and the [[spellbook]] takes roughly 3 turns to read.
+In [[NetHack: The Next Generation]] and [[SlashTHEM]], the '''spellbook of finger''' can be read to learn the '''spell of finger'''. It is a level 2 [[divination spell]], and the [[spellbook]] takes roughly 3 turns to read.
-==Effect==
+==Description==
 When cast, the spell has a similar effect to [[zap]]ping a [[wand of probing]] - a beam is cast in a selected direction that reveals the status and inventory of any monster in its path, as well as revealing buried items and the contents of statues and containers. There are a few significant differences, however: the spell will usually anger any [[peaceful]] monsters you cast it at, though it has no effect on [[tame]] monsters. Additionally, the spell may wake up [[sleep]]ing monsters, and will also not reveal the identity of [[invisible]] monsters.
 ==Strategy==
-Once you can cast the spell of finger reliably and have sufficient [[energy]] to do so, it can be a decent  substitute for the [[wand of probing]] or [[stethoscope]] when performing maintenance on pets, or else checking the status of hostile monsters. The spell can let you save wand of probing charges for low-energy situations, and can even substitute for a cursed stethoscope in some situations (especially since it does not require that you be adjacent).
+Once you can cast the spell of finger reliably and have sufficient [[energy]] to do so, it can be a decent substitute for the [[wand of probing]] or [[stethoscope]] when performing maintenance on pets, or else checking the status of hostile monsters. The spell can let you save wand of probing charges for low-energy situations, and can even substitute for a stethoscope in some situations (especially since it does not require that you be adjacent).
 {{variant-343}}
-[[Category: NetHack: The Next Generation]]
+[[Category:NetHack: The Next Generation items]]
-[[Category: NetHack: The Next Generation items]]
+[[Category:NetHack: The Next Generation spellbooks]]
-[[Category: NetHack: The Next Generation spellbooks]]
+[[Category:SlashTHEM items]]
-[[Category: SlashTHEM items]]
+[[Category:SlashTHEM spellbooks]]

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 * The spell may wake up creatures that are asleep.
-Despite these shortcomings, the spell can be a reasonable substitute for the [[wand of probing]] or [[stethoscope]], whenever checking up on your pets or examining non-sleeping hostile monsters from a distance. Unlike the wand of probing, it can be used indefinitely, as long as you have no restrictions on spellcasting and have sufficient [[energy]]. The stethoscope can also be used indefinitely, but does not reveal inventory, can only be used on adjacent monsters, and, in Slash'EM Extended, has a 1% chance of breaking whenever it is used.
+Despite these shortcomings, the spell can be a reasonable substitute for the [[wand of probing]] or [[stethoscope]], whenever checking up on your pets or examining non-sleeping hostile monsters from a distance. Unlike the wand of probing, it can be used indefinitely, as long as you have no restrictions on spellcasting and have sufficient [[energy]]. The stethoscope can also be used indefinitely, but does not reveal inventory and can only be used on adjacent monsters.
 This spell comes originally from [[NetHack: The Next Generation]].

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{spellbook|name=finger|level=2|type=divination|turns=3|direction=directional}}
-The '''spellbook of finger''', in [[Slash'EM Extended]] and [[SlashTHEM]], teaches the '''finger''' spell. This level 2 [[divination]] spell, not to be confused with [[finger of death]], has the same effect as a [[wand of probing]], revealing a target monster's status and inventory, as well as buried items and the contents of statues and containers. There are a few significant differences, however:
+The '''spellbook of finger''' in [[SlashTHEM]], teaches the '''finger''' spell. This level 2 [[divination]] spell, not to be confused with [[finger of death]], has the same effect as a [[wand of probing]], revealing a target monster's status and inventory, as well as buried items and the contents of statues and containers. There are a few significant differences, however:
 * "Finger" will not reveal the identity of [[invisible]] creatures.
 * Casting "finger" on peaceful creatures may anger them ([[tame]] creatures are safe).
@@ Line 8: / Line 9: @@
 This spell comes originally from [[NetHack: The Next Generation]].
 [[Category: NetHack: The Next Generation]]
-[[Category: Slash'EM Extended items]]
+[[Category: SlashTHEM items]]

Spellbook of finger - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: /* Description */ word choice

Umbire the Phantom: bit more

Umbire the Phantom: expand this bad boy

Umbire the Phantom: direct link

Umbire the Phantom: formatting

Umbire the Phantom: lede

Umbire the Phantom: /* Strategy */*

Umbire the Phantom: Formatting + copyedit

Umbire the Phantom: de-SLEX

Umbire the Phantom: de-SLEX

Umbire the Phantom: /* Strategy /