The Rod of Seven Parts - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: /* Generation */ pothole

2026-05-02T05:00:43Z

‎Generation: pothole

Umbire the Phantom: detail

2026-01-29T10:08:24Z

detail

Umbire the Phantom: /* Invocation and commands */ bit more copyedit

2025-07-06T12:55:50Z

‎Invocation and commands: bit more copyedit

Umbire the Phantom: finish out

2025-07-06T02:21:40Z

finish out

Umbire the Phantom: working through touching up the table and such...

2025-07-05T19:22:36Z

working through touching up the table and such...

Umbire the Phantom: create

2025-07-05T16:49:21Z

create

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{{artifact weapon
|color=wood color
|name=The Rod of Seven Parts
|base=spear
|smalldmg=1d8 '''+1d20'''
|largedmg=1d10 '''+12d0'''
|tohit='''+1d7'''
|bonusversus=non-[[lawful]]
|skill=spear
|size=one-handed
|affiliation=<ul><li>[[lawful]]</li><li>[[intelligent artifact]]s</li></ul>
|whencarried=<ul><li>[[read]] to learn clues about command-words</li></ul>
|whenwielded=<ul><li>deals bonus damage against<br/>holy-hating monsters if blessed</li><li>deals bonus damage against<br/>unholy-hating monsters if cursed</li><li>deals bonus damage against<br/>holy- and unholy-hating monsters if uncursed</li><li>maximum enchantment of +7</li><li>increases enchantment every 7 hits</li><li>[[drain resistance]]</li><li>can [[joust]] while [[riding]] (will not break the weapon)</li><li>angers [[demon lords and princes]]</li></ul>
|wheninvoked=<ul><li>use a variety of command-words<br/>to activate various effects (see article)</li></ul>
|cost=7777
|weight=45
|material=platinum
}}
'''The Rod of Seven Parts''' is an [[artifact]] that appears in [[dNetHack]], [[notdNetHack]] and [[notnotdNetHack]]. It is a [[lawful]] [[intelligent artifact]], and its [[base item]] is a [[spear]] made of [[platinum]].

==Generation==
The Rod of Seven Parts cannot be randomly generated or [[wish]]ed for, though it is a valid artifact for [[inheritance]].

The Rod of Seven Parts is always generated in the [[Law quest (dNetHack)|Law quest]], where the blessed -7 artifact is placed within the historic [[statue]] of a [[djinni]] [[named]] "Qadeej, of the Wind Dukes of Aaqa" at the top of the Arcadian Tower during level creation.

==Description==
While [[wielded]], The Rod of Seven Parts has +1d7 [[to-hit]] and +1d20 damage bonuses against non-lawful monsters, and deals additional bonus damage against monsters based on its [[beatitude]]: +1d20 against holy-hating monsters if it is blessed, +1d10 against holy- and unholy-hating monsters if it is uncursed, and +1d20 damage against unholy-hating monsters if it is cursed. Additionally, The Rod of Seven Parts grants [[drain resistance]] while wielded, can be used to [[joust]] as with a lance while [[riding]], and will never break as a result of jousting.

If The Rod of Seven Parts is wielded when any of the [[demon lords and princes]] that demand bribes are generated, that demon will be generated as hostile rather than peaceful, and if the [[hero]] is wielding the artifact when a demon ruler warps to them and wants to demand a bribe, they will also turn hostile.

===Invocation and commands===
The Rod of Seven Parts has other features that make it a very unusual artifact, even compared to most other artifacts in dNetHack and its derivatives: [[invoking]] the artifact has no cooldown at all and will prompt the player for a command word, with different powers tied to each of the command words—[[read]]ing the artifact will study the writing engraved on the weapon, which gives clues to the player about the command words.

However, in lieu of an invocation timer, the various powers instead reduce the [[enchantment]] of the artifact—the Rod of Seven Parts has a maximum possible enchantment of +7, and basic one-word commands can reduce the Rod's enchantment down to a minimum of -7, while advanced multi-word commands can only reduce the enhancement down to +0 with the exception of one. The Rod of Seven Parts cannot be [[Scroll of enchant weapon|enchanted]] past +7, but will never be evaporated as a result of any attempt to do so. In addition to using scrolls of enchant weapon, the Rod will gain a point of enchantment for every 7th successful hit the hero lands with the artifact, up to the aforementioned maximum of +7.

The valid commands for The Rod of Seven Parts are as follows:

{| class="prettytable striped"
|-
! Command
! Approximate translation
! Effect
! Charges used
! Minimum Enhancement
|-
| '''Ruat'''
| ''Fall''
| Prompts user of a direction. Makes a single pit adjacent to user in the indicated square.
| One Charge
| -6
|-
| '''Coelum'''
| ''Heaven''
| Casts cure wounds on the user (heals (1 + level/3)d4 + level hp).
| One Charge
| -6
|-
| '''Fiat'''
| ''Let it be''
| Creates a food ration.
| One Charge
| -6
|-
| '''Justitia'''
| ''Justice''
| Casts [[Spellbook of light|light]].
| One Charge
| -6
|-
| '''Ecce'''
| ''See''
| Casts [[Spellbook of detect monsters|detect monsters]] and [[Spellbook of detect unseen|detect unseen]] (as skilled spell/blessed scroll).
| Two Charges
| -5
|-
| '''Lex'''
| ''Law''
| Grants [[enlightenment]], [[Unrestricted|unrestricts]] the spear skill, and formally [[Identification|identifies]] the Rod.
| Two Charges
| -5
|-
| '''Rex'''
| ''King''
| Grants [[Levitation]], as if for quaffing three blessed [[Potion of levitation|potions of levitation]]. After landing, the character may take off again by pressing '<' when not standing on the upstairs.
| Three Charges
| -4
|-
| '''Ruat Coelum'''
| ''Heaven Falls''
| Prompts for a target location. Causes 1+level/5 explosions centered on the indicated location, each worth d(level/2+1+int bonus). Each explosion deals fire, ice, or electricity damage, determined at random.
| One Charge
| +1
|-
| '''Fiat Justitia'''
| ''Let justice be done''
| Prompts for a direction. Casts [[Spellbook of force bolt|Force Bolt]] and [[Spellbook of slow monster|Slow Monster]] in the indicated direction, as well as [[Spellbook of cause fear|Cause Fear]].
| Two Charges
| +2
|-
| '''Lex Rex'''
| ''Law is King''
| Removes curses, sickness, and green slime.
| Three Charges
| +3
|-
| '''Ecce! Lex Rex'''
| ''See! Law is King''
| Casts [[Talk:Spellbook of charm monster|Charm Monster]].
| Five Charges
| +5
|-
| '''Ruat Coelum, Fiat Justitia'''
| ''Though heaven falls, let justice be done''
| Summons 1+level/5 pets (high level vortexes and elementals). Casts [[Spellbook of protection|protection]].
| Seven Charges
| +7
|-
| '''Ruat Coelum, Fiat Justitia. Ecce! Lex Rex!'''
| ''Though heaven falls, let justice be done. See! Law is King!''
| Summons 1+level/5 pets (high level vortexes and elementals). Heals you fully, cures sickness and green slime. Allows you to levitate by pressing '<'. Casts Charm Monsters.
| Fourteen Charges
| +7
|}

==Origin==
{{wikipedia}}
''The Rod of Seven Parts'' is the name of a 1996 accessory for the 2nd edition of the ''[[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]]'' fantasy role-playing game, written by Skip Williams. It focuses on the fictional artifact of the same name, which was originally introduced in the 1976 supplement ''Eldritch Wizardry'', and the boxed set details the rod's history and includes an adventure centered around finding its parts—the artifact also lends its name to [[wikipedia:The Rod of Seven Parts (novel)|a 1996 ''Dungeons & Dragons'' novel]] that is loosely based on the adventure from the aforementioned accessory. While The Rod of Seven Parts has appeared throughout various editions of the game, dNetHack and its derivatives draw the most inspiration for the artifact from the 1996 accessory.

Within the settings of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' itself, The Rod of Seven Parts is a nickname for The Rod of Law, a powerful artifact of lawful nature which was created by the Wind Dukes of Aaqa, or vaati, while they fought the Dawn War against the Queen of Chaos—it was given its name from being split when it was used during the battle of the Fields of Pesh in order to banish Miska the Wolf-Spider to a prison in Pandemonium; when Miska was stabbed with the rod, the chaos from its blood rendered the rod unstable, shattering it into seven pieces and scattering them across the multiverse. Afterwards, fragments of the rod would sometime surface here and there, often in times of great need, and once the rod was completed and served its purpose it was known to scatter again.

The complete rod was 5 feet (1.5 meters) long, and its width decreased from 2 inches (5.1 centimeters) across at the bottom to a half-inch (1 centimeter) at the top, while the length of the fragments from smallest to largest were 4 inches (10 centimeters), 5 inches (13 centimeters), 6 inches (15 centimeters), 8 inches (20 centimeters), 10 inches (25 centimeters), 12 inches (30 centimeters), and 15 inches (38 centimeters). Due to their lawful nature, the fragments did not appear damaged but instead displayed intricate patterns of crystalline facets on each breaking point.

Each fragment of the rod shared a common set of powers, in addition to having individual powers. Any non-lawful creature in possession of a fragment of the rod would see its worldview shifting towards a lawful disposition, while any lawful creature holding a fragment of the rod could use it to locate the next larger segment. In order to activate a segment's power, the user had to focus on a fragment-specific command word:

* The 4-inch tip possessed the ability to cast "cure light wounds" up to five times each day. Activation required the command word "Ruat".
* The 5-inch fragment could, once a day, create an effect similar to the "slow" spell for 23 minutes. Its command word was "Caelum".
* The 6-inch segment was able to cast "haste" once a day with a duration of 23 minutes, and notably did not age the wielder rapidly when doing so. Its command word was "Fiat".
* The 8-inch fragment could cast "gust of wind" five times daily. Its command word was "Justitia".
* The 10-inch segment granted its user access to the "true seeing" spell once a day, lasting for 20 minutes. Its command word was "Ecce".
* The 12-inch section, the second largest, could cast "hold monster" once a day, with the effect lasting for 20 minutes. Its command word was "Lex".
* The largest fragment, measuring 15 inches, bestowed its owner with the ability to cast "heal" once per day. Its command word was "Rex". As the largest fragment, it was also the only one that could not be used to locate other parts of the rod.

The activation words make up the latin phrase ''Ruat Caelum, Fiat Justitia. Ecce Lex, Rex'', which translates to "Though heaven falls, let justice be done. Behold, the law is king."
{{variant-343}}
[[Category:dNetHack artifacts]]
[[Category:notdNetHack artifacts]]
[[Category:notnotdNetHack artifacts]]

@@ Line 100: / Line 100: @@
 | '''Lex Rex'''
 | ''Law is King''
-| Removes curses and cures [[sickness]] and [[sliming]].
+| Removes curses and cures [[sickness]], [[sliming]] and [[gray mold infection]].
 | 3
 | +3

@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 The Rod of Seven Parts has other features that make it a very unusual artifact, even compared to most other artifacts in dNetHack and its derivatives: [[invoking]] the artifact has no cooldown at all and will prompt the player for a command word, with different powers tied to each of the command words&mdash;[[read]]ing the artifact will study the writing engraved on the weapon, which gives clues to the player about the command words.
-However, in lieu of an invocation timer, the various powers instead reduce the [[enchantment]] of the artifact&mdash;the Rod of Seven Parts has a maximum possible enchantment of +7, and basic one-word commands can reduce the Rod's enchantment down to a minimum of -7, while advanced multi-word commands can only reduce the enhancement down to +0 with the exception of one. The Rod of Seven Parts cannot be [[Scroll of enchant weapon|enchanted]] past +7, but will never be evaporated as a result of any attempt to do so. In addition to using scrolls of enchant weapon, the Rod will gain a point of enchantment for every 7th successful hit the hero lands with the artifact, up to the aforementioned maximum of +7.
+However, in lieu of an invocation timer, the various powers instead reduce the [[enchantment]] of the artifact&mdash;the Rod of Seven Parts has a maximum possible enchantment of +7, and basic one-word commands can reduce the Rod's enchantment down to a minimum of -7, while advanced multi-word commands can only reduce the enhancement down to +0, with the exception of the last one (listed further below). The Rod of Seven Parts cannot be [[Scroll of enchant weapon|enchanted]] past +7, but will never be evaporated as a result of any attempt to do so. In addition to using scrolls of enchant weapon, the Rod will gain a point of enchantment for every 7th successful hit the hero lands with the artifact, up to the aforementioned maximum of +7.
 The valid commands for The Rod of Seven Parts are as follows:
@@ Line 118: / Line 118: @@
 | '''Ruat Coelum, Fiat Justitia. Ecce! Lex Rex!'''
 | ''Though heaven falls, let justice be done. See! Law is King!''
-| Summons a number of high-level [[vortices]] and [[elemental]]s equal to 1+{{sfrac|XL|5}}, fully heals the hero while curing sickness and sliming, grants them the ability to levitate using {{kbd|<}}, and temporarily tames nearby monsters as though they read a non-cursed [[scroll of taming]] while [[confused]]. This command is the only multi-word command that can reduce the artifact's enchantment below +0.
+| Summons a number of high-level [[vortices]] and [[elemental]]s equal to 1+{{sfrac|XL|5}}, fully heals the hero while curing sickness and sliming, grants them the ability to levitate using {{kbd|<}}, and temporarily tames nearby monsters as though the hero read a non-cursed [[scroll of taming]] while [[confused]]. This command is the only multi-word command that can reduce the artifact's enchantment below +0.
 | 14
 | +7

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 ==Generation==
-The Rod of Seven Parts cannot be randomly generated or [[wish]]ed for, though it is a valid artifact for [[inheritance]].
+The Rod of Seven Parts cannot be randomly generated or [[wished]] for, though it is a valid artifact for [[inheritance]].
 The Rod of Seven Parts is always generated in the [[Law quest (dNetHack)|Law quest]], where the blessed -7 artifact is placed within the historic [[statue]] of a [[djinni]] [[named]] "Qadeej, of the Wind Dukes of Aaqa" at the top of the Arcadian Tower during level creation.

@@ Line 100: / Line 100: @@
 | '''Lex Rex'''
 | ''Law is King''
-| Removes curses, sickness, and green slime.
+| Removes curses and cures [[sickness]] and [[sliming]].
-| Three Charges
+| 3
 | +3
 |-
 | '''Ecce! Lex Rex'''
 | ''See! Law is King''
-| Casts [[Talk:Spellbook of charm monster|Charm Monster]].
+| Casts {{+ of|charm monster}}.<!--may be single-monster, rolls against MR score-->
-| Five Charges
+| 5
 | +5
 |-
 | '''Ruat Coelum, Fiat Justitia'''
 | ''Though heaven falls, let justice be done''
-| Summons 1+level/5 pets (high level vortexes and elementals). Casts [[Spellbook of protection|protection]].
+| Summons a number of high-level [[vortices]] and [[elemental]]s equal to 1+{{sfrac|XL|5}}, and casts the {{+ of|protection}} spell.
-| Seven Charges
+| 7
 | +7
 |-
 | '''Ruat Coelum, Fiat Justitia. Ecce! Lex Rex!'''
 | ''Though heaven falls, let justice be done. See! Law is King!''
-| Summons 1+level/5 pets (high level vortexes and elementals). Heals you fully, cures sickness and green slime. Allows you to levitate by pressing '<'. Casts Charm Monsters.
+| Summons a number of high-level [[vortices]] and [[elemental]]s equal to 1+{{sfrac|XL|5}}, fully heals the hero while curing sickness and sliming, grants them the ability to levitate using {{kbd|<}}, and temporarily tames nearby monsters as though they read a non-cursed [[scroll of taming]] while [[confused]]. This command is the only multi-word command that can reduce the artifact's enchantment below +0.
-| Fourteen Charges
+| 14
 | +7
 |}
@@ Line 131: / Line 131: @@
 The complete rod was 5 feet (1.5 meters) long, and its width decreased from 2 inches (5.1 centimeters) across at the bottom to a half-inch (1 centimeter) at the top, while the length of the fragments from smallest to largest were 4 inches (10 centimeters), 5 inches (13 centimeters), 6 inches (15 centimeters), 8 inches (20 centimeters), 10 inches (25 centimeters), 12 inches (30 centimeters), and 15 inches (38 centimeters). Due to their lawful nature, the fragments did not appear damaged but instead displayed intricate patterns of crystalline facets on each breaking point.
-Each fragment of the rod shared a common set of powers, in addition to having individual powers. Any non-lawful creature in possession of a fragment of the rod would see its worldview shifting towards a lawful disposition, while any lawful creature holding a fragment of the rod could use it to locate the next larger segment. In order to activate a segment's power, the user had to focus on a fragment-specific command word:
+Each fragment of the rod shared a common set of powers, in addition to having individual powers&mdash;any non-lawful creature in possession of a fragment of the rod would see its worldview shifting towards a lawful disposition, while any lawful creature holding a fragment of the rod could use it to locate the next larger segment. In order to activate a segment's power, the user had to focus on a fragment-specific command word:
 * The 4-inch tip possessed the ability to cast "cure light wounds" up to five times each day. Activation required the command word "Ruat".
@@ Line 141: / Line 141: @@
 * The largest fragment, measuring 15 inches, bestowed its owner with the ability to cast "heal" once per day. Its command word was "Rex". As the largest fragment, it was also the only one that could not be used to locate other parts of the rod.
-The activation words make up the latin phrase ''Ruat Caelum, Fiat Justitia. Ecce Lex, Rex'', which translates to "Though heaven falls, let justice be done. Behold, the law is king."
+These are the basis for the artifact's powers and their command phrases in dNetHack and its derivatives. As shown in the tables above, the activation words make up the Latin phrase ''Ruat Caelum, Fiat Justitia. Ecce Lex, Rex'', which translates to "Though heaven falls, let justice be done. Behold, the law is king".
 {{variant-343}}
 [[Category:dNetHack artifacts]]
 [[Category:notdNetHack artifacts]]
 [[Category:notnotdNetHack artifacts]]

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
    |largedmg=1d10 '''+12d0'''
    |tohit='''+1d7'''
-   |bonusversus=non-[[lawful]]
+   |bonusversus=non-[[lawful]] monsters
    |skill=spear
    |size=one-handed
@@ Line 46: / Line 46: @@
 | '''Ruat'''
 | ''Fall''
-| Prompts user of a direction. Makes a single pit adjacent to user in the indicated square.
+| Prompts the player for a cardinal direction, then creates a single [[pit]] on a square adjacent to the hero in that direction.
-| One Charge
+| 1
 | -6
 |-
 | '''Coelum'''
 | ''Heaven''
-| Casts cure wounds on the user (heals (1 + level/3)d4 + level hp).
+| Casts "cure wounds" on the user, restoring HP equal to (1 + [[XL]]/3)d4 + [[XL]].
-| One Charge
+| 1
 | -6
 |-
 | '''Fiat'''
 | ''Let it be''
-| Creates a food ration.
+| Creates a [[food ration]].
-| One Charge
+| 1
 | -6
 |-
 | '''Justitia'''
 | ''Justice''
-| Casts [[Spellbook of light|light]].
+| Casts the {{+ of|light}} spell.
-| One Charge
+| 1
 | -6
 |-
 | '''Ecce'''
 | ''See''
-| Casts [[Spellbook of detect monsters|detect monsters]] and [[Spellbook of detect unseen|detect unseen]] (as skilled spell/blessed scroll).
+| Casts both the {{+ of|detect monsters}} and {{+ of|detect unseen}} spells simultaneously as if the hero were Skilled in [[divination spells]].
-| Two Charges
+| 2
 | -5
 |-
 | '''Lex'''
 | ''Law''
-| Grants [[enlightenment]], [[Unrestricted|unrestricts]] the spear skill, and formally [[Identification|identifies]] the Rod.
+| Grants [[enlightenment]], [[unrestrict]]s the spear skill, and will formally [[identify]] the artifact.
-| Two Charges
+| 2
 | -5
 |-
 | '''Rex'''
 | ''King''
-| Grants [[Levitation]], as if for quaffing three blessed [[Potion of levitation|potions of levitation]]. After landing, the character may take off again by pressing '<' when not standing on the upstairs.
+| Grants three uses of [[levitation]] at-will (as if from quaffing three blessed [[potions of levitation]]). After landing, the character may take off again by pressing {{kbd|<}} when not standing on an up [[stairway]]. Using the command again while there are uses of levitation left will consume one of those uses instead of lowering the Rod's enchantment. Reading the artifact will display a "crown-like decoration with raised segment(s) around the pommel", with the raised segments equal to the number of levitation uses left.
-| Three Charges
+| 3
 | -4
 |-
 | '''Ruat Coelum'''
 | ''Heaven Falls''
-| Prompts for a target location. Causes 1+level/5 explosions centered on the indicated location, each worth d(level/2+1+int bonus). Each explosion deals fire, ice, or electricity damage, determined at random.
+| Prompts the player for a target square, and causes 1+{{sfrac|XL|5}} explosions centered on that square, with the die size for damage equal to ({{sfrac|XL|2}}+1) plus an [[intelligence]]-based bonus. Each explosion deals [[Fire (element)|fire]], [[cold]] or [[shock]] damage, which is determined at random.
-| One Charge
+| 1
 | +1
 |-
 | '''Fiat Justitia'''
 | ''Let justice be done''
-| Prompts for a direction. Casts [[Spellbook of force bolt|Force Bolt]] and [[Spellbook of slow monster|Slow Monster]] in the indicated direction, as well as [[Spellbook of cause fear|Cause Fear]].
+| Prompts the player for a cardinal direction, then casts both the {{+ of|force bolt}} and {{+ of|slow monster}} spells in that direction, followed by casting {{+ of|cause fear}}.
-| Two Charges
+| 2
 | +2
 |-
@@ Line 129: / Line 129: @@
 Within the settings of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' itself, The Rod of Seven Parts is a nickname for The Rod of Law, a powerful artifact of lawful nature which was created by the Wind Dukes of Aaqa, or vaati, while they fought the Dawn War against the Queen of Chaos&mdash;it was given its name from being split when it was used during the battle of the Fields of Pesh in order to banish Miska the Wolf-Spider to a prison in Pandemonium; when Miska was stabbed with the rod, the chaos from its blood rendered the rod unstable, shattering it into seven pieces and scattering them across the multiverse. Afterwards, fragments of the rod would sometime surface here and there, often in times of great need, and once the rod was completed and served its purpose it was known to scatter again.
-The complete rod was 5 feet (1.5 meters) long, and its width decreased from 2 inches (5.1 centimeters) across at the bottom to a half-inch (1 centimeter) at the top, while the length of the fragments from smallest to largest were 4 inches (10 centimeters), 5 inches (13 centimeters), 6 inches (15 centimeters), 8 inches (20 centimeters), 10 inches (25 centimeters), 12 inches (30 centimeters), and 15 inches (38 centimeters). Due to their lawful nature, the fragments did not appear damaged but instead displayed intricate patterns of crystalline facets on each breaking point.
+The complete rod was 5 feet (1.5 meters) long, and its width decreased from 2 inches (5.1 centimeters) across at the bottom to a half-inch (1 centimeter) at the top, while the length of the fragments from smallest to largest were 4 inches (10 centimeters), 5 inches (13 centimeters), 6 inches (15 centimeters), 8 inches (20 centimeters), 10 inches (25 centimeters), 12 inches (30 centimeters), and 15 inches (38 centimeters). Due to their lawful nature, the fragments did not appear damaged but instead displayed intricate patterns of crystalline facets on each breaking point.
 Each fragment of the rod shared a common set of powers, in addition to having individual powers. Any non-lawful creature in possession of a fragment of the rod would see its worldview shifting towards a lawful disposition, while any lawful creature holding a fragment of the rod could use it to locate the next larger segment. In order to activate a segment's power, the user had to focus on a fragment-specific command word: