Price identification
Price identification is the tactic of using the price of an item to try to identify it. One can use the "buy price", the price of an item in shops, or the "sell price", the price that a shopkeeper offers when you try to sell an item. The sell price is easier to use because it is not affected by your charisma. Even if you have enough scrolls of identify and no conducts in mind, pricing lets you use those scrolls earlier, before you can bless them, because it points out the most important items.
Nethack 3.6.0 introduced small changes to the shopkeeper prices that make older price guides slightly inaccurate (by 1–2 zorkmids). The tables in § Price tables are duplicated for the 3.4.3 and 3.6.0 mechanics.
Prices
Dupe
You are considered a dupe if you are either a Tourist below experience level 15, or wearing a shirt without body armor or cloak, or wearing a dunce cap.
Dupes are offered lower sell prices, and charged higher buy prices.
Base price
Base price is the listed price of the item, with following additions[1][2]:
- Base price of partly eaten food, uncursed water, and (x:-1) wands is 0.
- For positively enchanted armor and weapon (not weapon tools), 10 zorkmids is added for each point of enchantment. Negative enchantment does not influence the price.
- Artifacts have their own base prices, and special rules. See below for more information.
Sell price
When you sell an item, the price will be 1⁄2 the base price of the item, or 1⁄3 the base price if you are a dupe. If you have not yet identified this type of item, or can't see its description for whatever reason, there is a 25% chance the price will be further reduced by 25%.[3][4] You can test for this reduction (up to NetHack 3.6.0) by dropping an item and refusing to sell it repeatedly.
The price of unidentified gems is an exception: it will be 3 to 7, 3 to 8, or 3 to 9 zorkmids depending on the shopkeeper. The same shopkeeper will always offer the same price for the same kind of gems.[3][4] (Note that if you know your unidentified gem is glass, it is profitable to sell it before identifying.)
When you sell a non-empty container, the price of its contents will be added to its price. If you agree to a sale, all its contents become the property of the shop.
If the shopkeeper has less money than the sell price, he offers "only" as much as he has, i. e. "Asidanhoppo offers only 123 zorkmids for your diamond."
If the shopkeeper has no money at all, he offers you a credit for 90% of its sell price (or for the whole sell price if that is one zorkmid).
In NetHack 3.6.1, one quarter of all shopkeepers will make the 25% reduction to their offer based on their internal monster ID number.[5] This means that they will always offer the same sell price for the same item, so you cannot repeatedly drop an item to see whether its price changes. However, you can drop an item that you have informally identified in order to see whether they make the 25% reduction on it. If they do, you can conclude that other objects' sell prices are being reduced.
Buy price
When you buy a food, the base price is doubled if you are hungry, tripled if you are weak, quadrupled if you are fainting.[1][2].
If the base price is 0, it becomes 5 zorkmids (there's no such thing as a free lunch).
If an item is an unidentified glass gem, it is priced as a random precious gem of the same color. The same gem in the same game will be sold for the same price.
If an item is unidentified, but not a gem, there is 25% chance that the price will be multiplied by 4⁄3.
If you are a dupe, the price is further multiplied by 4⁄3.
Then the price is further multiplied by a coefficient depending on your charisma:
| Charisma: | ≤ 5 | 6–7 | 8–10 | 11–15 | 16–17 | 18 | ≥ 19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buy price multiplier: | 2 | 11⁄2 | 11⁄3 | 1 | 3⁄4 | 2⁄3 | 1⁄2 |
3.4.3 vs 3.6.0
In Nethack 3.4.3, all surcharges and price reductions are applied sequentially, using integer arithmetics. For example, if a character with charisma 7 buying an item with base price of 100 is charged an unidentified surcharge, the shopkeeper's price is calculated as follows:
- 100 base price
- 4⁄3 unidentified surcharge multiplier = 100 × 4⁄3 = 133
- 3⁄2 charisma multiplier = 133 × 3⁄2 = 199
The 3.6 calculation accumulates integer multipliers and divisors for all adjustments, then applies these once at the end to get the effective price. Thus for the same example, the calculation will be:
- (4⁄3) × (3⁄2) = 12⁄6
- 100 × 12⁄6 = 200
This sometimes results in prices 1 to 2 zorkmids higher or lower than would be obtained in previous versions. The stated intention of this change is to make price identification harder by ensuring that the price of items marked up twice more often equals another base price, e.g. 200zm instead of 199zm. Another consequence of this method is that the order in which adjustments are applied no longer matters.
Artifacts
Artifacts have their own base prices. For example, the price of Excalibur, Vorpal Blade, or Mjollnir is 4000, the price of Sting is only 800, the prices of quest artifacts are from 1500 to 8000. See Source:NetHack_3.4.3/include/artilist.h and Source:NetHack_3.6.0/include/artilist.h for the full table.
When you sell an artifact, its base price is considered as 1⁄4 of the listed value, and the rules above are applied. For example, the base price of Sting is considered 800⁄4 = 200 if you sell it.
When you buy an artifact, all the rules above are applied, and then the final price is multiplied by 4.
Informally it means that artifacts are sold at exorbitant prices, and bought at low prices.
Further strategies
General stores are very useful for price identification because they will offer to buy all types of items. However, you can still price-identify any object (unbreakable or in a bag of holding) in any store by throwing the item in to the shop from outside. If the item is fragile, you can have your pet carry it in, in a container if the item is cursed. Be aware that this will relinquish ownership of the item (and the container, if any) to the shopkeeper, who will then try to sell it to you. You will need to pay the asking price or steal the item to get it back, but in a pinch, this can provide a price point for an object that the shopkeeper would not normally be interested in.
Common uses
The item which is most commonly price-IDed is the scroll of identify, which is far cheaper than the other scrolls.
Also, magic lamps cost more than oil lamps, and enchanted armor costs more than the +0 version.
Price-IDing can also be useful to identify bad items. The scroll of amnesia has a base price of 200zm, ten times as much as a scroll of identify. A potion of sickness has a base price of 50zm, a potion of hallucination 100zm, and a potion of blindness 150zm.
Spellbooks are useful to price-identify as a non-Wizard, to determine whether they are low enough difficulty level to safely read. The base price of a spellbook in zorkmids is 100 times its difficulty level (the derived sell price is 50 times its difficulty level).
Stealing powerful wands
An expensive wand (base price 500zm) is either wishing or death. In general, you should have a pet steal such an item; if you don't have a pet, both wands are well worth buying. If you have neither a pet nor the gold, either should be pretty easy to obtain: throw a tripe or food ration at a wild dog or cat, or sell junk to the shopkeeper, respectively.
One might be tempted to zap the wand (wishing for a wand of death if it's a wand of wishing) at the shopkeeper, but for early characters, this is a bad idea: the death ray might miss, which can easily lead to a quick YASD, given shopkeepers' speed and damage output. Furthermore, wishing for a wand of death from a wand of wishing is generally a waste anyways, given that by the time you really need one, you can get the one Orcus carries. If you're truly concerned about your character's ability to survive long enough to buy or steal the wand, wishing for 5000 gold pieces is a safe way to be able to do so, though it is also a waste of a wish. If you really want to kill the shopkeeper, wish for a blessed figurine of an Archon, though be aware that this has a 10% chance of backfiring.
Price tables
In the tables below, the numbers in parentheses on buying prices denote the price if you are charged either (first number) or both (second number) of the unidentified surcharge or sucker markup. On the selling price, the number in parentheses denotes the amount of a randomly discounted offer. Numbers in bold represent prices that leave the base price ambiguous.
Magical armor
Boots
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Boot types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 16 (20/26) | 12 (15/19) | 10 (13/17) | 8 (10/13) | 6 (8/10) | 6 (7/9) | 4 (5/6) | 4 (3) | elven boots, kicking boots |
| 30 | 60 (80/106) | 45 (60/79) | 40 (53/70) | 30 (40/53) | 23 (30/40) | 20 (27/36) | 15 (20/26) | 15 (12) | fumble boots, levitation boots |
| 50 | 100 (132/176) | 75 (99/132) | 66 (88/117) | 50 (66/88) | 38 (50/66) | 34 (44/59) | 25 (33/44) | 25 (19) | jumping boots, speed boots, water walking boots |
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Boot types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 16 (21/28) | 12 (16/21) | 11 (14/19) | 8 (11/14) | 6 (8/11) | 5 (7/9) | 4 (5/7) | 4 (3) | elven boots, kicking boots |
| 30 | 60 (80/107) | 45 (60/80) | 40 (53/71) | 30 (40/53) | 23 (30/40) | 20 (27/36) | 15 (20/27) | 15 (11) | fumble boots, levitation boots |
| 50 | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/119) | 50 (67/89) | 38 (50/67) | 33 (44/59) | 25 (33/44) | 25 (19) | jumping boots, speed boots, water walking boots |
Fumble boots and levitation boots are both 30zm, but are of different weights. They are often cursed.
Speed boots, jumping boots, and water walking boots are all priced at 50zm. They are easily identified once worn: speed boots auto-identify if you are not already very fast (potion of speed or haste self spell), jumping boots allow you to jump, and boots of water walking are otherwise mundane.
Elven boots cause you to "walk very quietly" and self-identify if you are not already stealthy. Kicking boots are made of metal, and consequently add to spell failure percentage.
Cloaks
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Cloak types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 10 (12/16) | 7 (9/12) | 6 (8/10) | 5 (6/8) | 4 (5/6) | 4 (4/6) | 2 (3/4) | 1 | mummy wrapping |
| 40 | 80 (106/140) | 60 (79/105) | 53 (70/93) | 40 (53/70) | 30 (40/53) | 27 (36/47) | 20 (26/35) | 20 (15) | leather, orcish ("coarse mantelet") |
| 50 | 100 (132/176) | 75 (99/132) | 66 (88/117) | 50 (66/88) | 38 (50/66) | 34 (44/59) | 25 (33/44) | 25 (19) | alchemy smock ("apron"), displacement, dwarvish ("hooded cloak"), oilskin ("slippery cloak"), protection, robe ("robe") |
| 60 | 120 (160/212) | 90 (120/159) | 80 (106/141) | 60 (80/106) | 45 (60/80) | 40 (54/71) | 30 (40/53) | 30 (23) | elven ("faded pall"), invisibility, magic resistance |
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Cloak types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 10 (13/18) | 8 (10/13) | 7 (9/12) | 5 (7/9) | 4 (5/7) | 3 (4/6) | 3 (3/4) | 1 (1) | mummy wrapping |
| 40 | 80 (107/142) | 60 (80/107) | 53 (71/95) | 40 (53/71) | 30 (40/53) | 27 (36/47) | 20 (27/36) | 20 (15) | leather, orcish ("coarse mantelet") |
| 50 | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/119) | 50 (67/89) | 38 (50/67) | 33 (44/59) | 25 (33/44) | 25 (19) | alchemy smock ("apron"), displacement, dwarvish ("hooded cloak"), oilskin ("slippery cloak"), protection, robe ("robe") |
| 60 | 120 (160/213) | 90 (120/160) | 80 (107/142) | 60 (80/107) | 45 (60/80) | 40 (53/71) | 30 (40/53) | 30 (23) | elven ("faded pall"), invisibility, magic resistance |
The cloaks of displacement and protection both cost 50zm, and are the only ones at that price with a randomized appearance. If a cloak costs 60zm and has a randomized appearance, then it is either invisibility, magic resistance, or a +1 cloak of the first two types.
Other armor
All magical randomized helms (brilliance, opposite alignment, and telepathy) cost 50zm; the helmet costs 10zm.
All magical gloves (dexterity, fumbling, and power) cost 50zm; leather gloves cost 8zm.
Positive enchantment on a piece of armor increases the base price by 10zm per point of enchantment. In theory, a +2 or better pair of fumble boots might be confused for one of the much more useful 50zm boots, but the probability for positive enchantments on harmful items is too low to be worth worrying about.
Scrolls
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Scroll types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 40 (52/68) | 30 (39/51) | 26 (34/45) | 20 (26/34) | 15 (20/26) | 14 (18/23) | 10 (13/17) | 10 (8) | identify |
| 50 | 100 (132/176) | 75 (99/132) | 66 (88/117) | 50 (66/88) | 38 (50/66) | 34 (44/59) | 25 (33/44) | 25 (19) | light |
| 60 | 120 (160/212) | 90 (120/159) | 80 (106/141) | 60 (80/106) | 45 (60/80) | 40 (54/71) | 30 (40/53) | 30 (23) | blank paper ("unlabeled scroll"), enchant weapon |
| 80 | 160 (212/282) | 120 (159/211) | 106 (141/188) | 80 (106/141) | 60 (80/106) | 54 (71/94) | 40 (53/70) | 40 (30) | enchant armor, remove curse |
| 100 | 200 (266/354) | 150 (199/265) | 133 (177/236) | 100 (133/177) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/118) | 50 (66/88) | 50 (38) | confuse monster, destroy armor, fire, food detection, gold detection, magic mapping, scare monster, teleportation |
| 200 | 400 (532/708) | 300 (399/531) | 266 (354/472) | 200 (266/354) | 150 (200/266) | 134 (178/236) | 100 (133/177) | 100 (75) | amnesia, create monster, earth, taming |
| 300 | 600 (800/1066) | 450 (600/799) | 400 (533/710) | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/266) | 150 (113) | charging, genocide, punishment, stinking cloud |
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Scroll types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 40 (53/71) | 30 (40/53) | 27 (36/47) | 20 (27/36) | 15 (20/27) | 13 (18/24) | 10 (13/18) | 10 (8) | identify |
| 50 | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/119) | 50 (67/89) | 38 (50/67) | 33 (44/59) | 25 (33/44) | 25 (19) | light |
| 60 | 120 (160/213) | 90 (120/160) | 80 (107/142) | 60 (80/107) | 45 (60/80) | 40 (53/71) | 30 (40/53) | 30 (23) | blank paper ("unlabeled scroll"), enchant weapon |
| 80 | 160 (213/284) | 120 (160/213) | 107 (142/190) | 80 (107/142) | 60 (80/107) | 53 (71/95) | 40 (53/71) | 40 (30) | enchant armor, remove curse |
| 100 | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 133 (178/237) | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/119) | 50 (67/89) | 50 (38) | confuse monster, destroy armor, fire, food detection, gold detection, magic mapping, scare monster, teleportation |
| 200 | 400 (533/711) | 300 (400/533) | 267 (356/474) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 133 (178/237) | 100 (133/178) | 100 (75) | amnesia, create monster, earth, taming |
| 300 | 600 (800/1067) | 450 (600/800) | 400 (533/711) | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 150 (113) | charging, genocide, punishment, stinking cloud |
If the scroll costs 20zm, 50zm, or 60zm, it is uniquely identified. Price identification of more expensive scrolls usually involves reading them. Unless otherwise specified, you should always make sure the unknown scroll is not cursed, and never read it while confused.
If the scroll costs 80zm, it is either enchant armor or remove curse. Both are harmless, unless the scroll is cursed or you are confused. Before reading, you may want to bless the scroll, wear only armor you want to enchant, and take all the cursed items you want to uncurse.
If the scroll costs 100zm, there are two dangerous scrolls, fire and destroy armor. Before reading, to protect from ill effects of the former, put all you scrolls, potions, and spellbooks into a container, or into a closet, or leave them at different level, or just leave them at least 2 squares from you, but then you should beware of the them picked by a monster if you encountered a scroll of teleportation. To protect from ill effects of both scrolls, make sure all your armor, except shirt covered by a body armor or cloak, and body armor covered by a cloak, is something you can afford to lose.
If the scroll costs 200zm, the only dangerous scroll is amnesia, but it is really bad, and you cannot protect from it. Unless you identified the scroll of amnesia, don't read the scroll. Identify it by other means.
If the scroll costs 300zm, the only dangerous scroll is punishment. In Nethack 3.4.3, there is a simple way to get rid of the heavy iron ball, involving a pit and a boulder, but since 3.6.0, it doesn't work. Don't read the scroll unless you have non-cursed scroll of remove curse, wand of opening, know and can cast a knock spell, or can polymorph to a nymph or metallivore. Alternatively, you can bless the scroll and then read it. Blessed scrolls of punishment are harmless, and blessed scrolls of genocide and charging are more powerful than uncursed scrolls. Finally, if you are absolutely sure it is not a scroll of genocide, you can read it while confused. Beware! Reading a scroll of genocide while confused would genocide your own race, thus killing you, even if you are wearing an amulet of life saving.
Potions
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Potion types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 10 (12/16) | 7 (9/12) | 6 (8/10) | 5 (6/8) | 4 (5/6) | 4 (4/6) | 2 (3/4) | 0 | water (uncursed) |
| 50 | 100 (132/176) | 75 (99/132) | 66 (88/117) | 50 (66/88) | 38 (50/66) | 34 (44/59) | 25 (33/44) | 25 (19) | booze, fruit juice, see invisible, sickness |
| 100 | 200 (266/354) | 150 (199/265) | 133 (177/236) | 100 (133/177) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/118) | 50 (66/88) | 50 (38) | confusion, extra healing, hallucination, healing, holy water ("blessed clear potion"), unholy water ("cursed clear potion"), restore ability, sleeping |
| 150 | 300 (400/532) | 225 (300/399) | 200 (266/354) | 150 (200/266) | 113 (150/200) | 100 (134/178) | 75 (100/133) | 75 (57) | blindness, gain energy, invisibility, monster detection, object detection |
| 200 | 400 (532/708) | 300 (399/531) | 266 (354/472) | 200 (266/354) | 150 (200/266) | 134 (178/236) | 100 (133/177) | 100 (75) | enlightenment, full healing, levitation, polymorph, speed |
| 250 | 500 (666/888) | 375 (499/666) | 333 (444/592) | 250 (333/444) | 188 (250/333) | 167 (222/296) | 125 (166/222) | 125 (94) | acid, oil |
| 300 | 600 (800/1066) | 450 (600/799) | 400 (533/710) | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/266) | 150 (113) | gain ability, gain level, paralysis |
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Potion types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 10 (13/18) | 8 (10/13) | 7 (9/12) | 5 (7/9) | 4 (5/7) | 3 (4/6) | 3 (3/4) | 0 (0) | water (uncursed) |
| 50 | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/119) | 50 (67/89) | 38 (50/67) | 33 (44/59) | 25 (33/44) | 25 (19) | booze, fruit juice, see invisible, sickness |
| 100 | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 133 (178/237) | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/119) | 50 (67/89) | 50 (38) | confusion, extra healing, hallucination, healing, holy water ("blessed clear potion"), unholy water ("cursed clear potion"), restore ability, sleeping |
| 150 | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 113 (150/200) | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 75 (56) | blindness, gain energy, invisibility, monster detection, object detection |
| 200 | 400 (533/711) | 300 (400/533) | 267 (356/474) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 133 (178/237) | 100 (133/178) | 100 (75) | enlightenment, full healing, levitation, polymorph, speed |
| 250 | 500 (667/889) | 375 (500/667) | 333 (444/593) | 250 (333/444) | 188 (250/333) | 167 (222/296) | 125 (167/222) | 125 (94) | acid, oil |
| 300 | 600 (800/1067) | 450 (600/800) | 400 (533/711) | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 150 (113) | gain ability, gain level, paralysis |
If the potion is water (clear potion), price gives some information about its beautitude. If the price is 0, the water is uncursed; otherwise it is either holy or unholy water.
If the price is 250zm, you can ensure it is not cursed, then try to apply it. If it is a potion of oil, it will be lit. Do not do this when the potion is owned by a shop, or you will be forced to pay for the potion and will be charged Yendorian Fuel Tax.
Otherwise, price identification of a potion usually includes quaffing it. See Potion § Price identification then quaffing for more information.
Rings
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Ring types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 200 (266/354) | 150 (199/265) | 133 (177/236) | 100 (133/177) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/118) | 50 (66/88) | 50 (38) | adornment, hunger*, protection, protection from shape changers, stealth, sustain ability, warning |
| 150 | 300 (400/532) | 225 (300/399) | 200 (266/354) | 150 (200/266) | 113 (150/200) | 100 (134/178) | 75 (100/133) | 75 (57) | aggravate monster*, cold resistance, gain constitution, gain strength, increase accuracy, increase damage, invisibility, poison resistance, see invisible, shock resistance |
| 200 | 400 (532/708) | 300 (399/531) | 266 (354/472) | 200 (266/354) | 150 (200/266) | 134 (178/236) | 100 (133/177) | 100 (75) | fire resistance, free action, levitation, regeneration, searching, slow digestion, teleportation* |
| 300 | 600 (800/1066) | 450 (600/799) | 400 (533/710) | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/266) | 150 (113) | conflict, polymorph*, polymorph control, teleport control |
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Ring types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 133 (178/237) | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/119) | 50 (67/89) | 50 (38) | adornment, hunger*, protection, protection from shape changers, stealth, sustain ability, warning |
| 150 | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 113 (150/200) | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 75 (56) | aggravate monster*, cold resistance, gain constitution, gain strength, increase accuracy, increase damage, invisibility, poison resistance, see invisible, shock resistance |
| 200 | 400 (533/711) | 300 (400/533) | 267 (356/474) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 133 (178/237) | 100 (133/178) | 100 (75) | fire resistance, free action, levitation, regeneration, searching, slow digestion, teleportation* |
| 300 | 600 (800/1067) | 450 (600/800) | 400 (533/711) | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 150 (113) | conflict, polymorph*, polymorph control, teleport control |
An asterisk (*) indicates that this ring is generated cursed 90% of the time.
The most useful rings to price-identify are the most expensive and most powerful rings: the 200zm and 300zm rings.
All 200zm rings, provided they are non-cursed, are useful and safe to wear. These include the rings of free action, slow digestion, searching, levitation, regeneration, fire resistance and teleportation. It is important to only wear rings from this group known to be non-cursed, since uncontrolled teleportitis or a cursed ring of levitation may be hazardous. The ring of levitation auto-identifies when worn; the effects of the other 200zm rings, with the probable exceptions of fire resistance or teleportation if you already have the intrinsics, will eventually become clear if you wear the rings. The ring of regeneration can also be quickly tested for: wear it, throw a (preferably non-breakable) object up to lose a few hit points, and watch if you re-gain them every turn.
The 300zm rings include the rings of conflict, teleport control, polymorph, and polymorph control. The first two are among the most coveted items in the game and are frequent wish targets, however the ring of polymorph means that 300zm rings are not generally safe to wear. Conflict can still be easily identified by wearing it for a turn or two around a peaceful monster (remember that a shopkeeper, aligned priest, or your Quest leader are probably not wise choices). Teleport control can also be identified by putting on the ring and triggering a teleport (via trap, scroll, wand, etc.) If your 300zm ring is neither of these, do not wear it; use a scroll, spell, a handy sink or a source of enlightenment to reliably identify the other 300zm rings. Alternately, a riskier method of determining whether a 300zm ring is safe to wear is simply to wear it for a few hundred turns without wearing a shirt, cloak, or body armor (or wearing junk armor); that way, if you polymorph you will not break your useful armor.
Wands
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Wand types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 200 (266/354) | 150 (199/265) | 133 (177/236) | 100 (133/177) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/118) | 50 (66/88) | 50 (38) | light, nothing |
| 150 | 300 (400/532) | 225 (300/399) | 200 (266/354) | 150 (200/266) | 113 (150/200) | 100 (134/178) | 75 (100/133) | 75 (57) | digging, enlightenment, locking, magic missile, make invisible, opening, probing, secret door detection, slow monster, speed monster, striking, undead turning |
| 175 | 350 (466/620) | 262 (349/465) | 233 (310/413) | 175 (233/310) | 132 (175/233) | 117 (156/207) | 87 (116/155) | 87 (66) | cold, fire, lightning, sleep |
| 200 | 400 (532/708) | 300 (399/531) | 266 (356/472) | 200 (266/354) | 150 (200/266) | 134 (178/236) | 100 (133/177) | 100 (75) | cancellation, create monster, polymorph, teleportation |
| 500 | 1000 (1332/1776) | 750 (999/1332) | 666 (888/1184) | 500 (666/888) | 375 (500/666) | 334 (444/592) | 250 (333/444) | 250 (188) | death, wishing |
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Wand types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 133 (178/237) | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/119) | 50 (67/89) | 50 (38) | light, nothing |
| 150 | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 113 (150/200) | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 75 (56) | digging, enlightenment, locking, magic missile, make invisible, opening, probing, secret door detection, slow monster, speed monster, striking, undead turning |
| 175 | 350 (467/622) | 263 (350/467) | 233 (311/415) | 175 (233/311) | 131 (175/233) | 117 (156/207) | 88 (117/156) | 88 (66) | cold, fire, lightning, sleep |
| 200 | 400 (533/711) | 300 (400/533) | 267 (356/474) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 133 (178/237) | 100 (133/178) | 100 (75) | cancellation, create monster, polymorph, teleportation |
| 500 | 1000 (1333/1778) | 750 (1000/1333) | 667 (889/1185) | 500 (667/889) | 375 (500/667) | 333 (444/593) | 250 (333/444) | 250 (188) | death, wishing |
It is usually better to engrave ID wands to determine their identity, however base 175zm wands found in shops are all useful (cold, sleep, fire, or lightning), price identification can distinguish a wand of sleep from a wand of death without using another charge, any wand that makes engravings vanish that has a base price of 150zm is a wand of make invisible, and any wand that gives no message when engraved with a base price of 100zm is a wand of nothing.
Spellbooks
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Spellbook types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 133 (178/237) | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/119) | 50 (67/89) | 50 (38) | Level 1 books: force bolt, protection, detect monsters, light, sleep, jumping, healing, knock |
| 200 | 400 (533/711) | 300 (400/533) | 267 (356/474) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 133 (178/237) | 100 (133/178) | 100 (75) | Level 2 books: magic missile, drain life, create monster, detect food, confuse monster, slow monster, cure blindness, wizard lock |
| 300 | 600 (800/1067) | 450 (600/800) | 400 (533/711) | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 150 (113) | Level 3 books: remove curse, clairvoyance, detect unseen, identify, cause fear, charm monster, haste self, cure sickness, extra healing, stone to flesh |
| 400 | 800 (1067/1422) | 600 (800/1067) | 533 (711/948) | 400 (533/711) | 300 (400/533) | 267 (356/474) | 200 (267/356) | 200 (150) | Level 4 books: cone of cold, fireball, detect treasure, invisibility, levitation, restore ability |
| 500 | 1000 (1333/1778) | 750 (1000/1333) | 667 (889/1185) | 500 (667/889) | 375 (500/667) | 333 (444/593) | 250 (333/444) | 250 (188) | Level 5 books: magic mapping, dig |
| 600 | 1200 (1600/2133) | 900 (1200/1600) | 800 (1067/1422) | 600 (800/1067) | 450 (600/800) | 400 (533/711) | 300 (400/533) | 300 (225) | Level 6 books: create familiar, turn undead, teleport away, polymorph |
| 700 | 1400 (1867/2489) | 1050 (1400/1867) | 933 (1244/1659) | 700 (933/1244) | 525 (700/933) | 467 (622/830) | 350 (467/622) | 350 (263) | Level 7 books: finger of death, cancellation |
Determining the level of a spellbook can be very useful for spellcasters, since it can eliminate books that are much too high level to be read, and reveal books that should be easy to read. However, knowing the level of a spellbook is not very helpful unless the book is also BUC identified.
Variants
SLASH'EM
Price identification is more complicated in SLASH'EM, partly due to the addition of several new items, and partly due to discriminatory role-based markups:
- Barbarians pay triple the base price ("Barbarians are gullible")
- Rogues pay double the base price ("Rogues are untrustworthy")
- Samurai pay double the base price ("Samurai are from out of town")
Furthermore, in the black market, magical items cost 50 times the base price, and nonmagical items cost 25 times the base price. These markups are applied in this order, after any relevant unidentified item surcharge, sucker markup, and charisma modifier.
Relevant parts of above tables that change are given in the table below.
| Category | Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Item types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rings | 100 | 200 (266/354) | 150 (199/265) | 133 (177/236) | 100 (133/177) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/118) | 50 (66/88) | 50 (38) | adornment, hunger*, mood, protection, protection from shape changers, sleeping* stealth, sustain ability, warning |
| 150 | 300 (400/532) | 225 (300/399) | 200 (266/354) | 150 (200/266) | 113 (150/200) | 100 (134/178) | 75 (100/133) | 75 (57) | aggravate monster*, cold resistance, gain constitution, gain dexterity, gain intelligence, gain strength, gain wisdom, increase accuracy, increase damage, invisibility, poison resistance, see invisible, shock resistance | |
| Wands | 150 | 300 (400/532) | 225 (300/399) | 200 (266/354) | 150 (200/266) | 113 (150/200) | 100 (134/178) | 75 (100/133) | 75 (57) | digging, enlightenment, healing, locking, magic missile, make invisible, opening, probing, secret door detection, slow monster, speed monster, striking, undead turning |
| 175 | 350 (466/620) | 262 (349/465) | 233 (310/413) | 175 (233/310) | 132 (175/233) | 117 (156/207) | 87 (116/155) | 87 (66) | cold, draining, fire, lightning, sleep | |
| 200 | 400 (532/708) | 300 (399/531) | 266 (354/472) | 200 (266/354) | 150 (200/266) | 134 (178/236) | 100 (133/177) | 100 (75) | cancellation, create monster, fear, polymorph, teleportation | |
| 300 | 600 (800/1066) | 450 (600/799) | 400 (533/710) | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/266) | 150 (113) | create horde, extra healing, fireball | |
| Potions | 50 | 100 (132/176) | 75 (99/132) | 66 (88/117) | 50 (66/88) | 38 (50/66) | 34 (44/59) | 25 (33/44) | 25 (19) | blood ("blood-red potion"), booze, fruit juice, see invisible, sickness |
| 100 | 200 (266/354) | 150 (199/265) | 133 (177/236) | 100 (133/177) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/118) | 50 (66/88) | 50 (38) | amnesia ("sparkling potion"), clairvoyance, confusion, extra healing, hallucination, healing, holy water ("blessed clear potion"), unholy water ("cursed clear potion"), restore ability, sleeping | |
| 150 | 300 (400/532) | 225 (300/399) | 200 (266/354) | 150 (200/266) | 113 (150/200) | 100 (134/178) | 75 (100/133) | 75 (57) | blindness, ESP, gain energy, invisibility, monster detection, object detection | |
| 300 | 600 (800/1066) | 450 (600/799) | 400 (533/710) | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/266) | 150 (113) | gain ability, gain level, invulnerability, paralysis | |
| 350 | 700 (932/1242) | 525 (699/931) | 466 (621/828) | 350 (466/621) | 263 (350/466) | 234 (311/414) | 175 (233/310) | 175 (132) | vampire blood ("blood-red potion") | |
| Robes | 25 | 50 (66/88) | 37 (49/66) | 33 (44/58) | 25 (33/44) | 19 (25/33) | 17 (22/30) | 12 (16/22) | 12 (9) | robe |
| 50 | 100 (132/176) | 75 (99/132) | 66 (88/117) | 50 (66/88) | 38 (50/66) | 34 (44/59) | 25 (33/44) | 25 (19) | power, protection, weakness | |
| Cloaks | 40 | 80 (106/140) | 60 (79/105) | 53 (70/93) | 40 (53/70) | 30 (40/53) | 27 (36/47) | 20 (26/35) | 20 (15) | leather, orcish ("coarse mantelet"), poisonous |
| 60 | 120 (160/212) | 90 (120/159) | 80 (106/141) | 60 (80/106) | 45 (60/80) | 40 (54/71) | 30 (40/53) | 30 (23) | elven ("faded pall"), invisibility, lab coat ("white coat"), magic resistance |
UnNetHack
In UnNetHack, the random 25% reduction of selling price applied to the whole shop. That means if an item sells 3⁄8 of its base price, that shopkeeper will pay 25% less for everything you sell there.
GruntHack
In GruntHack, shopkeepers that hate your race increase the buy price of every item by 33% (multiplying by 4⁄3), and cut the sell price of every item by 66% (dividing by 3).
Also, the base price of any item is increased if it has object properties: by 100 for one property, 500 for two properties, 1000 for three properties, and so on.
References
External links
- Clippy is a handy tool to identify an item.
- Determine Objects by their Price works similar. It is more accurate because takes some more corner cases into account, but less broad because it works for the magical items ? ! / = + only.
- The consolidated item tables lists the base price of every single item.
- NetHack Shopping Spoiler
- DizzyPrice is an open source price identification tool updated to the new rounding method for NetHack 3.6.0.
This page may need to be updated for the current version of NetHack.
It may contain text specific to NetHack 3.6.0. Information on this page may be out of date.
Editors: After reviewing this page and making necessary edits, please change the {{nethack-360}} tag to the current version's tag or {{noversion}} as appropriate.
