Helm
A helm is a form of armor that appears in NetHack, and is one of seven armor slots available to the hero and certain other monsters.
Contents
Description
Helms can be worn by any intelligent monster that has a head, provided that they lack horns and/or other features that would obstruct wearing the helm:[1] horned monsters cannot wear metallic helms, and polymorphing into such a monster will force a worn metallic helm off the monster's head.[2][3] Monsters without hands such nagas can wear helms but cannot put them on, and a handless monster with a worn helm is typically the result of being polymorphed.
Wearing any type of helm has a 7⁄8 chance of blocking the intelligence-draining effects from the individual tentacle attacks from a mind flayer or master mind flayer - a greased helm always blocks these effects, but the grease has a 1⁄2 chance of wearing off after each attack.
Wearing a metallic helm significantly lowers damage from falling objects, such as falling rock traps, boulders from a scroll of earth, objects thrown upward by the hero, and falling piercers - however, metallic helms also increase spellcasting failure rates, with the exception of the helm of brilliance.
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.
The helm of brilliance now has an unidentified description of "crystal helm" and is made of glass, which does not inhibit spellcasting as a material.
The helm of caution is a new helm that grants 1 AC and warning when worn.List of helms
| Name | Cost | Weight | AC | Material | Appearance | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fedora | 1 | 3 | 0 | Cloth | ||
| Dunce cap | 1 | 4 | 0 | Cloth | Conical hat | Autocurses when worn; Int and Wis set to 6 |
| Cornuthaum | 80 | 4 | 0 | Cloth | Conical hat | MC1; wizards can enchant to +7; clairvoyance and Ch+1 for wizards; blocks clairvoyance and Ch−1 for non-wizards |
| Elven leather helm | 8 | 3 | 1 | Leather | Leather hat | Can be enchanted to +7 |
| Orcish helm | 10 | 30 | 1 | Iron | Iron skull cap | |
| Dented pot | 8 | 10 | 1 | Iron | ||
| Dwarvish iron helm | 20 | 40 | 2 | Iron | Hard hat | |
| Helmet (kabuto) | 10 | 30 | 1 | Iron | (randomized) | |
| Helm of brilliance | 50 | 50 | 1 | Iron | (randomized) | Int and Wis +/− enchantment amount; doesn't hinder spellcasting |
| Helm of opposite alignment | 50 | 50 | 1 | Iron | (randomized) | Autocurses when worn; opposite alignment |
| Helm of telepathy | 50 | 50 | 1 | Iron | (randomized) | Grants telepathy |
The helms with randomized appearances marked in the chart above are given one of four descriptions: "plumed helmet", "etched helmet", "crested helmet", and "visored helmet". Helms with the appearance of a visored helmet protect against the blinding claw attack of ravens and the venom-spitting attack of cobras.
Strategy
In the earliest stages of the game, any form of hard helm will suffice early on - even a simple orcish helm is enough to prevent unexpected severe damage from falling rock traps. In later stages, greasing a worn helm is vital for any character that does not elect to genocide both types of mind flayer.
In terms of ascension kit candidates, the helm of telepathy is a popular choice for detecting hostile monsters, while the helm of brilliance is sometimes employed as a spellcasting augment; the elven leather helm is the lightest of the helms by far at 3 aum and can be safely enchanted to +7. The helm of opposite alignment may also be employed to deal with the mysterious force on the ascension run, or else to ascend at the first available altar on the Astral Plane.
Variants
SporkHack
SporkHack adds three new helms in the gnomish helm, the helm of discovery and the helm of clarity, as well as three new appearances: "little red hat" (always used for gnomish helms), "viking helmet" (which is randomized and has no effect), and "tinfoil hat" (which is randomized and always blocks telepathy and psi bolts - this includes its own telepathy if it is the appearance for a helm of telepathy).
UnNetHack
UnNetHack adds a single new helm in the tinfoil hat, which is represented as its own item rather than a randomized appearance as in SporkHack.
References
This page may need to be updated for the current version of NetHack.
It may contain text specific to NetHack 3.4.3. Information on this page may be out of date.
Editors: After reviewing this page and making necessary edits, please change the {{nethack-343}} tag to the current version's tag or {{noversion}} as appropriate.
