Spellbook of dig
spellbook of + dig | |
---|---|
Appearance | random |
Abundance | 2.03% |
Base price | 500 zm |
Weight | 50 |
Turns to read | 30 |
Ink to write | 25–49 |
Spell type | matter |
Level | 5 |
Power cost | 25 Pw |
Direction | ray |
Equivalent | wand of digging |
Special for | caveman |
Allows you to learn the dig spell. It is the special spell for cavemen. Casting this spell is the same as zapping a wand of digging.
Strategy
This is an obviously useful spell in the matter branch of spells, but is also quite high-level compared to its effect. Zapping it upwards hits you on the head with a rock (not recommended). Zapping it downwards is more useful, causing you (except on undiggable levels) to drop through the floor to the next level. This can be useful as an emergency escape, except against monsters that follow. Zapping directionally will allow you to dig through walls. However, you will typically have a large supply of wands of digging by the time it becomes very useful, in Gehennom, so it is probably not worth learning specifically for that area. While it is the special spell for cavemen, it is almost guaranteed to be useless to them, given the spell's high level and the role's high spellcasting penalty.
There is a guaranteed spellbook of dig on the Plane of Earth (in the Wizard of Yendor's inventory), but by the time you get that far, it is probably not worth the time it takes to read the spellbook unless you have a severe shortage of other digging sources.