Unlocking tool
( 
| |
|---|---|
| Name | skeleton key |
| Appearance | key |
| Base price | 10 zm |
| Weight | 3 |
| Material | iron |
| Monster use | May be used offensively by monsters. |
( 
| |
|---|---|
| Name | lock pick |
| Appearance | lock pick |
| Base price | 20 zm |
| Weight | 4 |
| Material | iron |
| Monster use | May be used offensively by monsters. |
( 
| |
|---|---|
| Name | credit card |
| Appearance | credit card |
| Base price | 10 zm |
| Weight | 1 |
| Material | plastic |
| Monster use | Will not be used by monsters. |
There are three unlocking tools in NetHack: the skeleton key, the lock pick (osaku to Samurai) and the credit card. The skeleton key and the lock pick allow you to lock and unlock doors and chests, while the credit card can only unlock them. Credit cards have nothing to do with money in NetHack; they appear as unlocking devices because of their popularity in films for jimmying open door locks.
Contents
Usage
The chance of successfully locking or unlocking a door depends on which tool you use, your dexterity, the type of lock, and whether or not you are a Rogue. The per-turn probabilities of success are listed in the table below.
| Tool | For Rogues | For non-Rogues | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Door | Box | Door | Box | |
| skeleton key | (70+Dex)% | (75+Dex)% | (70+Dex)% | (75+Dex)% |
| lock pick | (3*Dex + 30)% | (4*Dex + 25)% | (3*Dex)% | (4*Dex)% |
| credit card | (2*Dex + 20)% | (Dex + 20)% | (2*Dex)% | (Dex)% |
"Box" includes chests and large boxes.
If you have not succeeded after 50 turns, you give up.
This exercises your dexterity, even if you don't succeed.
To unlock doors apply the unlocking tool and then choose the direction of the door.
To unlock chests apply the unlocking tool while standing on the chest and then choose ">", for down or ".", for here.
Generation
All unlocking tools are generated uncursed.
Other effects
If a watchman sees you picking a lock, he may warn you or get hostile. If a warning is given, a trap is automatically added to the door in question.
Attempting to apply a credit card at a shopkeeper or the Oracle will produce the message "No checks, no credit, no problem.". Attempting to apply an unlocking tool on a visible monster (other than a disguised mimic) in any other situation will produce the message "I don't think Monster would appreciate that.".
Strategy
Credit cards are the lightest unlocking tool, but also the slowest, and they won't lock. Lock picks are the heaviest and most expensive, and for a Rogue with 18 dexterity give a 97% chance of (un)locking a box in one turn. However, in all other circumstances, skeleton keys are faster, as well as cheaper and lighter.
Rust does not impede the operation of any unlocking tool, however cursed tools have only half the chance to unlock versus uncursed tools.
Beginners frequently kick down doors (or do other loud actions). Although often a reasonable strategy, here are some reasons why you might want to unlock a door instead:
- Kicking wakes up nearby monsters. This includes the fabled invisible nymph. (This can have a major effect on your game, and is one of the main reasons you might choose to avoid kicking doors.)
- You cannot close and/or lock doors to partition out spawned monsters if you have kicked them down (unless you have the wizard lock spell or a wand of locking).
- For characters with low Strength and Constitution, kicking can take longer, unless wearing kicking boots. (Note that for characters with high values in those physical statistics, even an unlocked door can be faster to kick down than to open naturally if approached on the diagonal, because open doors, as opposed to destroyed doors, must be approached orthogonally.)
- The door might be attached to a shop closed for inventory. (You can check this by examining the square orthogonally next to the door using the
:command, except in a few corner cases related to bones levels.) - Kicking doors is impossible while riding or levitating.
History
All the unlocking tools first appear in NetHack 3.0.0.
In addition, the NetHack 3.0 Series had special shaped keys that fit specific locks on chests and large boxes. You might see "a chest (triangular keyhole)", for example, and a "triangular key" would open its lock much more quickly than a skeleton key; but a "square key" would not fit.
Doors did not have locks of any specific shape, and the shaped keys could not open them; you had to use one of the other unlocking tools.
Keys, and the locks that they fit, were as follows in NetHack 3.0.10:
| Key | Lock |
|---|---|
| round | round |
| square | square |
| triangular | triangular |
| oval | oval |
| octagonal | octagonal |
| hexagonal | hexagonal |
| cylindrical | wide |
| irregular | notched |
| conical | large round |
| wedge-shaped | large square |
In time, the shaped keys were felt to add nothing of value to the game, and in NetHack 3.1.0 they were removed.
As of NetHack 3.6.0, some monsters with unlocking tools in their inventories may use them to unlock doors. [1]
SLASH'EM
SLASH'EM changes unlocking tools, adding a chance for them to break[2][3], and also adding some artifact keys. Blessed unlocking tools and artifact unlocking tools will never break.
Breakage
| Tool | Breakage Chance |
|---|---|
| credit card | 1/20 |
| 1/30 (tourist picking a door) | |
| skeleton key | 1/15 |
| lockpick | 1/30 |
| 1/40 (rogue) |
Strategy
Since the unlocking tools now break, it is a good idea to carry more than one on your person. There's nothing worse than locking yourself into a shop, only to have your pick break when you try to get out again!
Once you get an artifact unlocking tool, this becomes less of a problem. Generally, you'll only need to worry about it being stolen. Note that the alignment keys are available to all players who progress far enough into the game. After this, use the key matching your alignment to avoid artifact blast, and keep the other keys in your bag of holding or in a stash.
UnNetHack
Starting with version 5.1, it is possible for UnNetHack monsters to pick up keys and use them to unlock doors.
See also
- wand of opening
- wand of locking
- spellbook of knock
- spellbook of wizard lock
- The Master Key of Thievery, an artifact skeleton key
- The Platinum Yendorian Express Card, an artifact credit card
- Alignment key (SLASH'EM only)
References
This page is based on a spoiler by Dylan O'Donnell. The original license is:
Redistribution, copying, and editing of these spoilers, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
- The original contributors to any spoiler must continue to be credited.
- Any modifications to the spoiler must be acknowledged and credited.
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.
