Potion
Potions are magical drinks. They are denoted by an exclamation mark, ! and weigh 20. Some of them are very useful, some can be deadly. The effects of potions can be carried by drinking them or breaking them onto somebody by throwing it at them. Some potions can also be mixed together to form new potions — that is called alchemy.
A Unicorn horn can be used to help in identifying potions.
Smoky and Milky Potions always have special effects.
Table of potions
Potion | Cost | Weight | Prob | Appearance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
water (uncursed) | 0 | 20 | 92 | clear | |
booze | 50 | 20 | 42 | random | |
fruit juice | 50 | 20 | 42 | random | |
see invisible | 50 | 20 | 42 | random | |
sickness | 50 | 20 | 42 | random | |
confusion | 100 | 20 | 42 | random | |
extra healing | 100 | 20 | 47 | random | |
hallucination | 100 | 20 | 40 | random | |
healing | 100 | 20 | 57 | random | |
holy/unholy water | 100 | 20 | ? | clear | |
restore ability | 100 | 20 | 40 | random | |
sleeping | 100 | 20 | 42 | random | |
blindness | 150 | 20 | 40 | random | |
gain energy | 150 | 20 | 42 | random | |
invisibility | 150 | 20 | 40 | random | |
monster detection | 150 | 20 | 40 | random | |
object detection | 150 | 20 | 42 | random | |
enlightenment | 200 | 20 | 20 | random | |
full healing | 200 | 20 | 10 | random | |
levitation | 200 | 20 | 42 | random | |
polymorph | 200 | 20 | 10 | random | |
speed | 200 | 20 | 42 | random | |
acid | 250 | 20 | 10 | random | |
oil | 250 | 20 | 30 | random | |
gain ability | 300 | 20 | 42 | random | |
gain level | 300 | 20 | 20 | random | |
paralysis | 300 | 20 | 42 | random |
The table is divided into price groups. See price identification.
Hitting and Being Hit
Potions may be wielded or thrown in combat, by you or by monsters against you. A monster has an 80% chance of taking 1 HP of damage when hit (but will not be killed by this); you receive 1 to 2 HP, and, of course, you can be killed this way. If you want fair, go play checkers. If you don't see the potion hit the monster, you will get the message "Crash!" Whoever is hit by a potion will be affected by the potion, but generally to a lesser extent than from quaffing it. It is also possible for these effects to apply to creatures in adjacent squares, so wielding a potion hand-to-hand can be riskier than thowing it from a distance.
Pointless Ruminations
Potions, or rather the bottles they come in, are one of the more remarkable types of objects in the world of Nethack. Potion bottles are not watertight, because falling in water while carrying them dilutes them. And yet they don't ordinarily spill or leak, because you can carry them for tens of thousands of turns without any risk of this happening. The bottle, presumably, evaporates or shatters or otherwise is destroyed when the potion is drunk, or else it could be refilled at any fountain for a practically inexaustable supply of holy water. Perhaps it is the bottle that is magical, as much as or more than the colored liquid within.