Cornuthaum
[ cornuthaum 
| |
|---|---|
| Appearance | conical hat |
| Slot | helm |
| AC | 0 |
| Special |
|
| Base price | 80 zm |
| Weight | 4 |
| Material | cloth |
A cornuthaum is a type of magical helm that appears in NetHack. It is made of cloth and appears as a conical hat when unidentified, an appearance that it shares with the dunce cap.
Contents
Generation
Cornuthaums are rare and make up 3⁄1000 of all helms randomly generated on the floor, in general shops or as death drops. Used armor dealerships and antique weapon outlets can also stock cornuthaums.
Description
While worn, a cornuthaum provides no base AC (before enchantments) and MC1, along with other effects dependent on the hero's role: Wizards wearing a cornuthaum gain 1 point of charisma and extrinsic clairvoyance, while non-Wizards lose 1 point of charisma and have all sources of clairvoyance blocked. A Wizard wearing a cornuthaum can safely enchant one to +5 and further enchant it from that threshold.
Monsters wearing a cornuthaum will only gain MC1 from doing so.
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.
Per commit edefa148, Tourists are the only role capable of reading a conical hat, and only 1⁄3 of such items will have any lettering to read—reading a cornuthaum with lettering will show the word "WIZZARD", breaking illiterate conduct and prompting the player to type-name the hat afterward.Strategy
Cornuthaums are among the best helms for Wizards, being the only permanent source of clairvoyance outside of the Amulet of Yendor. They are are often overlooked in favor of the helm of brilliance, since a potential +4 or +5 bonus to intelligence and wisdom has far more applications in most situations than the cornuthaum's +1 charisma bonus. Wizards finding a cornuthaum close to the start of the game may even prefer an orcish helm for protection from falling rock traps, at least until they can gain a few levels and raise their HP.
From the point that most Wizards are prepared to delve deeper into the dungeon, a cornuthaum is generally preferable by far for navigating the Gnomish Mines and other dark areas, even for races with infravision - most Wizards start with more than enough innate intelligence to cast low-level spells often (especially elven Wizards), and can raise their intelligence via alchemized potions of gain ability if necessary. Orcish Wizards may occasionally prefer the helm of brilliance for fully hungerless casting, but their normal cap of 16 Int will suffice for a majority of standard scenarios.
While Wizards can safely enchant a cornuthaum to +7 similar to an elven leather helm, the scrolls of enchant armor required are better spent elsewhere in their mid-to-late game, especially once they obtain The Eye of the Aethiopica and gain the power regeneration necessary to make frequent use of higher-level spells. A +5 helm of brilliance can provide the benefits of boosted intelligence and wisdom at only 1 less point of AC than a +7 cornuthaum; patient Wizards can also polypile their way to a +6 or +7 helm of brilliance using the aforementioned scrolls and readily-available elven armor.
As a helm that grants magic cancellation, the cornuthaum is the only source of MC for an intelligent humanoid pet that is too large to wear body armor, e.g. a titan or centaur—monsters such as Archons that inherently have MC1 gain no further protection from a cornuthaum outside of its enchantment.
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (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.
Large humanoids such as giants and other similar monsters can wear mummy wrappings, which also grant MC1.Identification
As the cornuthaum and the autocursing dunce cap are both conical hats, picking up and wear-testing a conical hat at random is a Bad Idea. They can easily be distinguished by price: the cornuthaum has a base cost of 80 zorkmids.
History
The cornuthaum first appears in NetHack 3.2.0 alongside the dunce cap. From this version to NetHack 3.4.3, including variants based on those versions, cornuthaums grant MC2 while worn, making them more useful as MC sources for pets and as Archon hats in particular.
Origin
"Cornuthaum" is a term coined by NetHack DevTeam member Janet Walz to describe the conical pointed hat stereotypically associated with traditional depictions of wizards and other magicians in fictional media[1][2]—cornu is Latin for "horn", and thauma (θαῦμα) is Greek for "miracle, wonder".
Among the most common forms of wizard hat is the conical blue hat covered with yellow stars and crescent moons; their shape and decoration are likely based on golden hats found during archeological digs in Europe that are adorned with astronomical sequences, and have been speculated as being worn by ancient wizards. Most other types of headwear that wizards and other magicians are depicted with will be at least conical in shape, and may even resemble a witch hat. The notion of a thinking hat may also derive from ceremonial conical hats, or even "true" thinking hats.
Messages
- You sense a pointy hat on top of your head.
- You cast the clairvoyance spell while wearing a cornuthaum, but you are not a Wizard.
Variants
Some variants based on NetHack 3.4.3 and earlier versions retain the cornuthaum's MC2.
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, upgrading a cornuthaum produces a dunce cap and vice versa.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, the cornuthaum grants 0 base AC, 0 DR and MC2 while worn.
Incantifiers can gain the same positive effects from a worn cornuthaum as Wizards.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, the Dark One has a 1⁄4 chance of generating with a cornuthaum, and Neferet the Green and the Wizard of Yendor always generate with a cornuthaum. One of the preset kits for a level 20 player monster includes a cornuthaum as the helm.
A uncursed cornuthaum is generated atop a wizard corpse named Tim the Enchanter on the second level of the Ice Queen's Realm.
SlashTHEM
In SlashTHEM, in addition to SLASH'EM changes, the Flame Mage, Ice Mage, Electric Mage, and Acid Mage roles gain a +1 bonus to charisma when wearing a cornuthaum, and Wizards gain a +2 bonus to charisma, though clairvoyance is still blocked by the worn helm for non-Wizards.
Hack'EM
In Hack'EM, upgrading a cornuthaum will produce a dunce cap and vice versa, as in SLASH'EM.
Encyclopedia entry
He was dressed in a flowing gown with fur tippets which had
the signs of the zodiac embroidered over it, with various
cabalistic signs, such as triangles with eyes in them, queer
crosses, leaves of trees, bones of birds and animals, and a
planetarium whose stars shone like bits of looking-glass with
the sun on them. He had a pointed hat like a dunce's cap, or
like the headgear worn by ladies of that time, except that
the ladies were accustomed to have a bit of veil floating
from the top of it.
"A wizard!" Dooley exclaimed, astounded.
"At your service, sirs," said the wizard. "How
perceptive of you to notice. I suppose my hat rather gives me
away. Something of a beacon, I don't doubt." His hat was
pretty much that, tall and cone-shaped with stars and crescent
moons all over it. All in all, it couldn't have been more
wizardish.
References
- ↑ src/objects.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 349
- ↑ Commit c155d23 names the specific DevTeam member that coined the term.
