Randomized appearance/EvilHack

In EvilHack, as in vanilla NetHack, the unidentified appearances of potions, rings, amulets, wands, most spellbooks, most scrolls, and some types of armor are randomly shuffled at the start of each game: each item has a "default" starting appearance prior to them being shuffled, all of which can be seen in objects.c within the source code, and some item types have more randomized appearances than randomized items.

This page lists the possible randomized appearances of each item that the hero can discover in EvilHack, as well as any special abilities and other gameplay effects tied to those item appearances. The object materials system may also have some impact on item appearances. As EvilHack is a variant based on the NetHack 3.6 series, some item appearances and associated items may be imported from this or other variants into later versions of vanilla NetHack (and vice versa), and will be noted where appropriate.

Scrolls

EvilHack adds only one new scroll type, the scroll of consecration, and an associated scroll label.

Scrolls of mail and blank paper are the only ones to always have fixed appearances ("stamped scroll" and "unlabeled scroll", respectively), and scrolls of blank paper and scroll of identify are always identified at the start of each game. All other scrolls may appear with one of the following labels that can be shuffled into use at the start of a game, with the sole addition given an asterisk (*):

   ZELGO MER       JUYED AWK YACC    NR 9               XIXAXA XOXAXA XUXAXA
   PRATYAVAYAH     DAIYEN FOOELS     LEP GEX VEN ZEA    PRIRUTSENIE
   ELBIB YLOH      VERR YED HORRE    VENZAR BORGAVVE    THARR
   YUM YUM         KERNOD WEL        ELAM EBOW          DUAM XNAHT
   ANDOVA BEGARIN  KIRJE             VE FORBRYDERNE     HACKEM MUCHE
   VELOX NEB       FOOBIE BLETCH     TEMOV              GARVEN DEH
   READ ME         ETAOIN SHRDLU     LOREM IPSUM        FNORD
   KO BATE         ABRA KA DABRA     ASHPD SODALG       MAPIRO MAHAMA DIROMAT
   GNIK SISI VLE   HAPAX LEGOMENON   EIRIS SAZUN IDISI  PHOL ENDE WODAN
   GHOTI           ZLORFIK           VAS CORP BET MANI  STRC PRST SKRZ KRK
   XOR OTA         GILCHEX FRONUTS*

For the meanings and origins of some of these names, see the article on scroll origins.

A hero eating a scroll labeled YUM YUM while polymorphed into a gelatinous cube will cause the game to print YAFM.

Potions

EvilHack adds two new potion appearances, but neither of them are randomized.

For potions, the potion of water, holy water and unholy water will always appear as "clear potions" of the appropriate beatitude, and are always identified at the start of each game. Potions of sickness are given a fixed appearance ("dark green potion") in contrast to NetHack, while potions of drow poison also have a fixed appearance ("inky potion"), and both blood and vampire blood share the same fixed appearance ("blood-red potion").

All other potions may have one of the following appearances, which are all retained from vanilla NetHack and are shuffled into use at the start of a game:

   ruby        pink        orange          yellow          emerald
   fizzy       cyan        sky blue        brilliant blue  magenta
   purple-red  puce        milky           swirly          bubbly
   smoky       cloudy      effervescent    black           golden
   brown       dark        white           murky

The smoky potion and milky potion have the same effects as they do in NetHack: a hero or monster that quaffs a smoky potion may release a djinni that has a chance of granting a wish for the user afterward, while quaffing a milky potion may release a ghost that frightens the would-be drinker into immobility for three turns (which ignores free action) unless they are blind. The odds of a monster generating in each case depend on the amount of djinn or ghosts that have already been created in the current game, and generating a monster this way replaces the normal effects of the potion.

Spellbooks

EvilHack adds nineteen new spellbook covers.

Spellbooks of blank paper, novels and the unique item known as the Book of the Dead all have a fixed appearance ("plain spellbook", "paperback spellbook" and "papryus spellbook", respectively). The covers of all other regular spellbooks will appear as one of the following, with new additions given an asterisk (*):

   parchment         vellum            ragged            dog eared         mottled           stained
   electric blue*    olive green*      worn*             ominous*          cloth             leathery
   white             pink              red               orange            yellow            velvet
   light green       dark green        turquoise         cyan              light blue        dark blue
   indigo            magenta           purple            violet            tan               plaid
   light brown       dark brown        gray              wrinkled          dusty             bronze
   copper            silver            gold              glittering        shining           dull
   thin              thick             platinum*         decrepit*         antique*          crinkled*
   warped*           canvas*           hardcover*        singed*           torn*             moldy*
   blood-stained*    smudged*          moth-eaten*       faded*            mysterious*

As in NetHack, the following applies to specific randomized spellbook appearances:

• The "vellum spellbook" and "parchment spellbook" are made of leather, rather than paper as all the others are, and will break vegetarian conduct if eaten by a hero in the form of a gelatinous cube.
• Similarly, "dull spellbooks" may cause a hero that reads them while they are not confused to fall asleep unless they have sleep resistance, with that chance being dependent on a check against their wisdom. A hero that succeeds in staying awake, but is interrupted in the occupation of successfully reading a dull spellbook, must roll again in order to avoid falling asleep if they resume and will gain an effective bonus to wisdom for that attempt based on the spellbook's level.

Rings

EvilHack adds two new rings, neither of which have randomized or unidentified appearances: the ancient ring and lustrous ring are base items for two artifact rings, The One Ring and The Ring of P'hul (respectively).

Rings will randomly take one of the following appearances, the list of which is unchanged from the NetHack 3.6 series:

   wooden      granite     opal        clay        coral
   black onyx  moonstone   tiger eye   jade        bronze
   agate       topaz       sapphire    ruby        diamond
   pearl       iron        brass       copper      twisted
   steel       silver      gold        ivory       emerald
   wire        engagement  shiny       

Each ring's appearance determines their material as well as their additional effects in a given game, determines what monsters can eat them and thus what polymorph forms the hero can use to do the same, and also influences both what golems are created when polypiling and what items golems of certain materials can leave behind when destroyed. Additionally, each ring has an associated Mohs scale value, which determines the type of engraving that the ring can be used to make on the floor—the ancient ring is always made of gemstone and has a Mohs rating of 8, while the lustrous ring is always made of gold and has a Mohs rating of 3. See the appropriate section in the ring article for more information on each ring's hardness.

The following ring appearances have the associated materials and gameplay effects:

• The "wooden ring" is naturally made of wood, and can be eaten by a gelatinous cube or a hero that is polymorphed into one.
• The "granite ring", "opal ring", "clay ring", "coral ring", "black onyx ring", and "moonstone ring" are all made of mineral, and the stone to flesh spell will turn these rings into meat rings.
• The "tiger eye ring", "jade ring", "agate ring", "topaz ring", "sapphire ring", "ruby ring", "diamond ring", and "emerald ring" are all made of gemstone.
• The "bronze ring" is made of bronze, while the "brass ring" and "copper ring" are made of copper—EvilHack treats bronze and copper as distinct materials.
• The "pearl ring" and "ivory ring" are made of bone. A hero that attacks with their hands (e.g. bare hands, martial arts, monster-form claw attacks) while wearing a bone ring without gloves can damage incorporeal monsters.
• The "iron ring" is the only one to be made of iron, in contrast to NetHack.
  • As in NetHack, iron rings are rust-prone and may be destroyed if subjected to enough rusting. They are also edible for metallivores: rock moles, xorns, rust monsters, and any hero polymorphed into one of those three monsters.
  • Both elven and drow heroes that put on an iron ring will take 1d8 physical damage upon initial contact, and HP regeneration will be suppressed while the iron ring is worn—non-undead monsters that are elves or drow will avoid wearing rings made of iron if possible.
  • A hero that attacks with their hands (e.g. bare hands, martial arts, monster-form claw attacks) while wearing an iron ring without gloves will deal extra damage to iron-hating monsters.
• The "twisted ring", "steel ring" and "wire ring" are all made of steel, rather than iron as in NetHack.
• The "silver ring" is naturally made of silver, and a hero that attacks with their hands (e.g. bare hands, martial arts, monster-form claw attacks) while wearing a silver ring without gloves can damage incorporeal monsters and will deal extra silver damage to silver-hating monsters. Heroes that are vampires, crowned Infidels, have lycanthropy, or are in the form of a silver-hating monster cannot put on silver rings at all and will take damage on contact.
• The "gold ring" and "engagement ring" are both made of gold, rather than solely the gold ring as in NetHack. Gold rings, engagement rings and lustrous rings can be targeted by leprechauns and other monsters that have gold theft attacks.
• The "shiny ring" is made of platinum, rather than iron as in NetHack.

Remember that a ring of slow digestion cannot be eaten by any monster or hero, even if it has a randomized appearance that is normally edible for them.

Amulets

EvilHack adds three new amulet types with matching appearances, including two of each that are later included in NetHack 5.0.0: the amulet of guarding ("perforated amulet"), the amulet of flying ("cubical amulet"), and the EvilHack-original amulet of magic resistance ("oblong amulet").

The Amulet of Yendor and its cheap plastic imitation both appear as "the Amulet of Yendor" when unidentified, as they do in NetHack—the real Amulet is made of gemstone, rather than mithril as it originally was, while the fake Amulet is naturally made of plastic. All other amulets have a base object material of iron and will randomly take one of the following appearances, with new additions given an asterisk (*):

   circular    spherical     oval
   triangular  pyramidal     square
   concave     hexagonal     octagonal
   oblong*     perforated*   cubical*

None of the randomized appearances for amulets have any effects.

Wands

EvilHack changes one wand appearance and retains the rest from the NetHack 3.6 series. All wands will randomly take one of the following appearances, the list of which is mostly unchanged, with the sole new addition given an asterisk (*):

   aluminum    balsa       bronze*     copper      crystal
   curved      ebony       forked      glass       hexagonal
   iridium     iron        jeweled     long        maple
   marble      oak         pine        platinum    runed
   short       silver      spiked      steel       tin
   uranium     zinc

The "bronze wand" replaces the "brass wand" from NetHack, while all other appearances are retained.

Each wand's randomized appearance determines their material as well as their additional effects in a given game, and also influences what golems can be created when polypiling and what golems can leave them behind as a death drop. While the appearance of a wand also determines what monsters can eat them (and thus what polymorph forms the hero can use to do the same), eating a wand has no effect for the hero besides granting a small amount of nutrition.

• The "glass wand" and "crystal wand" are both made of fragile glass that can break—this is significant in cases such as the wand of wishing within the chest in one of the turrets of the Castle, where kicking to open the chest can shatter it.
• The "balsa wand", "maple wand", "pine wand", "oak wand", "ebony wand", and "forked wand" are all made of wood.
• The "marble wand" is made of mineral, and the stone to flesh spell will turn marble wands into meat sticks.
• The "tin wand", "iridium wand", "zinc wand", "aluminum wand", "uranium wand", and "steel wand" are all made of steel, in contrast to being either metal or iron as in NetHack.
• The "bronze wand" and "copper wand" are naturally made of bronze and copper, respectively.
• The "silver wand" is naturally made of silver and deal bonus damage to silver-hating monsters if wielded while attacking in melee.
• The "platinum wand" is naturally made of platinum.
• The "iron wand", "hexagonal wand", "short wand", "runed wand", "long wand", "curved wand", "spiked wand", and "jeweled wand" are all made of iron, which makes them both rust-prone and edible for metallivores.

The "balsa wand" has a minimum of 5 strength required in order to apply and break the wand, where all other wands require at least 10 strength.

Armor

Various types of armor that the hero encounters can have varied appearances, and EvilHack adds many new types of armor that qualifies for randomized appearances. Unlike the other object types listed above, this does not apply to all types of armor or even an overwhelming majority of them, and the possible object materials for a particular piece of armor are not determined by that armor's appearance.

Four sub-classes of armor have items with randomized appearances among them: helms, cloaks, gloves and boots.

Helms

EvilHack adds two new randomized helm types: the helm of caution from NetHack, and the helm of telekinesis. The six randomized helms will each have one of the following randomized appearances, with new additions given an asterisk (*):

   plumed helmet      etched helmet      crested helmet
   winged helmet*     visored helmet     spiked helmet*

The helm of brilliance will always have the appearance of a crystal helmet, as it does in NetHack 5.0.0.

The "visored helmet" protects against the blinding claw attack of ravens and the blinding venom-spitting attack of cobras while worn, in addition to its other effects.

Cloaks

EvilHack adds some new cloaks, none of which use randomized appearances, and replaces one of the cloak appearances from the NetHack 3.6 series.

The four randomized each have one of the following randomized appearances, with the sole new addition given an asterisk (*):

   tattered cape      ornamental cope      opera cloak      dusty cloak*

The "dusty cloak" appearance replaces the "piece of cloth", while all others are unchanged. Of note is that all cloak types other than the cloak of magic resistance can be auto-identified under certain circumstances.

Gloves

EvilHack adds four new types of gloves and three new randomized appearances—the only glove type that lacks an unidentified appearance is the mummified hand, which does not appear randomly and serves as the base item for The Hand of Vecna.

The seven types of gloves that appear randomly each have one of the following randomized appearances (which can affect their glyph color but not their possible materials), with new additions given an asterisk (*):

   old gloves      archer gloves*     falconry gloves*     riding gloves
   boxing gloves*  fencing gloves     padded gloves

A worn pair of "riding gloves" will increase the chance of successfully applying a saddle to a steed by 10 in addition to its other effects, unless they are the randomized appearance for gauntlets of fumbling.

Boots

EvilHack adds two new types of boots and one new randomized appearance.

The eight types of magical boots each have one of the following randomized appearances, which can affect their glyph color but not their possible materials, with the sole addition given an asterisk (*):

   mud boots      snow boots      riding boots    buckled boots
   hiking boots   combat boots    jungle boots    logger boots*

A worn pair of "mud boots" prevents slowing effects from walking through sewage, and prevents damage to current and maximum HP from rust if the hero walks through shallow water or sewage while polymorphed into an iron golem.

A worn pair of "snow boots" prevents the hero from fumbling while walking across ice in addition to its other effects (meaning that snow boots will not prevent their own fumbling effects if they are fumble boots).

A worn pair of "riding boots" will increase the chance of successfully applying a saddle to a steed by 10 in addition to its other effects, unless they are the randomized appearance for fumble boots, and this bonus is non-cumulative with the bonus given by worn riding gloves.