The Annulus
| ) The Annulus (No tile) | |
|---|---|
| Base item | chakram |
| Damage vs. small | 1d9 x2 |
| Damage vs. large | 1d9 x2 |
| To-hit bonus | +1d5 |
| Bonus versus | (any) |
| Weapon skill | boomerang |
| Size | one-handed |
| Affiliation | |
| When carried | |
| When wielded |
(none) |
| When invoked |
|
| Base price | 3000 zm |
| Weight | 10 |
| Material | silver |
The Annulus is the Anachrononaut and Android quest artifact in dNetHack and notdNetHack, and is the prize for completing the Anachrononaut quest or Android quest. It is chaotic, and its default base item is a chakram made of silver.
Contents
Generation
The Annulus cannot be wished for, and unlike most quest artifacts it will revert to the base item of the form it was in if left in a bones level.
For Anachrononauts and Androids, The Annulus will always be generated on the goal level of their respective quests, where it is placed within one of the random item piles scattered across the area at level creation - The Annulus will always be at the top of the pile in chakram form.
Description
The Annulus is an artifact that has multiple forms: a chakram, a silver ring, a khakkhara, a lightsaber, and a firearm known as the BFG. Invoking the Annulus while wielding it in any form can change between forms at will or apply the current form's specific invoke effect(s) via menu, which are listed below: the effects, 'secondary' invoke ability and invoke timeout vary between forms, and the 'secondary' effects all share an invoke timeout.
While carried, the Annulus confers half spell damage and magic resistance. The Annulus is necessary for an Anachrononaut or Android to obtain a full-scoring ascension.
Chakram
In chakram form, the Annulus has +1d5 to-hit and doubles the enchantment bonus to damage - it returns to the hand when thrown, and can be thrown multiple times in one attack dependent on the character's skill in boomerangs. While wielded, a character has the ability to cast the force bolt and magic missile spells at 0% spell failure, and force bolt deals +d12 bonus damage for every two experience levels (XL⁄2 rounded up).
Invoking the Annulus as a chakram will "annul" and instantly kill all telepathic monsters in the character's line of sight, and spell-casting monsters must pass a check against their MR score or else be killed instantly as well. Otherwise, it has a 1⁄5 chance of dealing 5d15 damage to all monsters on the level, stunning and confusing them. If you have intrinsic telepathy and invoke the effect to annul, you lose that property and are stunned and confused for 5d15 (more) turns. Killing Lugribossk with this effect will immediately cause Maanzecorian to generate. This invoke effect has a timeout of rnz(1000).
Invoking the Annulus in chakram form has a different effect on the Astral Plane if used atop the lawful high altar: the altar is destroyed, the Cerulean Sign is burnt on its former square, and the Annulus is also destroyed - this signifies the purging of Ilsensine's influence on the the lawful gods of the present time, and the character can then ascend as normal having saved their future. This particular effect ignores the artifact's invocation timer.
Silver ring
In silver ring form, the Annulus has the same effect as whichever ring has the "silver ring" randomized appearance, and additionally doubles unarmed attack damage while adding a bonus equal to twice its enchantment; this effect stacks with other unarmed-attack-boosting items. The silver ring Annulus is the only form that does not have a specific invoke effect outside of changing forms.
Khakkhara
In khakkhara form, the Annulus has +1d5 to-hit and doubles the enchantment bonus to damage, and deals up to three extra dice of +d20 silver damage. Invoking the Annulus as a khakkhara duplicates the effects of the Bell of Opening, including replicating the Bell's role in the invocation ritual, and has a timeout of rnz(100).
Lightsaber
In lightsaber form, the Annulus is a one-handed saber that appears to be made of a hollow silver pipe - it has +1d5 to-hit and +1 damage, and like all wielded lightsabers, it returns to the hand when thrown and deals three times its base dice and current enchantment in damage (i.e. 3d8 + 3x, where x is its current enchantment). The Annulus can also ignite a second medium-sized blade that extends from the hilt of the saber: this does not affect its one-handed status, and the enchantment bonus is doubled further in this form (i.e., 3d8 + 3d3 + 6x). The second blade always deals 3d3 damage regardless of size, and is not affected by the falchion tattoo in notdNetHack. Invoking the Annulus as a lightsaber causes it to charge itself dependent on its beatitude, somewhat similar to The Platinum Yendorian Express Card, and has a timeout of rnz(1000).
Firearm
In firearm form (or BFG form), the Annulus has +1d5 to-hit and doubles the enchantment bonus to damage, and has extremely high multishot bonuses and the ability to shoot any form of item as ammunition, rather than just bullets, shotgun shells, grenades, and/or rockets. The default fire rate (i.e. before applying skill level and other bonuses) is 7 bullets, 5 shotgun shells, 4 grenades, or 2 rockets, and any other objects fired are given a +4 multishot bonus. There are multiple modes of fire: fully-automatic, burst fire (1⁄3 fire rate) or single-shot.
Invoking the Annulus as a BFG can have two different effects aside from changing form:
- The Annulus will create ammo and generate either silver bullets or rockets, which can be chosen from a menu. The ammo will have a random enchantment and the same beatitude as the Annulus: this effect produces either 32-60 bullets with a blessed Annulus and 21-40 otherwise, and will always produce 4-8 rockets - if cursed, the ammo's enchantment will never be more than +0, and if blessed the ammo's enchantment will always be at least +0.
- The Annulus fires a disintegration ray, which behaves the same as a raygun set to "disintegrate".
Both effects have a timeout of rnz(100).
