Alchemy
If you #dip one potion into another potion, and neither potion is a potion of water or potion of polymorph, then you are performing alchemy. If it goes well, the two potions will mix into one new potion. For those who are not spoiled, alchemy is difficult to learn.
Though most of the effects of alchemy are dangerous or unpredictable, a few specific recipes are worth it: you can use potions of gain energy to upgrade your potions of healing and extra healing. You can also use potions of gain level for those upgrades, if you need not gain levels.
This page tries to comprehensively explain alchemy. Warning: this page is the result of a read of potion.c and might need some play-testing and corrections.
Contents
Danger of alchemic blasts
Even if you are following the recipes, there is a 1/10 chance of an alchemic blast. Further, if you dip into a potion of acid or any cursed potion, you will always cause an alchemic blast. The mixture will explode, the blast will take 1 to 10 HP from you, and it will generate acid fumes (whether or not acid was an ingredient). The acid fumes will hinder the exercise of your constitution.[1]
Recipes
The potion.c#mixtype function decrees the alchemy recipes in this game. Each recipe requires you to mix two potions. The order of potions does not matter: whether you dip a potion of healing into a potion of speed, or dip a potion of speed into a potion of healing, you will make a potion of extra healing (with the 1/10 chance of an alchemic blast instead).
In the below tables, the result is on the left and the ingredients are on the right; sometimes there is a numbered list of multiple recipes. Try skimming the left column for the potion that you want to make. All potions in the tables do link to their articles.
Simple recipes
These recipes are the only ones worth attempting. Note that instead of a potion of see invisible, you probably want ring of see invisible, ring of warning, intrinsic telepathy (eat a floating eye corpse), or intrinsic warning (play and level up a Wizard). Save your potions of gain energy for alchemy to upgrade your potions of healing and potions of extra healing.
| To make | Use these ingredients |
|---|---|
| potion of extra healing | |
| potion of full healing | |
| potion of gain ability | |
| potion of see invisible |
Difficult recipes
Some recipes do not always produce the same result. The chances below add to 9/10 because there is also a 1/10 chance of alchemic blast. In fact, these recipes are so difficult that it is not worth performing them at all. TODO: create potion of gain level from alchemy page to examine why.
| To make | Use these ingredients |
|---|---|
|
|
|
Stupid recipes
There is no reason to use these recipes, wasting better potions to make worthless potions:
| To make | Use these ingredients |
|---|---|
| potion of booze | |
| potion of confusion | |
| potion of hallucination | |
| potion of sickness |
Random alchemy results
If you perform alchemy on two potions, and you did not dip into a potion of acid, then NetHack will give you some random result:
- You might make a potion of water. (1/8 chance, or 100% if potion a was diluted)
- You might make a potion of sickness. (1/4 chance)
- You might make a random potion, with the usual probabilities that apply to random potions found in the dungeon. (1/8 chance)
- You might evaporate and waste both potions. (1/2 chance)
Do not
- Do not involve any potion of acid or cursed potion in alchemy; alchemic blast!
- Do not involve any unidentified potions in alchemy; you need to know the identity of both potions to use the recipes. Identifying potions through alchemy is not feasible because of the high chance of random effects.
