Confusion
Confusion, or the state of being confused, is a property that affects you in the following four ways:
- You cannot cast spells.
- You may walk in an unintended direction (though this happens at a lower rate than being stunned).
- When reading scrolls, you will mispronounce the magic words, which will cause effects different from what would occur normally.
- Reading any spellbook will instead make you tear the book into pieces.
Useful effects
While reading most scrolls when confused exhibits harmful or useless effects, there are a few confused effects from certain scrolls that have been proven quite useful:
- Scroll of charging: If your energy is at maximum, you gain 5d4 maximum energy. Otherwise, your energy is increased to maximum.
- Scroll of destroy armor: Makes one random worn armor rustproof/fireproof. Does not repair damage however. The scroll must be cursed.
- Scroll of enchant armor: Makes one random worn armor rustproof/fireproof. If that armor had damage, it is repaired. The scroll must be non-cursed.
- Scroll of enchant weapon: Makes your wielded weapon rustproof/fireproof. If it had damage, it is repaired. The scroll must be non-cursed.
- Scroll of gold detection: You detect traps and portals (spaces with the ^ symbol) on the current level. If the scroll is cursed, they are shown as gold ($ symbol). Useful on the Elemental Planes.
- Scroll of remove curse: All uncursed items have a 25% chance of being blessed and a 25% chance of being cursed if the scroll is blessed. If the scroll is uncursed, then only worn and wielded items are considered. Useful for obtaining unholy water.
- Scroll of taming: Tames monsters within an 11x11 square area. Also calms shopkeepers. Some monsters can resist. The scroll must be non-cursed.
Risks
Reading unknown scrolls while confused helps identify them. However, there are, as expected, certain risks involved:
- Scroll of genocide: Uncursed or blessed: Instadeath. Cursed: You are surrounded by 4-6 monsters of your role.
- Scroll of earth: Blessed: Creates 2-6 rocks on each square around you. Uncursed: Creates 2-6 rocks on the same square as you and each open square around you. Cursed: Creates 2-6 rocks on the same square as you. Each rock does d3 damage, with the damage capped at two points, if you're wearing a metal helmet.
- Scroll of fire: Lose one hit point, if not fire resistant.
Controlled confusion
Since confusion causes useful effects when reading certain scrolls, you probably want to be able to become confused in a controlled manner. Note that it may be desirable to do this while locked in a closet so that monsters may not suddenly gang up on you. The following are some ways to start and end confusion:
Starting
- Attempting to cast a forgotten spell.
- Quaffing a potion of confusion or a potion of booze.
- Reading a cursed scroll of confuse monster.
- Letting an umber hulk confuse you with its gaze attack.
- Eating an egg or tripe ration which turns out to be rotten (any food item has a chance of being rotten, but eggs and tripe rations have the highest chance)
Ending
- Apply a non-cursed unicorn horn.
- Waiting for it to wear off.
History
In Hack, bats could cause confusion. NetHack has now differentiated this so that stun and confusion are not the same. Bats and trapped doors can stun you; this causes you to move in random directions, like confusion would. However, only confusion will let you obtain different effects from reading scrolls.
This page is based on a spoiler by Dylan O'Donnell. The original license is:
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