Crystal ball
( 
| |
|---|---|
| Name | crystal ball |
| Appearance | glass orb |
| Base price | 60 zm |
| Weight | 150 |
| Material | [[{{{material}}}]] |
| Monster use | Will not be used by monsters. |
A crystal ball, when applied or #invoked, lets you search for a symbol on the current level, consuming a charge.[1] You use the crystal ball by looking into it, so it will not work if you are blind. A crystal ball appears as a glass orb when unidentified.
Being made of glass, a crystal ball will shatter and be destroyed if you throw it, kick it, drop it while levitating, or drop it down some stairs.
The Orb of Fate and Orb of Detection are both artifact crystal balls, as is the now-defunct Palantir of Westernesse. Invoking an artifact crystal ball will activate its artifact special ability; to peer into it you must apply it instead.
Contents
Effect
A cursed crystal ball will do nothing, explode (for 1-30 HP), or cause confusion, blindness, or hallucination.
A uncursed crystal ball allows you to look for an "object or monster symbol" by specifying its text character. This includes traps and portals, ^, but not other dungeon features such as stairs, which can make a crystal ball useful for searching for the portals on the Elemental Planes, but not for finding the stairs in a maze. Attempting to find a non-supported character, such as >, will consume a charge and produce a non-helpful message. Your chance of success depends on your intelligence, with the formula being (intelligence/20). If the attempt fails, you will suffer the effects of using a cursed crystal ball. If you are hallucinating, you will be given one of a random set of messages, but nothing useful will happen.
You may occasionally be told, "You see the Wizard of Yendor gazing out at you," but this just a little joke from the DevTeam to "make them nervous."
A blessed crystal ball has no additional effect.
Applying a crystal ball will put you into a trance for 1 to 10 turns, during which time you will be helpless if attacked. A ring of free action will not prevent this.
Charging
A crystal ball can have up to 5 charges normally, and an uncursed scroll of charging will add a single charge up to this maximum. A blessed scroll of charging will set the crystal ball to 6 charges instead.
Strategy
The crystal ball is characterized by its shortcomings, at least as much as its strengths. It is quite heavy, makes the user helpless for a period of time, and, even with 18 Intelligence, has a non-trivial 10% chance of failure--and failure can be deadly to a weak or low-level character. If it does work, it only allows the user to search for a single class of monster or object, whereas most searching items are completely reliable, non-incapacitating, and will reveal all monsters or objects on a level.
A crystal ball should never be used if you are in a position where you could be attacked in the next 10 turns.
If your Intelligence is less than 20 (and failure is therefore a possibility), if should not be used if:
- If you have fewer than 30 HP, in case of explosion.
- If you lack the means to cure blindness, confusion, or hallucination, and are unwilling to wait out the duration of those effects.
That said, there are cases in which a crystal ball can be effectively employed:
- It can be used to locate the portals on the elemental planes (as noted above) by searching for traps, ^. Do not do this unless you are safe from attack. (And remember, the Wizard can always show up...) The more traditional approach is to read a scroll of gold detection while confused. Gold detection is usually preferable, because confusion is less dangerous than being in a trance, and because four scrolls and four potions of booze or confusion weigh less than a crystal ball.
- If you are concerned about traps because, for example, you lack magic resistance and are below DL 8, where polymorph traps start to appear, using the crystal ball in a safe area can reduce the risk of falling prey to one (confused gold detection would still be better; this is a question of resource availability and conservation).
- When searching for vaults to clean out or locate the portal to Fort Ludios, a crystal ball can be used on otherwise clear levels to search for $ with a minimum of risk (gold detection and object detection are safer, but the note on resources still applies).
- Finally, a crystal ball is a magical tool, and thus a prime candidate for polypiling in hopes of receiving a magic marker.
Tourists are in a unique position to employ a crystal ball, as they have almost unlimited access to charging after their quest, and charging it will never explode it.
