Difference between revisions of "Curse items"

From NetHackWiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
m (missing word)
(formatting + copyedit + update pass)
Line 1: Line 1:
'''Curse items''' is one of the most despised [[monster spell]]s in [[NetHack]]. It can be cast in melee range by monsters such as [[lich]]es, or encountered in other ways. It will unbless or [[curse]] a number of your inventory items, which can reduce their effects or make them dangerous and difficult to remove. It can be used by both mage spell users (of level 11 or higher){{refsrc|mcastu.c|387}} and clerical spell users (of level 10 or higher).{{refsrc|mcastu.c|530}}
+
'''Curse items''' is a [[monster spell]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]''.
  
==Effects==
+
==Description==
The spell will normally affect 1d6 random items in your inventory if it succeeds; blessed items will become uncursed and uncursed items will become cursed. If you have [[half spell damage]] or [[magic resistance]], only 1d3 items will be affected; if you have both, only 1d2 will be affected.{{refsrc|sit.c|337}}
+
Curse items is a melee-range can be used by any [[monster]] of a sufficient [[Monster level|level]] that can cast spells: monsters that cast [[mage spell]]s must be at least level 10, and monsters that cast [[clerical spell]]s must be at least level 9.{{refsrc|src/mcastu.c|17|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment=mage spell list}}{{refsrc|src/mcastu.c|32|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment=clerical spell list}}{{refsrc|src/mcastu.c|112|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment=mage spell cases}}{{refsrc|src/mcastu.c|158|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment=clerical spell cases}} When cast, it will unbless or curse up to 6 items in your character's open inventory, with a separate {{frac|4}} of affecting a steed's [[saddle]] if your character is currently [[riding]], and [[half spell damage]] or [[magic resistance]] reduces this to a maximum of three items (or two with both properties).{{refsrc|src/sit.c|356|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/sit.c|377|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/sit.c|386|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}
  
Additionally, despite not being in your inventory, your steed's [[saddle]] has an independent {{frac|4}} chance of being affected, if you're [[riding]] at the time.
+
Items that are already cursed cannot be targeted by curse items.{{refsrc|src/sit.c|368|version=NetHack 3.6.7}} [[Intelligent artifact]]s each have a {{frac|4|5}} chance of individually resisting the effect, and [[Magicbane]] has a {{frac|19|20}} chance of absorbing the effect entirely.{{refsrc|src/sit.c|339|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/sit.c|371|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}
 
 
[[Magicbane]] will absorb the spell entirely 95% of the time if wielded, protecting all of your items. [[Intelligent artifact]]s will individually resist the effect 80% of the time; this doesn't protect other items.
 
  
 
==Strategy==
 
==Strategy==
 +
Curse items one of the most despised monster spells, due to the various annoying and detrimental effects of curse items: cursed rings and armor will become welded to your finger, cursed weapons will additionally disrupt two-weaponing when welded to you, and cursed food confers less nutrition and may render you unconscious. Cursed tools also become more of a hindrance, with [[unicorn horn]]s made less effective or even harmful; a bag of holding in particular becomes much heavier if unblessed or cursed, which can slow a character down a cursed bag of holding also risks the loss of some of its contents each time you open it.
  
While [[container]]s can themselves be cursed by this spell, their contents cannot. But a [[bag of holding]] becomes much heavier if cursed, and using a cursed bag of holding risks destroying some objects inside. Most players using one will learn the {{spell of|remove curse}} spell or carry a blessed [[scroll of remove curse]], potion of [[holy water]], or a [[wand of cancellation]] in an [[oilskin sack]] or a ([[greased]]) plain [[sack]]. A less preferable alternative is to temporarily stow the bag of holding in a non-magical bag while fighting liches—even if the outer bag gets cursed, the bag of holding will be safe.
+
In addition to magic resistance and half spell damage, blessing your inventory can provide a cushion of sorts against the spell, since blessed items must be unblessed before they can be made cursed. The contents of [[bag]]s and other [[container]]s are not targeted by this spell, so it is worth bagging certain items when facing spellcasters to avoid having them cursed - a [[sack]] is most ideal for quick stashing, since it has no adverse effects while cursed; an [[oilskin sack]] can also suffice, though it only prevents [[Wet|water damage]] {{frac|2|3}} of the time while cursed. Spare sacks are also useful for keeping curse removal items in, such as [[holy water]] or a blessed [[scroll of remove curse]], to pull out or [[tip]] at a moment's notice. You can also place your bag of holding in a sack if you fear it becoming unblessed or cursed, though this increases the amount of time required to grab any necessary items from it.
 
 
To minimize the negative effects of this spell, you can bless even those items in main inventory that are not intrinsically improved by being blessed (such as armor).  Another tactic involves filling up inventory slots with individual items that are light and easily obtainable in large numbers (such as [[arrow]]s, [[dart]]s, and [[gem]]s), each given a different name so that they will not stack together.  Since the cursing effect randomly chooses items from inventory, this reduces the chance that a valuable item will be hit.
 
 
 
If you wield a [[two-handed]] [[weapon]], you should plan ahead in case monsters curse your weapon, e.g., deposit some [[holy water]] in the floor in strategic places. Keep it always blessed and make sure it's safe to pray. If your weapon does become cursed, you can empty your bag on the floor with the #[[tip]] command to reach your means of curse removal; it is best to prepare a bag of such items in advance for when prayer is inconvenient or unavailable (e.g., in [[Gehennom]]).
 
 
 
[[Potion of unholy water#Possible uses|Some items]] are better cursed, and a monster might do you the favor. To use this, you can deliberately get affected by this in a controlled manner. Drop, bag, or stash everything you wouldn't want cursed. Use one of the weaker monsters that can cast this, and confine it into a small space with [[Elbereth]] or [[boulder]]s. You may want to set this up on an early dungeon level, where other generated monsters are less dangerous.
 
  
==Non-spell sources==
+
Characters that can learn and reliably cast the {{spell of|remove curse}} spell will want to keep some [[energy]] available to cast it when needed, and must take care to have at least one hand free. While two-handed weapons are considered unpopular due to severely restricting options while cursed, a character using one (or else using a weapon and a shield) can still access their emergency bag's contents via the #tip [[extended command]] and pick up their curse removal to use should both hands have cursed items welded to them.
* [[Pray]]ing: one possible negative effect is a malignant aura.
 
* The [[Wizard of Yendor]]: Once he is dead or the [[invocation ritual]] has been performed, various [[Wizard of Yendor#Harassment|effects]] will occur at random intervals. One of these effects will curse your items.
 
* [[Sit]]ting on a [[throne]] with zero or negative [[Luck]] can produce a curse effect.
 
  
While failing to read a cursed [[spellbook]] can theoretically result in a malignant aura, this cannot actually happen in vanilla ''[[NetHack]]'' as there is no spellbook with a high enough difficulty.
+
An uncommon tactic to minimize the effects of this spell is to fill up inventory slots with individual items that are light and easily obtainable in large numbers (e.g., [[arrow]]s, [[dart]]s, [[gem]]s), then name them each so that they do not stack in order to reduce the odds of a valuable item being affected. Similarly uncommon is using a hostile caster in order to deliberately curse certain items for their alternate effects, which is typically set up in a controlled environment both to avoid more dangerous spells and prevent stronger hostile monsters from appearing.
  
 
==Messages==
 
==Messages==
 +
{{message|You feel as if you need some help.|A monster cast the spell at you.}}
 +
{{message|You feel a malignant aura surround you.|The spell was weakened by magic resistance.}}
 +
{{message|You feel a malignant aura surround the magic-absorbing blade.|Magicbane caught and nullified the cursing effect.}}
 +
{{message|<The artifact> resists!|An intelligent artifact resisted being cursed by the spell.}}
  
; "You feel as if you need some help."
+
==Variants==
: The spell was cast by an adjacent monster
+
===UnNetHack===
 
+
In [[UnNetHack]], an already-cursed container targeted by the spell will have one random item inside it cursed. This can theoretically happen recursively if you have nested cursed containers - if you are double-bagging to protect your bag of holding, it is important that the bag containing the bag of holding remains non-cursed.
or:
 
 
 
; "You notice a black glow surround you."
 
: The spell was cast remotely by the [[Wizard of Yendor]].
 
or:
 
 
 
; "A black glow surrounds you."
 
: The spell is punishment from a god.
 
 
 
If [[blind]], none of the above messages will be displayed. If [[Hallucination|hallucinating]], the color black will be replaced.
 
 
 
Then:
 
 
 
; "You feel a malignant aura surround you."
 
: Some random inventory items were cursed.
 
 
 
or:
 
 
 
; "You feel a malignant aura surround the magic-absorbing blade."
 
: The curse was absorbed by [[Magicbane]].
 
 
 
Then, possibly:
 
 
 
; "&lt;artifact&gt; resists!"
 
: An [[intelligent artifact]] resisted being cursed.  Will be displayed for each resisting artifact.
 
 
 
==UnNetHack==
 
In [[UnNetHack]], if curse items targets an already-cursed container, one random item inside it is cursed instead. This can theoretically happen recursively if you have nested cursed containers. If you are double-bagging to protect your bag of holding, it is important that the bag containing the bag of holding remains non-cursed.
 
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
 +
{{nethack-367}}
 
[[Category:Monster spells]]
 
[[Category:Monster spells]]
{{nethack-366}}
 

Revision as of 06:14, 25 March 2024

Curse items is a monster spell that appears in NetHack.

Description

Curse items is a melee-range can be used by any monster of a sufficient level that can cast spells: monsters that cast mage spells must be at least level 10, and monsters that cast clerical spells must be at least level 9.[1][2][3][4] When cast, it will unbless or curse up to 6 items in your character's open inventory, with a separate 14 of affecting a steed's saddle if your character is currently riding, and half spell damage or magic resistance reduces this to a maximum of three items (or two with both properties).[5][6][7]

Items that are already cursed cannot be targeted by curse items.[8] Intelligent artifacts each have a 45 chance of individually resisting the effect, and Magicbane has a 1920 chance of absorbing the effect entirely.[9][10]

Strategy

Curse items one of the most despised monster spells, due to the various annoying and detrimental effects of curse items: cursed rings and armor will become welded to your finger, cursed weapons will additionally disrupt two-weaponing when welded to you, and cursed food confers less nutrition and may render you unconscious. Cursed tools also become more of a hindrance, with unicorn horns made less effective or even harmful; a bag of holding in particular becomes much heavier if unblessed or cursed, which can slow a character down a cursed bag of holding also risks the loss of some of its contents each time you open it.

In addition to magic resistance and half spell damage, blessing your inventory can provide a cushion of sorts against the spell, since blessed items must be unblessed before they can be made cursed. The contents of bags and other containers are not targeted by this spell, so it is worth bagging certain items when facing spellcasters to avoid having them cursed - a sack is most ideal for quick stashing, since it has no adverse effects while cursed; an oilskin sack can also suffice, though it only prevents water damage 23 of the time while cursed. Spare sacks are also useful for keeping curse removal items in, such as holy water or a blessed scroll of remove curse, to pull out or tip at a moment's notice. You can also place your bag of holding in a sack if you fear it becoming unblessed or cursed, though this increases the amount of time required to grab any necessary items from it.

Characters that can learn and reliably cast the remove curse spell will want to keep some energy available to cast it when needed, and must take care to have at least one hand free. While two-handed weapons are considered unpopular due to severely restricting options while cursed, a character using one (or else using a weapon and a shield) can still access their emergency bag's contents via the #tip extended command and pick up their curse removal to use should both hands have cursed items welded to them.

An uncommon tactic to minimize the effects of this spell is to fill up inventory slots with individual items that are light and easily obtainable in large numbers (e.g., arrows, darts, gems), then name them each so that they do not stack in order to reduce the odds of a valuable item being affected. Similarly uncommon is using a hostile caster in order to deliberately curse certain items for their alternate effects, which is typically set up in a controlled environment both to avoid more dangerous spells and prevent stronger hostile monsters from appearing.

Messages

You feel as if you need some help.
A monster cast the spell at you.
You feel a malignant aura surround you.
The spell was weakened by magic resistance.
You feel a malignant aura surround the magic-absorbing blade.
Magicbane caught and nullified the cursing effect.
<The artifact> resists!
An intelligent artifact resisted being cursed by the spell.

Variants

UnNetHack

In UnNetHack, an already-cursed container targeted by the spell will have one random item inside it cursed. This can theoretically happen recursively if you have nested cursed containers - if you are double-bagging to protect your bag of holding, it is important that the bag containing the bag of holding remains non-cursed.

References