Difference between revisions of "Dragon scale mail"
m (→UnNetHack: Formatting) |
m (abbreviate requires no preposition) |
||
| Line 20: | Line 20: | ||
}} | }} | ||
| − | '''Dragon scale mail''' (commonly abbreviated | + | '''Dragon scale mail''' (commonly abbreviated '''DSM''') is the strongest single piece of [[body armor]] available. Its base [[AC]] reduction is 9, it [[weight|weighs]] only 40, provides a useful [[extrinsic]], is inherently [[erosion|erodeproof]], and doesn't hinder [[spellcasting]]. It does not however provide any [[magic cancellation]], and should hence be complemented by a high [[MC]] cloak. |
'''Dragon scales''' are [[body armor]] that might be dropped by a [[dragon]]. They have a base [[AC]] reduction of only 3, but are otherwise identical to the dragon scale mail of the same color. They can be [[#Making_dragon_scale_mail_from_scales|converted]] into dragon scale mail. | '''Dragon scales''' are [[body armor]] that might be dropped by a [[dragon]]. They have a base [[AC]] reduction of only 3, but are otherwise identical to the dragon scale mail of the same color. They can be [[#Making_dragon_scale_mail_from_scales|converted]] into dragon scale mail. | ||
| Line 78: | Line 78: | ||
The chance of a dragon dropping scales is 1/3, but only 1/20 if the dragon was [[revive]]d.{{refsrc|mon.c|191}} | The chance of a dragon dropping scales is 1/3, but only 1/20 if the dragon was [[revive]]d.{{refsrc|mon.c|191}} | ||
| − | Here are some methods | + | Here are some methods of generating dragons: |
# [[Reverse genocide]] dragons. This works best in an Elbereth-cage. | # [[Reverse genocide]] dragons. This works best in an Elbereth-cage. | ||
# [[Polymorph]] into a female dragon of the desired variety, lay some eggs (#[[sit]] command), let them hatch and slowly grow up into adult pet dragons. Killing them with a monster's passive attack or a trap avoids penalties. | # [[Polymorph]] into a female dragon of the desired variety, lay some eggs (#[[sit]] command), let them hatch and slowly grow up into adult pet dragons. Killing them with a monster's passive attack or a trap avoids penalties. | ||
| Line 99: | Line 99: | ||
</replacecharsblock></div> | </replacecharsblock></div> | ||
| − | If you [[reverse genocide]] for [[silver dragon scale mail]], you likely don't already have [[reflection]]. Stand on [[Elbereth]] and use a ring of [[Elbereth]] squares to keep the dragons in melee range - that way, they cannot use their breath attack. In the diagram above, engrave Elbereth on the squares marked {{white|@}} or {{yellow|$}} and put a coin on {{yellow|$}} squares only. Under the coins, engraving 6 intact dust | + | If you [[reverse genocide]] for [[silver dragon scale mail]], you likely don't already have [[reflection]]. Stand on [[Elbereth]] and use a ring of [[Elbereth]] squares to keep the dragons in melee range - that way, they cannot use their breath attack. In the diagram above, engrave Elbereth on the squares marked {{white|@}} or {{yellow|$}} and put a coin on {{yellow|$}} squares only. Under the coins, engraving 6 intact iterations of 'Elbereth' in dust is enough because you can smudge at most 5 letters during the turn in which you move off the square. On your fighting spot ({{white|@}}), a permanent Elbereth, levitation, or at least a maximum-length string of semi-permanent Elbereth is recommended (engraved with hard gems, certain rings, or a non-cursed [[athame]]). |
Bad fighters and pacifists can either use a ring of conflict and tame/teleport/paralyze the last dragon, or let a powerful pet do the work. In the latter case, you want to protect your pet with semi-permanent Elbereth on all squares marked {{gray|E}} or {{cyan|)}} in the diagram below. Use cursed objects such as darts on the {{cyan|)}} squares to keep your pet from smuding the engraving. Your pet needs to be at least level 13 if reverse-genociding as a low-level player on dungeon level one, e. g. a pet [[vampire lord]]. | Bad fighters and pacifists can either use a ring of conflict and tame/teleport/paralyze the last dragon, or let a powerful pet do the work. In the latter case, you want to protect your pet with semi-permanent Elbereth on all squares marked {{gray|E}} or {{cyan|)}} in the diagram below. Use cursed objects such as darts on the {{cyan|)}} squares to keep your pet from smuding the engraving. Your pet needs to be at least level 13 if reverse-genociding as a low-level player on dungeon level one, e. g. a pet [[vampire lord]]. | ||
Revision as of 11:58, 4 January 2013
[[[[[[[[[         <color> dragon scale mail | |
|---|---|
| Appearance | <color> dragon scale mail |
| Slot | body armor |
| AC | 9 |
| Special |
|
| Base price | 900-1200 zm |
| Weight | 40 |
| Material | dragon hide |
[[[[[[[[[         <color> dragon scales | |
|---|---|
| Appearance | <color> dragon scales |
| Slot | body armor |
| AC | 3 |
| Special |
|
| Base price | 500-700 zm |
| Weight | 40 |
| Material | dragon hide |
Dragon scale mail (commonly abbreviated DSM) is the strongest single piece of body armor available. Its base AC reduction is 9, it weighs only 40, provides a useful extrinsic, is inherently erodeproof, and doesn't hinder spellcasting. It does not however provide any magic cancellation, and should hence be complemented by a high MC cloak.
Dragon scales are body armor that might be dropped by a dragon. They have a base AC reduction of only 3, but are otherwise identical to the dragon scale mail of the same color. They can be converted into dragon scale mail.
The most coveted varieties are silver dragon scale mail (SDSM) for reflection and gray dragon scale mail (GDSM) for magic resistance.
Contents
Colors
The following table shows the extrinsic abilities provided by each color of dragon scales or dragon scale mail:
Black, gray, and silver dragon scale mail have a base price of 1200 zm, and their scales are 700 zm. Other varieties are 900 zm for the mail and 500 zm for the scales. Gray, silver, and yellow dragon scales are the only ones whose resistances cannot can be obtained as intrinsics.
Polymorph
Polymorphing while wearing dragon scales or dragon scale mail turns you into a dragon of the same color, with the message "You merge with your scaly armor".[1] This will break your shirt and cloak, but will leave your scales or scale mail intact. However, if you are polymorphed again while in dragon form, there is a chance that you will turn into a different large monster, destroying your armor in the process.
Dragon scale mail is considered to be magical for purposes of object polymorph, whereas dragon scales are not.
Since scales and mail are never generated randomly, they cannot be obtained by polypiling.
Acquiring scales and scale mail
There are two main ways to acquire dragon scale mail: either wish for it directly, or obtain dragon scales and then upgrade them to scale mail.
There are two other ways to obtain DSM. The first is to find it in a bones pile, which is obviously unreliable. The other option is to kill one of the player monsters on the Astral Plane, who have a chance of wearing dragon scale mail. This method is almost completely useless, since any adventurer reaching the Astral Plane will probably have DSM already.
Making dragon scale mail from scales
Dragon scale mail can be easily made from dragon scales:
- wear only the dragon scales you wish to convert
- read a non-cursed scroll of enchant armor
If the scroll is blessed, the mail gains 1 point of enchantment and becomes blessed.
Acquiring dragon scales
Dragon scale mail is simple to acquire: kill dragons of the color you want until one drops scales, and make mail out of them as described above.
The chance of a dragon dropping scales is 1/3, but only 1/20 if the dragon was revived.[2]
Here are some methods of generating dragons:
- Reverse genocide dragons. This works best in an Elbereth-cage.
- Polymorph into a female dragon of the desired variety, lay some eggs (#sit command), let them hatch and slowly grow up into adult pet dragons. Killing them with a monster's passive attack or a trap avoids penalties.
- Use undead turning on a dragon corpse.
- Seek out the dragons found in the Castle, in Ludios, and in some quest levels.
- Repeatedly #loot a throne while confused, carrying gold, without a chest present. The minimium dungeon level is 15; deeper ones work better. E.g. Castle, Vlad's Tower).
If you reverse genocide for silver dragon scale mail, you likely don't already have reflection. Stand on Elbereth and use a ring of Elbereth squares to keep the dragons in melee range - that way, they cannot use their breath attack. In the diagram above, engrave Elbereth on the squares marked @ or $ and put a coin on $ squares only. Under the coins, engraving 6 intact iterations of 'Elbereth' in dust is enough because you can smudge at most 5 letters during the turn in which you move off the square. On your fighting spot (@), a permanent Elbereth, levitation, or at least a maximum-length string of semi-permanent Elbereth is recommended (engraved with hard gems, certain rings, or a non-cursed athame).
Bad fighters and pacifists can either use a ring of conflict and tame/teleport/paralyze the last dragon, or let a powerful pet do the work. In the latter case, you want to protect your pet with semi-permanent Elbereth on all squares marked E or ) in the diagram below. Use cursed objects such as darts on the ) squares to keep your pet from smuding the engraving. Your pet needs to be at least level 13 if reverse-genociding as a low-level player on dungeon level one, e. g. a pet vampire lord.
|.........|
|..)))))..|
|..)EEE)..|
|..)E>E)..|
|..)EEE)..|
|..)))))..|
|.........|
|.........|
---------+-
Since silver dragons breathe frost, cold resistance and a bag to store potions is also effective protection.
Gray or silver?
Gray and silver are widely considered the two best types of dragon scale mail, but players disagree as to which is more useful in particular circumstances. Gray provides magic resistance which protects against monster spells and polytraps; silver provides reflection which protects against wands and breath attacks.
Other colors
In general, one will always want GDSM or SDSM. However, there are some corner cases where one might use another color:
- Wishless ascensions: Of course, one can obtain DSM without wishing via reverse genocide. However, some unlucky characters may find neither the scroll nor enough magic markers to write one. In this case, it is worth enchanting the first dragon scales found, simply for the AC benefit and weight reduction.
- Foodless ascensions: While players attempting a foodless ascension can get most resistances through crowning, this may be undesirable (and impossible for a foodless atheist) and still does not provide sleep resistance. The extra extrinsic may thus be worthwhile, particularly if the player already has MR and reflection from other sources. One advantage of gaining extrinsics from DSM over rings is that you have to identify the rings, first. The three most desirable colors are:
- Red dragon scale mail, to protect against the fire traps in Gehennom, can be superseded by the ring.
- Green dragon scale mail, to protect against spiked pits, poisoned missiles, and poison melee attacks, can be supplanted by an alchemy smock, by the eponymous amulet or ring, and for some roles by leveling up.
- Sleep resistance, from orange dragon scale mail, protects against traps, wands, and thrown potions. It is granted to elves at level 4, but otherwise cannot be entirely superseded by a ring of free action, making that DSM also useful.
- If you really hate acid attacks: Short of self-polymorph or the MC 1 alchemy smock, yellow dragon scale mail is the only way to obtain acid resistance. Acid attacks are rarely threatening, however.
SLASH'EM
Getting dragon scale mail is a bit different in SLASH'EM. Baby dragons take much longer to grow up, and it is not feasible anymore to polymorph pets into dragons for their death drop (due to polymorph working like it does for player characters). However, there are many dragons in the Wyrm Caves, and there are the guaranteed gray dragon scales in the Lawful Quest and the gray dragon scale mail worn by One Eyed Sam. The last two may be somewhat difficult to liberate from their previous owners.
Some of the gnolls can be generated with dragon scale mail: gnoll warriors may be generated with orange dragon scale mail, chieftains may get blue dragon scale mail, and shamans may get either red or silver dragon scale mail.
SLASH'EM's used armor dealers can sometimes enchant armor for you. Using this service on dragon scales will turn them into dragon scale mail, providing a way for illiterate characters to obtain dragon scale mail without violating conduct. However, the player is far from guaranteed to find a shopkeeper who offers the appropriate service: only 25% of armor dealers will offer it.
New Colors In SLASH'EM
| Color | Extrinsic |
|---|---|
| Shimmering | displacement |
| Deep | level-drain resistance |
While still less useful than GDSM and SDSM, these two new dragon scale mails are still worth using for some players. Drain resistance is a lot more important in SLASH'EM, given the abundance of wands of draining in its later game; a player who has MR and reflection from other sources may well consider deep dragon scale mail as an option. Meanwhile, shimmering dragon scale mail provides a way for players to get displacement and MC 3 at the same time without sacrificing their cloak slot.
Sporkhack
In SporkHack, all colors of DSM save gray and silver have some kind of secondary effect. Spork also adds an additional color, gold, which acts as a permanent light source.
| Color | Extrinsic | SporkHack secondary extrinsic |
|---|---|---|
| Blue | shock resistance | speed |
| Black | disintegration resistance | passive blinding attack |
| Gray | magic resistance | none |
| Green | poison resistance | passive poison attack |
| Orange | sleep resistance | passive slow attack |
| Red | fire resistance | +1d6 to all melee damage |
| Silver | reflection | none |
| White | cold resistance | freezes water and lava under foot |
| Yellow | acid resistance | stun and confusion resistance |
New Colors In SporkHack
| Color | Extrinsic |
|---|---|
| Gold | radius 2 light |
UnNetHack
In UnNetHack, dragon scale mails have AC 5 (down from 9) and dragon scales have AC 1 (down from 3).
The powers of dragons and thus their scales and scale mails is randomized each game:
| Appearances | Powers (randomized each game) |
|---|---|
| tatzelworm | "magic" |
| amphitere | "reflecting" |
| draken | "fire" |
| lindworm | "ice" |
| sarkany | "sleep" |
| sirrush | "disintegration" |
| leviathan | "electric" |
| wyvern | "poison" |
| gold* | "stone"** |
| guivre | "acid" |
(*) Dragons described as "gold" always emit light, and wearing their scales or scale mail grants radius 2 light, like SporkHack.
(**) The dragon with the "stone" power has acid breath, not stoning. However, wearing its scales or scale mail confers stoning resistance.
Before wishing for dragon armor, note the new rules for wishing in UnNetHack. In particular, wands of wishing only have 0-2 charges (plus 1 wrest), and only wishes from wands can grant wishes for magical items. Dragon scale mails, magic markers, scrolls of genocide and scrolls of enchant armor all count as magical items. However, dragon scales are considered non-magical items and can thus be obtained from any wish source.
Any dragon armor can be wished for by appearance, so wishing for "guivre scale mail" (from a wand of wishing) or "guivre scales" will always work.
To wish for dragon armor by its power, the corresponding armor must be formally identified first, e.g. by using a scroll of identify on dropped dragon scales (the matching scale mail will be identified with it). The name of the power (from the table above) can then be used in the wish, e.g. "reflecting dragon scale mail".
