Gauntlets of dexterity
[  [  [  [  gauntlets of dexterity | |
|---|---|
| Appearance | random |
| Slot | gloves |
| AC | 1 |
| Special |
|
| Base price | 50 zm |
| Weight | 10 |
| Material | leather |
Gauntlets of dexterity, often abbreviated to GoD, are a type of gloves that appear in NetHack. They are made of leather, and have a randomized appearance when unidentified.
Contents
Generation
Player monsters on the Astral Plane that do not generate with a war hammer have a 7⁄8 chance of generating with a random pair of gloves and a 1⁄4 chance of those gloves being gauntlets of dexterity, for an effective 7⁄32 chance (~21.9%).[1]
Description
While worn, gauntlets of dexterity confer 1 point of base AC and modifies the wearer's dexterity based on its enchantment, up to a maximum of 25. Wearing gauntlets of dexterity with any non-zero enchantment auto-identifies them.
Strategy
Higher dexterity improves a player's chances of hitting with spells and attacks, but most players can maximize their chances to hit successfully through other means, particularly weapon skill and Luck. As such, gauntlets of dexterity are somewhat fairly uncommon, especially in ascension kits where leather gloves often suffice. Gauntlets of dexterity can still be of use to spellcasters seeking to improve their hit rates on attack spells such as magic missile and finger of death - Monks may prefer them both for general use with martial arts and to help offset the -20 to-hit penalty should they choose to wear body armor.
Other uses for these gauntlets include hitting with a thrown cockatrice egg or a potion of paralysis, whose odds of hitting cannot be improved by anything but a high dexterity score - even with 23 Dexterity, however, there is a 12% chance of missing, and hitting with a wielded egg or potion in melee is still more reliable, if you can afford it.
History
Gauntlets of dexterity first appear in NetHack 3.0.0.
Variants
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, dexterity improves your AC at higher values, making gauntlets of dexterity much more attractive to the point that they may feature in ascension kits. It is debatable whether they are worth spending a wish on, since you can obtain them by upgrading leather gloves (which will become either these or gauntlets of swimming).
The Gauntlets of Defense are a neutral pair of artifact gauntlets of dexterity that provide half physical damage while worn, and can be invoked to toggle invisibility.
NetHack brass
In NetHack brass, gauntlets of dexterity set the wearer's dexterity to their race or role's maximum similar to gauntlets of power, and they will always auto-identify when worn.
dNetHack
dNetHack also incorporates SLASH'EM-styled bonuses to AC.
Female droven Anachrononauts start with a +1 pair of gauntlets of dexterity.
dNetHack has two sets of artifact gauntlets of dexterity:
- Shield of the Resolute Heart, an unaligned artifact that can be enchanted to +7 - they confer half physical damage when worn and can be invoked to bless and repair themselves, also raising the enchantment to +3 if it is below that threshold
- The Claws of the Revenancer, a neutral crowning gift that is also made of silver, and has several effects related to life draining and undead.
EvilHack
In Evilhack, dexterity functions similarly to SLASH'EM, making gauntlets of dexterity somewhat more desirable, though the bonuses only apply while unburdened.
Gauntlets of dexterity are generated as part of various kits for player monsters, including centaurs in several roles and monks of all races.
SlashTHEM
In addition to SLASH'EM changes, SlashTHEM adds The Pickpocket's Gloves, a pair of chaotic artifact gauntlets of dexterity - they confer stealth and automatic searching while worn, and additionally provide a +20 bonus to stealing from monsters via the borrow extended command.
