Immunity to sickness

Immunity to sickness (also known as sickness resistance) is a property that appears in NetHack.

Description

A monster with immunity to sickness is completely immune to both food poisoning from tainted corpses and disease attacks from monsters like Juiblex. The following monsters have sickness resistance:

• all F fungi and molds
• Z ghouls

Disease attacks do not damage monsters regardless of immunity to sickness, but you can obtain the immunity by polymorphing into the above monsters.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

Per commit 017a868, disease attacks can now damage other monsters unless they have sickness resistance, addressing issue #594.

Green dragon scale mail and green dragon scales provide immunity to sickness.

Strategy

While the property itself would be highly useful for certain cases (e.g. dealing with Pestilence and Demogorgon), the only polyself forms that can confer it are all but useless for combat and most other purposes.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

Green dragon scales and mail make the property much more accessible, and some builds may consider it for their body armor if all other necessary properties are addressed, or else they are specifically on the hunt for Demogorgon.

History

In NetHack 3.4.3 and earlier versions, including some variants based on those versions, throne farming characters that set themselves up by a throne on an undiggable no-teleport level (such as a quest home level) and have enough Elbereth engravings and/or a boulder fort prepared may consider turning into a fungus or ghoul to cover the last remaining weakness using their immunity to sickness.

Messages

You feel a slight illness.

A monster used its disease attack against you, but you have immunity to sickness.

It doesn't seem at all sickening though...

You ate a corpse that would give you food poisoning, but you have immunity to sickness.

You are immune to sickness.

You have immunity to sickness as viewed via enlightenment.

Variants

Many variants incorporate the Convict role, which starts with intrinsic immunity to sickness (likely built up as a result of horrendous prison food).

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, the Necromancer and the Undead Slayer role each start the game with innate immunity to sickness.

UnNetHack

In UnNetHack, Convicts start with intrinsic immunity to sickness.

EvilHack

In EvilHack, immunity to sickness is made a much more commonplace property, though it is still quite rare.

In addition to the same monster types as NetHack, the following monsters have sickness resistance:

• all unliving monsters
• giant cockroaches and locusts
• all angelic beings
• baby and adult green dragons
• all elementals except the stalker
• Kathryn the Ice Queen and her Enchantress form
• convict player monsters
• all demons
• all Riders

The property can be obtained intrinsically through the following methods:

• Convicts start the game with sickness resistance.
• Healers gain sickness resistance at level 15.
• Monks gain sickness resistance at level 30.
• Crowning has a ¹⁄₁₀ chance to grant sickness resistance. Infidels that are crowned will gain sickness resistance from their demonic form.
• Polymorphing into a monster with sickness resistance confers the property for its duration.

The property can be obtained extrinsically through the following methods:

• Green dragon scales and green dragon-scaled mail confer sickness resistance while worn.
• The Hand of Vecna confers sickness resistance while bound to the character.
• The Ring of P'hul confers sickness resistance while carried.
• The Hammer of the Gods confers sickness resistance while wielded.