Iron chain

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Name	iron chain
Appearance	iron chain
Base price	0 zm
Weight	120

An iron chain is an item in NetHack. Rather than being classed as tools or weapons, iron chains occupy their own inventory group named "Chains".

Generation

Iron chains are primarily found by killing iron golems, which will leave behind a number of chains upon death.

An iron chain is used to connect you to a heavy iron ball when you are punished; depending on how you unpunish yourself, the chain may become a separate item. Iron chains are also left behind when a drawbridge is destroyed.

Strategy

Iron chains are generally considered the most useless items in NetHack, since they perform no function as individual objects, have no value to sell to shopkeepers, and aren't heavy enough to be a decent weapon. Whereas items such as the ring of aggravate monster and the cheap plastic imitation of the Amulet of Yendor can at least be polymorphed into useful items, an iron chain will always polymorph into another iron chain.

Here are several and somewhat trivial uses for these objects:

• Throw or kick them as missiles.
• If the player is a Healer, Priest, Ranger, Tourist, or Wizard going for weaponless conduct, a chain will do more damage than Basic or Skilled bare hands (d4+1 vs d2+1 damage). Well-enchanted kicking boots will still be superior, however.
• Food for metallivores (a pet or polyself).
• Leave them in the path of hostile metallivores as a distraction.
• Polypile enough of them to make another iron golem and turn it into your pet or polymorph it into a monster worthy of sacrificing (though one is likely better off using the golem they killed in the first place if they can do this). If particularly bored, taming it and watching it get killed by a rust monster will produce an amusing message.
• Carry them in your main inventory to lower the chance that something "good" will be cursed or stolen. (Consider using lighter objects such as worthless gems instead.)
• Leave a bones file that will annoy others (using ASCII): "Darn, that's not an altar." (This might be considered very mild griefing.)
• Use one as a Vladsbane (prior to 3.6.1).
• Mark the Vibrating square (3.4.3 and older)

Encyclopedia entry

"You are fettered, " said Scrooge, trembling. "Tell me why?"
"I wear the chain I forged in life," replied the Ghost. "I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it. Is its pattern strange to you?"
Scrooge trembled more and more.
"Or would you know," pursued the Ghost, "the weight and length of the strong coil you bear yourself? It was full as heavy and as long as this, seven Christmas Eves ago. You have laboured on it, since. It is a ponderous chain!"

[ A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens ]

See also

• Punishment

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