Mummy wrapping
[ mummy wrapping 
| |
|---|---|
| Appearance | mummy wrapping |
| Slot | cloak |
| AC | 0 |
| Special |
|
| Base price | 2 zm |
| Weight | 3 |
| Material | cloth |
A mummy wrapping is a type of cloak that appears in NetHack. It is made of cloth.
Generation
Mummy wrappings are not generated randomly. Mummies have a 6⁄7 chance of being generated with a mummy wrapping.[1]
Description
While worn, the mummy wrapping provides no base AC and MC1 and negates invisibility: invisible monsters (including the player) that wear a mummy wrapping will become visible as long as it is worn. Additionally, wearing a mummy wrapping prevents the effects of some items from turning the wearer invisible.
Strategy
The mummy wrapping is the least effective cloak in terms of AC, but it is also the lightest of all cloaks and is more than sufficient to cover body armor, including protecting it from erosion. It also does not have any base AC to lose to erosion - characters that do not start with a cloak may find a significantly-enchanted mummy wrapping a tempting choice.
Characters that elect for permanent invisibility will often keep a mummy wrapping or two on hand for various related purposes:
- Shopkeepers will not allow invisible characters to walk into their shops. A mummy wrapping can be quickly thrown on to get inside, and can optionally be removed after - leaving the store will require you to put it back on, unless you exit through other means.
- Wraiths cannot see invisible, making it vital that you wear one if you plan to lure them off graveyard levels. The mummy wrapping is poor protection against wraiths itself, and is best replaced with your usual cloak before fighting one.
Origin
The wrapping commonly associated with mummies in Ancient Egypt and other civilizations is used as part of the preservation process: careful dehydration was performed to ensure that the body was completely dried out without being too stiff, then washed and wrapped in many layers of linen cloth. These linen bandages were covered with a gum that acts as a waterproofing agent and an antimicrobial agent - Egyptian priests placed small amulets within them to guard the deceased from evil in the afterlife. Once the mummy was completely wrapped, it was coated in resin in order to keep the threat of moist air away.
The encyclopedia entry is an excerpt from 1897 science fiction novel The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells, where the titular main character wraps bandages around himself to overcome his invisibility. This is also the basis for the mummy wrapping's ability to negate certain sources of invisibility and render an invisible wearer visible.
Encyclopaedia entry
He held a white cloth -- it was a serviette he had brought
with him -- over the lower part of his face, so that his
mouth and jaws were completely hidden, and that was the
reason for his muffled voice. But it was not that which
startled Mrs. Hall. It was the fact that all his forehead
above his blue glasses was covered by a white bandage, and
that another covered his ears, leaving not a scrap of his
face exposed excepting only his pink, peaked nose. It was
bright, pink, and shiny just as it had been at first. He
wore a dark-brown velvet jacket with a high, black, linen-
lined collar turned up about his neck. The thick black
hair, escaping as it could below and between the cross
bandages, project in curious tails and horns, giving him
the strangest appearance conceivable.
