Ring

A Ring, represented by =, like most other items with magical powers, can be either helpful or hazardous for the wearer. Until identified, they have a randomised appearance.

Table of rings

Ring	Cost	Notes
meat ring	5	Never randomly generated
ring of adornment	100	Chargeable
ring of hunger	100	90% generated cursed
ring of protection	100	Chargeable
ring of protection from shape changers	100
ring of stealth	100
ring of sustain ability	100
ring of warning	100
ring of aggravate monster	150	90% generated cursed
ring of cold resistance	150
ring of gain constitution	150	Chargeable
ring of gain strength	150	Chargeable
ring of increase accuracy	150	Chargeable
ring of increase damage	150	Chargeable
ring of invisibility	150
ring of poison resistance	150
ring of see invisible	150
ring of shock resistance	150
ring of fire resistance	200
ring of free action	200
ring of levitation	200
ring of regeneration	200
ring of searching	200
ring of slow digestion	200
ring of teleportation	200	90% generated cursed
ring of conflict	300
ring of polymorph	300	90% generated cursed
ring of polymorph control	300
ring of teleport control	300

Generation

Rings comprise 3% of all randomly-generated items in the main dungeon, 5% in containers, 5% on the Rogue level, and 8% in hell.

Of the rings marked as 90% cursed above, the remaining 10% are uncursed. The BUC status of chargeable rings is determined by the following table:

	+ve	+0	-ve	Total
blessed	181/1200	1/240	7/3000	59/375 ~= 16%
uncursed	1/3	1/60	19/300	31/75 ~= 41%
cursed	19/1200	1/240	307/750	161/375 ~= 43%

All other rings are generated 10% cursed, 90% uncursed, and 0% blessed. Rings of invisibility carried by Nazguls are always cursed.

The initial enchantment of a chargeable ring has an exponentially-weighted probability, but tends to be in the range of -3 to +3. When a ring with a positive enchantment is charged, it has an (enchantment before) in 7 chance of exploding. Rings with enchantments of <= -5 or >= +7 will always explode when charged. Otherwise, blessed charging adds 1 to 3 points of enchantment, cursed charging removes 1 to 2 points, and uncursed charging always adds +1. Therefore, the highest possible enchantment is +9 by charging (and +10 by random generation). You may repeatedly enchant and unenchant a ring.

Eating rings

The effects of rings are controllable by putting on and removing the ring. It is possible to obtain an effect permanently by polymorphing into a metallivore or gelatinous cube (depending on the appearance of the ring; see below) and eating the ring. There is only a 1/3 chance of obtaining the effect this way ("Magic spreads through your body as you digest the ring."). Note that the effect of eating rings that affect stats (gain constitution, gain strength, adornment) will not persist when you change from this form. Eating a ring of free action will confer sleep resistance instead. Rings of slow digestion may not be eaten ("This ring is indigestible!").

Meat rings have no effect when worn, but can be eaten as normal food. The appearances of other rings are randomized from the following descriptions. These can be eaten by any metallivore (rock mole, rust monster, or xorn):

   pearl       iron        twisted     steel       wire
   engagement  shiny

The following can additionally be eaten by metallivores not restricted to rustprone metals (rock mole or xorn):

   bronze      brass       copper      silver      gold

The following can be eaten by gelatinous cubes:

   wooden

These appearances cannot be eaten by any monster:

   granite     opal        clay        coral       black onyx
   moonstone   tiger eye   jade        agate       topaz
   sapphire    ruby        diamond     ivory       emerald

You can determine the appearance of already identified rings using the discoveries list.

Wearing a ring (other than a chargeable ring at +0) will increase the rate at which you get hungry.

Identifying rings using sinks

When a ring is dropped on top of a sink, you will get a message that can help you identify the ring. Note that most messages require that you are not blind, and the ring of hunger requires that there is a (preferably worthless) object already on the sink; if these are not the case, you will just get "You hear the ring bouncing down the drain pipe." Except for the rings of searching and slow digestion, there is a 95% chance that the ring will fall down the drain and you will lose it forever.

Message	Ring	Notes
"Several flies buzz around the sink."	meat ring	Works when blind
"The faucets flash brightly for a moment."	adornment
"Suddenly, <item> vanishes from the sink!"	hunger	An object must be on the sink. If you are unblind and it fails a resistance roll, it disappears.
"The sink glows silver/black for a moment."	protection	Silver/black determined by non-negative/negative enchantment
"The sink looks nothing like a fountain."	protection from shape changers
"The sink seems to blend into the floor for a moment."	stealth
"The water flow seems fixed."	sustain ability	Works when blind
"The sink glows white for a moment."	warning
"Several flies buzz angrily around the sink."	aggravate monster	Works when blind
"The cold water faucet flashes brightly for a moment."	cold resistance
"The water flow seems greater/lesser now."	gain constitution	Greater/lesser determined by non-negative/negative enchantment. Works when blind.
"The water flow seems stronger/weaker now."	gain strength	Stronger/weaker determined by non-negative/negative enchantment. Works when blind.
"The water flow hits/misses the drain."	increase accuracy	Hits/misses determined by non-negative/negative enchantment. Works when blind.
"The water's force seems greater/smaller now."	increase damage	Greater/smaller determined by non-negative/negative enchantment. Works when blind.
"You don't see anything happen to the sink."	invisibility
"You smell rotten <fruit>."	poison resistance	Works when blind.
"You see some air in the sink."	see invisible
"Static electricity surrounds the sink."	shock resistance	Works when blind.
"The hot water faucet flashes brightly for a moment."	fire resistance
"You see the ring slide right down the drain!"	free action
"The sink quivers upward for a moment."	levitation	Works when blind.
"The sink looks as good as new."	regeneration
"You thought your ring got lost in the sink, but there it is!"	searching	You never lose the ring. Works when blind.
"The ring is regurgitated!"	slow digestion	You never lose the ring. Works when blind.
"The sink momentarily vanishes."	teleportation
"You hear loud noises coming from the drain."	conflict	Works when blind.
"The sink momentarily looks like a fountain."	polymorph
"The sink momentarily looks like a regularly erupting geyser."	polymorph control
"The sink looks like it is being beamed aboard somewhere."	teleport control

Strategy

Dropping a ring down a sink is not a good use of it, but if you have two, you may as well use up one to identify the other. Rings are only very occasionally destroyed by an electrical attack, so spares are not essential.

This page is based on a spoiler by Dylan O'Donnell. The original license is:

Redistribution, copying, and editing of these spoilers, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

1. The original contributors to any spoiler must continue to be credited.
2. Any modifications to the spoiler must be acknowledged and credited.