Smoky and milky potions
Smoky and milky potions are two of the randomly generated colors of potion; they can be any type. However, they are noteworthy because they have a chance of summoning a djinni and a ghost (respectively) upon quaffing. If either is summoned, you will not experience the potion's normal effect.
Contents
Smoky potions
Quaffing a smoky potion has a 1/(13 + 2*djinn created in the game) chance of releasing the djinni.[1] This djinni may be peaceful, may be hostile, or may grant you a wish. Blessed smoky potions have a 4/5 chance of granting a wish, uncursed potions have a 1/5 chance, and cursed potions have a 1/20 chance.[2]
The effect of quaffing a smoky potion does not depend on whether or not you have identified that type of potion. If you have identified smoky potions but have forgotten which ones they are, you can use \ to check your current identification knowledge.
Also note: a djinni can be summoned when a monster quaffs a potion. The djinni will disappear 50% of the time; otherwise it will always be peaceful and will not grant wishes.[3]
Chance of producing a djinni
| Djinn already created | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | n | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chance of producing a djinni | 7.69% | 6.67% | 5.88% | 5.26% | 4.76% | 4.35% | 1 × 1/(13 + 2n) | |
| Overall chance of wish | Blessed | 6.15% | 5.33% | 4.71% | 4.21% | 3.81% | 3.48% | 0.8 × 1/(13 + 2n) |
| Uncursed | 1.53% | 1.33% | 1.18% | 1.05% | 0.95% | 0.87% | 0.2 × 1/(13 + 2n) | |
| Cursed | 0.38% | 0.33% | 0.29% | 0.26% | 0.24% | 0.22% | 0.05 × 1/(13 + 2n) | |
Milky potions
Milky potions behave similarly to smoky potions in that they have a chance of containing a ghost. The ghost will always be hostile, and unless you are blind when you quaff the milky potion you will be "terrified, and unable to move" for three turns.
Strategy
Because of the possibility of a wish, it is worth blessing and quaffing all smoky potions, even if they are an otherwise useless or harmful type. In some cases, precautions must be taken; for example, if smoky potions are invisibility, you will need a way to deal with the permanent invisibility intrinsic.
Both of these potions can be dangerous to use in tense situations. The milky potion effect is far worse, though: three turns of paralysis can be deadly against particularly nasty monsters, particularly if the potion was full healing. The smoky potion effect can also be dangerous, however, if your only potion of full healing instead produced a djinni, particularly one which did not grant you a wish, or worse, was hostile.
