Stealth

Stealth is an intrinsic ability that appears in Nethack. Sleeping monsters will not be awakened if a player with stealth approaches them.

Sources

Extrinsic stealth can be granted by several items:

• Elven boots (randomized appearance)
• Elven cloak (faded pall)
• Ring of stealth (randomized appearance)
• The Heart of Ahriman (luckstone)

Save for the Heart of Ahriman, if you do not have the stealth intrinsic then wearing the above items will auto-identify them, as will taking them off.

Intrinsic stealth

Characters can gain intrinsic stealth by:

• Reaching a certain level for some roles
  • Valkyries: 1
  • Rogues: 1
  • Archeologists: 1
  • Monks: 5
  • Rangers: 7
  • Barbarians: 15
  • Samurai: 15
• Eating a ring of stealth
• Being granted a favor while praying to your god on an aligned altar. ("I grant thee the gift of Stealth.")

Strategy

Stealth is particularly useful in several of the monster-filled special rooms such as throne rooms and Sokoban's zoo, allowing you to pick off the occupants one by one. Be wary of utilizing stealth in barracks; some higher level soldiers and other occupants may be generated with a bugle, allowing them to wake up the entire room.

Messages

You move very quietly.

You obtained stealth from picking up or carrying on one of the above items.

You sure are noisy

You did not have another source of stealth and took off an item that granted stealth.

You feel stealthy!

You gained intrinsic stealth, e.g. by leveling up.

You feel clumsy!

You lost intrinsic stealth, e.g. it was stolen by a gremlin.

SLASH'EM

SLASH'EM introduces Whisperfeet, an artifact pair of boots that provide stealth when worn.

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