Strength

Strength is one of the six attributes of the player. More strength corresponds to the ability to have more weight in your inventory. Also, the stronger you are the more damage you do in melee combat and the farther you can throw objects.

Like all attributes, strength ranges between 3 and 25. However, as in Dungeons and Dragons, strength has the unique property that values between 18 and 19 are given in percentage terms rather than jumping straight from 18 to 19 as with other attributes. For example, a strength of 18/35 means roughly that one is 35% of the way between 18 strength and 19 strength. Depending on race, most characters can attain a maximum strength of 18/** in their natural form. Note that, for gameplay purposes, the only difference between a strength of 18/** and 25 is that 25 allows you to throw Mjollnir.

You can exercise strength by pushing boulders around. (One possibility: whenever you need to heal, spend your time pushing a boulder back and forth at one of the higher dungeon levels.) Eating royal jelly or giant corpses also increases your strength. Wearing gauntlets of power is a common and easy way to quickly maximize your strength.

Beware of poison: it can reduce your strength, as can hunger to the point of weakness. Sometimes strength increases when 'you feel sick' after eating a corpse remaining after destroying a mummy or zombie. Eating spinach makes you feel like Popeye!

Uses of strength

Strength is required for the following activities:

• To cast spells, you need strength of at least 4.
• To jump or do self-teleportation, you need strength of at least 6.
• To break a wand, you need strength of at least 10.
• To throw Mjollnir, you need strength of 25.

Strength is helpful for the following activities:

• Strength of at least 18 speeds escape from a bear trap.
• Greater strength allows you to carry more inventory.
• Greater strength speeds escape from a web.
• Greater strength allows better accuracy when fighting and increases damage per hit.

Events that alter strength

Strength may increase when:

• you eat a giant corpse
• you eat non-cursed royal jelly or spinach
• you are at least weak, and eat or pray, and are no longer weak

Strength may decrease when:

• you become hungry to the point of being weak
• you are hit by certain monsters' attacks
• you are poisoned
• you eat cursed royal jelly or spinach

Exercising and abusing strength

Strength may be exercised when:

• you are stressed or strained
• you are regenerating
• you kick a non-boobytrapped door
• you throw an iron ball or a boulder
• you push a boulder
• you #force a lock using a blunt weapon (for using a blade instead exercises dexterity)
• you attempt to open a door and it resists
• a nurse heals you
• you "feel restored to health" after consorting with a foocubus
• you are polymorphed into a golem and an attack increases your health
• you drink a potion of extra healing or full healing
• you read a non-cursed scroll of enchant armor while not wearing armor
• you fight

Strength may be abused when:

• you are hungry to the point of being weak or beyond
• you are hit or dragged by an iron ball while descending stairs
• you kick and hurt your leg
• you are hurt in any kind of explosion
• you are choked or crushed by a monster's attack
• you are polymorphed into a black or brown pudding and are divided by a monster's attack
• a xan pricks your leg
• you are burned by acid
• a digestion attack comes close to totally digesting you
• you are pummeled by debris, as by an air elemental
• you "feel exhausted" after consorting with a foocubus
• you break out of your armor when polymorphing
• you read a cursed scroll of enchant armor while not wearing armor
• you read a scroll of destroy armor while confused, or the scroll is non-cursed, and you are not wearing armor
• you sit while trapped in a spiked pit
• you are choked by an amulet of strangulation
• you are hit by a falling rock
• you fall into a pit, spiked or not
• you are hit by a wand of striking or a magic missile
• you are injured by an exploding potion (from fire attacks) or wand (from electrical attacks)