Throw

You can throw just about any object you can pick up into your inventory. To throw press t, followed by the item letter and then a direction. Alternatively, quiver the item using Q, then fire the item with the f command. See projectile.

Throwing weapons

• Throwing weapons at monsters is a good strategy to use, especially when facing monsters with a passive attack. Daggers have a bonus to hit and thus are good throwing weapons. Other ranged weapons with this bonus include darts, shuriken, and spears.

• You can also throw arrows and crossbow bolts, but they are more effective when fired from a bow or crossbow. (See to-hit.)

• Those of sufficient skill or who meet certain other conditions may be able to throw (or fire) multiple weapons in one turn. (See multishot.)

• A boomerang will circle around and return to you when thrown, which allows it to hit several monsters (and possibly you as well).

• The artifact weapon Mjollnir requires a strength of 25 to throw. If thrown by a Valkyrie, it will usually return to her hand.

• A greased item may slip when attempting to throw it, resulting in the object falling to the ground or sending it flying towards a random direction.

• You can't throw a cursed weapon that has welded itself to your hand.

Throwing potions

• Whatever effect the potion has when you breathe its vapors will be the effect when a monster is hit by it. For example: throwing a potion of blindness at a monster will cause it to go blind, if the monster can go blind. Similarly, throwing a potion of healing at your pet can be used to heal it. Thrown potions are generally less effective than quaffed potions.

• A potion of oil can serve as a Molotov cocktail if you apply it before you throw it for 4d4 damage.

• Monsters can and will throw harmful potions at you, so be careful when leaving potions on the ground or they might be used against you later. Knowing this can help identify potions that are thrown at you. The potions that monsters like to throw are paralysis, blindness, confusion, sleeping and acid.

• Throwing a potion into an empty space or against a wall will cause it to break. A potion thrown at a monster has a chance to miss, in which case it will break without an effect on the target.

• Warning: If you are adjacent to the location where you throw the potion, you may still receive its effect from the vapors.

Throwing gems

• Throwing a gem is the same as throwing a rock if you are throwing them at a monster. You can also throw gems at a Unicorn of your alignment to increase your luck. Throwing a gem to a hostile unicorn will pacify it, but has a random effect on luck.

Throwing money

• Throwing gold at certain monsters can work as a bribe.
• Throwing all your gold at a vault guard will also satisfy him. It will vanish along with the guard.

That should do. Now beat it!

• Throwing your money away might keep it out of the greedy hands of a leprechaun, allowing you to retrieve it later.

Throwing food

• You can throw a treat to a pet to help train it to fetch items for you. Domestic animals can be tamed with thrown food appropriate to their diet. Most other food thrown at these animals will change them from hostile to peaceful. Be wary of throwing food to a pet that is eating, as your pet is so intent on devouring the food that the item thrown may hit them, angering them and possibly turning them from tame to peaceful, possibly even to hostile.

• Throwing a cream pie at a monster can blind it. The Keystone Kops like to throw these pies at you.

• Throwing an egg will cause it to break. A thrown cockatrice egg can turn a creature to stone if the target is vulnerable to petrification. There is a luck penalty for breaking eggs that you have laid with the #sit command.

• Throwing a clove of garlic at an undead creature might scare it.

Throwing everything else

• Throwing the iron ball from punishment while it is still chained to you will pull you along in that direction for up to 4 squares, but beware using this method to cross water - the ball will travel 5 squares, and if it lands in water, you will be pulled down into the water with it. If you have an iron ball it is worth throwing at enemies for its considerable damage and bonus to hit.

• Giants can throw boulders, therefore you can throw boulders if polymorphed into a giant.

• Throwing anything straight up in the air will cause it to hit you on the head, potentially fatally. This is especially true at staircases. Wear protective headgear, or just don't do this.

• If in an undesirable polymorph, however, this "fatal" damage may be a good thing.

• Throwing while levitating will propel you in the opposite direction. Be careful: when propelled back into a wall you will take damage, even if you are right against the wall.

• Throwing other objects might have special effects. Give it a try!

References

This page may need to be updated for the current version of NetHack.

It may contain text specific to NetHack 3.4.3. Information on this page may be out of date.

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