Wand of digging
| / | |
|---|---|
| Name | digging |
| Appearance | random |
| Base price | 150 zm |
| Weight | 7 |
| Type | ray |
| Maximum charges | 8 |
| Monster use | Will not be used by monsters. |
A wand of digging is very effective. You can zap it to dig open a corridor of several squares (unless you're in Gehennom, in which case you will only dig one square). Monsters that have one like to zap it downward and escape, which identifies it for you. If you zap it upward, a rock will fall from the ceiling and bonk you on the head.
Engraving with a wand of digging automatically identifies the wand. Any text engraved with a wand of digging is as durable as text engraved with a weapon or hard gem. Wands of digging can engrave Elbereth in one turn, making them as effective as an athame for that purpose and slightly less effective than a wand of fire or wand of lightning.
If the current dungeon level has an undiggable floor, zapping the wand downward will make a pit. If this happens on a level with an ordinary maze, it's time to look for the vibrating square. Monsters that try to dig downward through an undiggable floor will simply fail to dig.
Except on undiggable floors, you cannot make a pit with a wand of digging; it always makes a hole.
If you are engulfed by purple worms, trappers, lurkers above, or Juiblex, zapping a wand of digging brings their HP down to about one and expels you.
Generation
Wands comprise 4% of all randomly-generated items in the main dungeon, 6% in containers, 5% on the Rogue level, and 8% in hell. There is a 5.5% chance that a randomly-generated wand will be a wand of digging.
