Potion of monster detection
! 
| |
|---|---|
| Name | monster detection |
| Appearance | random |
| Base price | 150 zm |
| Weight | 20 |
| Monster use | Will not be used by monsters. |
A potion of monster detection is a type of potion that appears in NetHack
Description
Quaffing a potion of monster detection will display all monsters on the current level and auto-identify the potion, with the exact effect dependent on beatitude: an uncursed potion displays the position of all monsters on a blank map similar to object detection, while a cursed potion will additionally aggravate and wake all sleeping and paralyzed monsters on the level.[1][2][3] A blessed potion grants passive monster detection, continually updating your screen with the position of all monsters for 21–60 more turns, and only adds 1 more turn if you already have at least 300 turns of monster detection;[4][5] these effects stack with the spell of detect monsters cast while at Skilled or above in divination spells.
Quaffing the potion while hallucinating will have the same effects, but the monsters are displayed as their hallucinated identities.
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.
As of commit dfac5fb, quaffing a blessed potion grants passive monster detection for 100-199 more turns instead, with the same effect if you have 300 turns or more.Strategy
The potion is useful to get the quick lay of a particular level upon entering it - while blinding yourself to use intrinsic telepathy can achieve much of the same effect, monster detection can also reveal mindless monsters as well, including potentially dangerous ones such as gelatinous cubes and air elementals. Monsters seen via blessed monster detection are also valid targets for advanced fireball and cone of cold spells, as long as they are already in the effective range of the spell.
While the cursed potion can be used to awaken monsters remotely, it will not clear the "waiting" state of a quest nemesis or other similar covetous monster. Knights can use the cursed potion to help avoid caitiff penalties to alignment record.
Some players save a few potions to bless and drink on the Astral Plane in order to locate and keep track of the monsters there.
History
The potion of monster detection first appears in Hack for PDP-11, which is based on Jay Fenlason's Hack, and is included in the initial item list for Hack 1.0.
Messages
- You sense the presence of monsters.
- You quaffed a non-blessed potion of monster detection.
- Monsters sense the presence of you.
- You quaffed a cursed potion and woke up some monsters.
- You feel threatened.
- You quaffed a non-blessed potion, but there were no monsters on the current level, and you are not a beginner.
- You get the heebie jeebies.
- As above, while hallucinating.
- You feel lonely.
- As above, but the potion was blessed.
Variants
ZAPM
In ZAPM, the equivalent to the potion is the floppy disk of lifeform detection.
