Spellbook of cause fear
| spellbook of + cause fear 
| |
|---|---|
| Appearance | random |
| Abundance | 2.54% |
| Base price | 300 zm |
| Weight | 50 |
| Turns to read | 6 |
| Ink to write | 15–29 |
| Spell type | enchantment |
| Level | 3 |
| Power cost | 15 Pw |
| Direction | non-directional |
| Equivalent | scroll of scare monster |
Allows you to learn the cause fear spell. Casting this spell has the same effect as reading a scroll of scare monster; it will scare monsters, causing them to to run away. The downside of this method (versus those caused by more mundane or divine sources) is that it is subject to the target's magical resistances and immunities, as, once scared, a NetHack monster with full HP has a 4% chance of recovering each turn. Scared monsters will still attack you. It has no effect on pets.
Strategy
Cause fear can be useful if used correctly. It is mostly it is used to scare away out-of-depth monsters or those too strong for you to fight, or as an escape spell in case of an emergency. However, if you have a strong ranged attack and can cast this spell reliably, you can combine it with attack spells or ranged attacks to kill monsters whilst avoiding melee combat with them. This is especially useful for wizards, but note that sleep can often allow for a similar effect at a lower cost. (Causing fear is more useful if there is nowhere you can retreat to maintain distance once the monster wakes up, against large groups of monsters, or against sleep-resistant monsters.)
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It may contain text specific to NetHack 3.4.3. Information on this page may be out of date.
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