Spellbook of charm monster
| spellbook of + charm monster 
| |
|---|---|
| Appearance | random |
| Abundance | 2.03% |
| 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 taming |
| Special for | tourist |
The spellbook of charm monster allows you to learn the charm monster spell. It is the special spell for tourists.
Casting effects
This spell has the basic effect of an uncursed scroll of taming, turning adjacent monsters into pets. Covetous or human monsters will be pacified instead,[1] as will demons unless you are a demon yourself;[2] the Wizard of Yendor, Medusa and the quest nemesis will not even be pacified.[3] Monsters have a chance of resisting it, depending on their magic resistance.[4] There is no functional difference between different skill levels.
Some NetHack monsters have such a high level and MR that you may be unable to pacify them at all, e.g. arch-liches.
The taming effect will also pacify any angry shopkeepers it affects, even if they would normally resist.[5]
Strategy
Charm monster is one of the most useful spells NetHack has to offer. Its most obvious use is to acquire pets. Some very powerful monsters, including minotaurs and mastodons, will never resist it as they have no MR. However, it is also quite useful as an emergency spell, particularly in the early game, where few monsters have appreciable magic resistance. It is much better to have that soldier ant become your pet than your killer.
Charm monster is useful for any role which can gain skill in enchantment spells, or can gain enough level to cast it easily even when unskilled. Tourists in particular will find it useful, as it is their special spell, and unlike special spells for some other roles, they have a good chance of being able to cast it.
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 Information on this page may be out of date.
Editors: After reviewing this page and making necessary edits, please change the {{nethack-343}} tag to the current version's tag or {{noversion}} as appropriate.
