Amulet of strangulation
An amulet of strangulation is a type of amulet that appears in NetHack.
Contents
Generation
The amulet of strangulation generates as cursed 181⁄200 (90.5%) of the time, blessed 1⁄200 (0.5%) of the time, and uncursed otherwise (9%).[1]
The amulet of strangulation makes up 27⁄200 (13.5%) of all randomly-generated amulets. General stores and jewelers shops can sell amulets of strangulation.
An amulet of strangulation is always generated in a chest on the middle floor of Vlad's Tower at level creation, with the exception of bones files.
Description
Putting on the amulet causes it to immediately begin constricting the hero's throat, beginning a delayed instadeath and auto-identifying the amulet: Unless the hero is in the form of a monster that either lacks a head or is both breathless and normally mindless, they will be killed by strangulation in six turns.[2][3] Being strangled abuses the hero's strength each turn, and they are unable to quaff, operate whistles or other similar instruments, read scrolls if they are currently blind, turn undead, or cast spells.[4][5][6]
Removing the amulet aborts strangulation. Successful prayer will destroy a worn cursed amulet of strangulation and abort strangulation, as it is considered a major trouble[7][8]—the timer for strangulation is paused during the three turns of invulnerability granted by successful prayer.[9] In wizard mode, choosing not to die when killed by the amulet will cause it to vanish afterward.[10]
Eating the amulet has a 1⁄5 chance of absorbing its magic, which then has a 19⁄20 chance of choking the hero to death immediately unless they are breathless.[11][12] Rust monsters will avoid eating an amulet of strangulation.[13]
Strategy
The amulet of strangulation is a dangerous item and one of the main reasons, if not the main reason, that a player should avoid putting on unidentified amulets, especially without at least determining their beatitude.
While removing the amulet is enough to stop it strangling you, most amulets of strangulation are generated cursed: successfully praying while wearing a cursed amulet will get rid of it, and most methods of curse removal that do not rely on reading scrolls while blind or casting spells (e.g. remove curse) can also uncurse the amulet and allow you to remove it. A wand of cancellation is close to a last resort in this regard—if you have enough turns to spare and no other means of uncursing the amulet, you can drop everything else that you do not want cancelled, then zap yourself with the wand and safely remove it.
History
The amulet of strangulation first appears with most other amulets in NetHack 3.0.0. From this version to NetHack 3.4.3, including some variants based on those versions, the amulet can strangle the hero regardless of their current form, though a breathless hero cannot choke from eating the amulet as normal.
The inability to cast spells while wearing an amulet of strangulation is introduced in NetHack 3.6.1.
Messages
- You are being strangled.
- You are being strangled by wearing an amulet of strangulation, as viewed via enlightenment.
Turns to live
The messages below correspond to the amount of turns you have left to live in the Alt. message column occur when you are breathless, and 1⁄50 of the time otherwise.[14]
| Message | Alt. message | Turns left to live |
|---|---|---|
| "It constricts your throat!" | "It constricts your throat!" | 5 |
| "You find it hard to breathe." | "Your neck is becoming constricted." | 4 |
| "You're gasping for air." | "Your blood is having trouble reaching your brain." | 3 |
| "You can no longer breathe." | "The pressure on your neck increases." | 2 |
| "You're turning blue." | "Your consciousness is fading." | 1 |
| "You suffocate." | "You suffocate." | 0 |
Variants
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, a cursed amulet of strangulation named life saving is generated in The Chamber of Junk within the Lawful Quest at level creation.
Gaining invulnerability from a potion of invulnerability does not prevent a delayed instadeath from a worn or eaten amulet of strangulation.
UnNetHack
In UnNetHack, an amulet of strangulation is generated next to the up stair of Asmodeus' Lair at level creation.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, breath mechanics are significantly changed from NetHack: eating an amulet of strangulation while in the form of a metallivore will not instantly kill the hero by choking, but instead causes temporary strangulation for six turns, which will eventually kill them unless the property is removed. Successfully praying can cure strangulation from choking this way, while obtaining the breathless property (e.g. via an unbreathing polyform) ignores strangulation and allows it to time out harmlessly. incantifier heroes can "eat" an amulet of strangulation without consequence, since they are incorporeal and absorbing the magic from the amulet rather than physically consuming it.
The Wizard of Yendor has a unique monster spell that forces an amulet of strangulation onto the hero's neck, transforming any currently worn amulet into one if possible. If the hero is wearing an amulet, the spell can be prevented completely with magic resistance.
SpliceHack
In SpliceHack, an amulet of strangulation is generated next to the up stair of Asmodeus' Lair at level creation.
SlashTHEM
In SlashTHEM, in addition to SLASH'EM details, an amulet of strangulation is generated at one of six particular squares on the locate level of the Geek quest.
References
- Jump up ↑ src/mkobj.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 970
- Jump up ↑ src/mondata.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 362:
can_be_strangledfunction - Jump up ↑ src/do_wear.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 777
- Jump up ↑ src/mondata.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 336:
can_blowfunction - Jump up ↑ src/mondata.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 350:
can_chantfunction - Jump up ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 493
- Jump up ↑ src/pray.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 195
- Jump up ↑ src/pray.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 350
- Jump up ↑ src/timeout.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 506
- Jump up ↑ src/timeout.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 697
- Jump up ↑ src/eat.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 252
- Jump up ↑ src/eat.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 2061
- Jump up ↑ src/mon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 886
- Jump up ↑ src/timeout.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 257
