Amulet of guarding
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.
This item is added via commit 4d52332d—the information below reflects the item's behavior and properties as of commit d007decb.An amulet of guarding is a type of amulet that appears in NetHack.
Contents
Generation
The amulet of guarding makes up 3⁄40 (7.5%) of all amulets randomly generated on the ground, in general shops or as death drops. Jewelers shops can also stock amulets of guarding.
Description
A hero that puts on an amulet of guarding gains a flat bonus of 2 AC and augments magic cancellation by 2 similar to a ring of protection, neither of which are affected by erosion. Putting on or removing the amulet auto-identifies it. Monsters can wear an amulet of guarding, but will prioritize an amulet of life saving or amulet of reflection over it.
A hero eating an amulet of guarding has a 1⁄5 chance of increasing their AC from intrinsic protection by 2 points, although their magic cancellation will not change beyond the MC1 granted by the intrinsic.
Strategy
Amulets of guarding are a decent choice for an early game hero, especially if they are in a role with poor AC, and can be used as late as the mid-game to complement lower-MC builds. It can also be occasionally useful to equip larger humanoid pets with, since they have few options to gain magic cancellation otherwise aside from the cornuthaum and mummy wrapping.[1][2] Otherwise, it may be useful as polyfodder for obtaining better amulets.
A hero that is not observing polyselfless conduct may consider polymorphing into a metallivore to eat amulets of guarding: they are always made of iron and so will always be edible, and can slightly speed up the amount of intrinsic AC gained per success, but they only grant a fixed value of 2 AC and cannot be enchanted by charging like the ring of protection—each amulet also has a lower chance of the magic being absorbed when eating it.
Variants
Prior to its inclusion in NetHack, some variants include the amulet of guarding among the new amulets that they add.
SpliceHack
In SpliceHack, an amulet of guarding can be combined with a plain cloak at a furnace to create a cloak of protection.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, the Wizard of Yendor has an effective 3⁄8 chance of being generated with an amulet of guarding.
Hack'EM
In Hack'EM, the Wizard of Yendor has an effective 3⁄16 chance of being generated with an amulet of guarding.
NerfHack
In NerfHack, amulets of guarding have an enchantment that can be altered by charging, similar to the ring of protection.
