Cloak of protection
[  [  [  [  cloak of protection | |
|---|---|
| Appearance | random |
| Slot | cloak |
| AC | 3 |
| Special | |
| Base price | 50 zm |
| Weight | 10 |
| Material | cloth |
A cloak of protection is a type of magical cloak that appears in NetHack. It is made of cloth and has a randomized appearance when unidentified; the default one associated with it is a tattered cape.[1]
Contents
Generation
In addition to random generation, the cloak of protection can be sold in general shops and armor shops.
Aligned priests, high priests and the Arch Priest have a 2⁄21 chance of generating with a cloak of protection.[2]
Player monsters that are not monks, including those generated on the Astral Plane, have an effective ~14.83% chance of generating with a cloak of protection as their initial cloak before role-based replacements.[3][4] Priests have a 3⁄4 chance of forcing a robe instead, reducing their effective chance to ~3.71%, while wizards have a 1⁄2 chance of forcing a cloak of magic resistance, reducing their effective chance to ~7.42%.[5][6]
Description
When worn, a cloak of protection provides 3 points of base AC and MC3, and will auto-identify itself.
Strategy
The cloak of protection is the only single piece of armor that grants MC3 by itself, making it a strong option for characters without strong ranged attacks to defend against certain attack effects, such as the disenchanter's bite attack (but not passive disenchantment) and level drain from monsters like the various wraiths and vampires.
Players that have another source of magic resistance (usually gray dragon scale mail) and can do without a cloak of displacement may consider this cloak a viable choice for their ascension kits.
Identification
A cloak of protection is trivial to identify by wearing it once it has been curse-tested, either using a pet or an altar. In terms of price identification, both it and the cloak of displacement have a base price of 50zm.
History
The cloak of protection first appears in NetHack 3.0.0.
From this version to NetHack 3.4.3, several other pieces of armor provided MC3: the cloak of magic resistance, both dwarvish and elven mithril-coats, the elven cloak, the oilskin cloak, and the robe. In these versions, the cloak of magic resistance was the preferred source of MC3, with its magic resistance providing much more value compared to the cloak of protection's +2 extra base AC - some variants based on NetHack 3.4.3 and earlier versions maintain these MC values.
Starting in NetHack 3.6.0, the cloak of protection is the only piece of armor to give MC3; some variants based on this and later versions may add new items as additional sources of MC3.
Variants
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, a cloak of protection can be created by upgrading an oilskin cloak or elven cloak.
SporkHack
In Sporkhack, Wizards start with a cloak of protection in place of the usual cloak of magic resistance.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, cloaks of protection grant 3 AC and 3 DR when worn, and can be safely enchanted to +7. A dragonhide cloak of protection can be very valuable, providing 9 AC and 10 DR at +7.
The Mantle of Heaven and The Vestment of Hell are quest artifacts for the Noble that each have a cloak with a randomized appearance as their base item, making it possible for one of them to be a cloak of protection. The Mantle of Heaven appears as an ornamental cope and is given to human and incantifier Nobles, while The Vestment appears as an opera cloak and is given to vampiric Nobles.
Amm Kamerel wizard leaders will always generate with a cloak of protection.
The November NetHack Tournament
In The November NetHack Tournament, the deathmatch opponent has a 1⁄2 chance of generating with a blessed fireproof +4 or +5 cloak of protection, unless they are a monk or wizard.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, all non-giant Infidels start the game with a cursed fireproof +0 cloak of protection. The gauntlets of protection are introduced as an alternate source of MC3 that giants and tortles can use.
Player monster infidels that are not giants are very likely to generate with a cloak of protection, and the cloak is also used in several kits for level 20 player monsters minus giants and tortles. The Archbishop of Moloch has a 1⁄3 chance of generating with a cloak of protection.
SlashTHEM
In addition to SLASH'EM details, SlashTHEM introduces Blackshroud, a neutral artifact cloak of protection that grants warning, drain resistance and acts as a luckstone while worn. SlashTHEM also adds The Mantle of Heaven and The Vestment of Hell as Noble quest artifacts, which have a chance of their randomized appearance being a cloak of protection.
