Dexterity

Dexterity is an attribute in NetHack.

Effects

Dexterity has a multitude of effects, of which the most significant is probably that it affects your chance of hitting monsters, whether in melee combat or with a missile or spell.

There is no direct way to increase your intrinsic dexterity apart from drinking a blessed potion of gain ability (or the corresponding fountain effect) which increases all stats by one. However, there are ways to exercise it, for example repeatedly picking locks. It is also exercised by fighting monsters, disarming traps, and reading a non-cursed Scroll of enchant weapon while not wielding a weapon.

Be aware that dexterity is easy to abuse. If you are trying to train it up, avoid being satiated and do not allow yourself to become strained or overtaxed. Being stunned, paralyzed, or having wounded legs is also bad for dexterity.

A pair of gauntlets of dexterity magically increases (or decreases) your dexterity by the amount of its enchantment, to a maximum of 25.

dexterity	to-hit
3	−3
4–5	−2
6–7	−1
8–14	0
15	+1
16	+2
17	+3
18	+4
19	+5
20	+6
21	+7
22	+8
23	+9
24	+10
25	+11

Reference: dothrow.c, line 1200; weapon.c, line 705.

Messages

You feel agile! You must have been working on your reflexes.

Your dexterity increased due to exercise.

You feel clumsy! You haven't been working on reflexes lately.

Your dexterity decreased due to abuse.

Exercising and abusing dexterity

Dexterity is exercised by the following:

• Successfully kicking a monster
• Uncovering or opening a secret door by kicking
• Uncovering a secret corridor by kicking
• Destroying a throne by kicking it
• Kicking an altar (which is a bad idea)
• Kicking a fountain
• Kicking a sink without hurting your leg
• Kicking food such as apples and pears out of a tree
• Kicking a closed or locked door
• Successfully catching a returning boomerang
• Hitting a monster by throwing a weapon, weapon-tool, gem, heavy iron ball or boulder
• Trying to move without levitation or flying on the Plane of Air, failing, and getting the "It's hard to walk in thin air" message
• Using an unlocking tool to try to lock or unlock a closed door, box or chest, whether or not you succeed
• Trying to force a lock using a bladed weapon, whether or not you succeed, even if the weapon breaks (using a blunt weapon exercises strength)
• Playing a flute or harp (magic or wooden)
• Spinning a web, when polymorphed into a spider
• Casting the haste self spell or quaffing a potion of speed, or breathing the potion's vapors
• Gaining intrinsic speed from a wand of speed monster
• Attempting to disarm a container or door trap (whether or not you succeed)
• Hitting a monster in melee, unless you are engulfed and would have missed if you had not been engulfed
• Stealing gold from a monster, when polymorphed into a leprechaun
• Reading a non-cursed scroll of enchant weapon, while not wielding a weapon or weapon-tool

Dexterity is abused by the following:

• Being satiated on a turn whose number is a multiple of 10
• Being strained or overtaxed (once every ten turns)
• Having wounded legs (unless you are riding), fumbling, or being stunned (once every five turns)
• Missing wildly when kicking a tiny, non-flying monster while levitating
• Hurting your leg by kicking
• Kicking at empty space (whether or not you strain a muscle)
• Levitating over a sink and falling
• Bumping into a closed door
• Trying to move without levitation or flying on the Plane of Air, failing, and getting the "You tumble in place" message
• Losing intrinsic speed through a monster attack or a wand of slow monster
• Being hit by a paralyzing attack without free action (including a gelatinous cube's passive attack, but not a floating eye's)
• Having your leg pricked by a xan
• Quaffing a potion of paralysis or breathing the potion's vapors without free action
• Breathing the vapors of a potion of sleeping, without free action or sleep resistance
• Turning to stone (once every turn)
• Turning to slime (once every turn)
• Being caught in one of the following traps: bear trap, pit (spiked or not), paralysis container trap (without free action) or triggering a land mine
• Reading a cursed scroll of enchant weapon, while not wielding a weapon or weapon-tool

Variants

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, higher dexterity provides bonuses to AC as follows:

dexterity	AC
3<	+3
4–5	+2
6–7	+1
8–14	0
15	−1
16	−2
17	−3
18	−4
19	−5
20–21	−6
22–23	−7
>23	−8