Expensive camera
( 
| |
|---|---|
| Name | expensive camera |
| Appearance | expensive camera |
| Base price | 200 zm |
| Weight | 12 |
| Material | plastic |
| Monster use | Will not be used by monsters. |
An expensive camera is a type of tool that appears in NetHack. It is made of plastic.
Contents
Generation
Tourists start the game with an expensive camera.
Expensive cameras make up 3⁄250 (1.2%) of all randomly generated tools. Expensive cameras are always created uncursed with 30 to 99 charges, unless they are generated on a trap or in a bones level.
General stores and hardware stores can sell expensive cameras.
Description
Applying an expensive camera will prompt for a direction: selecting a cardinal direction emits a flash of light in that direction, represented by exclamation point glyphs (!).[1] The flash of light has various effects on non-light monsters caught in it:[2]
- Applying the camera at the hero via . will blind them for up to 25 turns[3] - applying a cursed camera has a 1⁄2 chance of the flash targeting the hero instead of the selected direction.[4]
- A sleeping monster will be awakened with no further effects.[5]
- A monster with eyes that is not already blind or otherwise has blindness resistance will become blind: a directly adjacent monster will be blinded indefinitely, and otherwise the monster is temporarily blinded for up to 13 turns dependent on how close they were.[6][7] A monster hit by the flash that is not a shopkeeper and is 2 squares away has a 3⁄4 chance of being scared by the camera flash, and has a further 1⁄4 chance of being scared indefinitely, otherwise being scared for up to 100 turns.[8] This will anger peaceful monsters, and does not uncloak mimics.
- A gremlin will take up to 4 points of damage from the flash, but cannot die as a result of this damage.[9]
An expensive camera is fragile, and will break if thrown, kicked, dropped while levitating or on a down stair, or wielded and used to attack - attacking a monster with a wielded camera deals no damage.[10] Breaking a camera in any way has a 1⁄3 chance of releasing a "picture-painting demon", which will be a homunculus 2⁄3 of the time and an imp the remaining 1⁄3 - the resulting demon will be peaceful unless the camera was cursed.[11]
Applying an unpaid expensive camera in a shop incurs a 10% usage fee. Like most other tools, a camera has no limit on charging.
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (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.
Per commit 4a84fb5b, monsters can now use an expensive camera against the hero, blinding them for up to 25 turns. Per commit 0a8f919f, they will not do so if they are aware that the hero is already blind or otherwise has blindness resistance.
Per commit 29b4c47b, the light from a camera will pass over a mimic impersonating an object, but will uncloak one impersonating furniture - a mimic impersonating some other monster will be woken up without being forced back into mimic shape.Strategy
The expensive camera is a solid escape item and scaring tool, and is the only known item that can cause the Riders to flee from you. Cameras are also the only way to permanently blind a monster, which is useful if you need it alive, but are unable to render it peaceful and don't want it to chase you (often the case with foocubi) – remember that blinded hostile monsters will not respect Elbereth and may still attack you in melee while fleeing, particularly in closed spaces where they may not be able to get clear of you.
If you find an expensive camera early in the game before you have a blindfold, it can be a viable method for blinding yourself, e.g. in order to use your intrinsic telepathy, or to avoid the longer blinding from a yellow light when it explodes (which blinds you for 10d20 turns); it can also be used to blind yourself and safely attack a floating eye in melee. You could blind the floating eye with the camera instead: although there is a 0.2% chance of losing a point of Luck for attacking a blinded eye, this happens so rarely that it is not a significant risk. The risk of accidentally blinding yourself with a cursed camera is usually only a concern for cameras found in bones piles.
You can use a camera to wake up a sleeping monster, including your pet, making it useful for Knights in particular; this does not work on paralyzed monsters, and should be avoided around rooms of monster that you don't want to wake up prematurely, e.g. in barracks. Pacifist and illiterate conduct players will appreciate having an expensive camera to scare monsters, as will players attempting a protection racket.
History
The expensive camera first appears in Hack 1.0, introduced as part of the Tourist role's starting inventory and the TOURIST compile-time option.
The possibility for a broken camera to generate a picture-painting demon was added in NetHack 3.6.0.
Origin
The "picture-painting demon" generated from a broken camera is based on how cameras work in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of novels.
Messages
- You succeed in destroying the expensive camera. Congratulations!
- You broke a wielded expensive camera by attacking a monster with it.
- The picture-painting demon is released!
- You generated an imp or homunculus by breaking an expensive camera.
Variants
Many variants incorporate the advent calendar room, which may have an expensive camera as the Christmas present in the 24th room.
SpliceHack
In SpliceHack, Cartomancers know the expensive camera as a holographic card.
Dal Zethire, the Cartomancer quest nemesis, generates with an expensive camera.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, Twoflower and player monster tourists generate with an expensive camera.
SlashTHEM
SlashTHEM incorporates the photography patch created by Nephi, which adds several functions to the camera:
- Applying the expensive camera takes a normal photograph of whatever is present in the selected direction. Photographs can be stored in a photo album.
- Zapping the camera will apply the flash, which blinds and scare monsters as in vanilla NetHack.
- The #timer extended command can set the timer on the camera, and prompts for a direction, whether to use the flash, and for how many turns to delay the photo.
The Graduate starts the game with an expensive camera.
Hack'EM
In Hack'EM, upgrading an expensive camera will produce a mirror and vice versa.
References
- ↑ src/apply.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 54
- ↑ src/uhitm.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 3107
- ↑ src/zap.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 2485
- ↑ src/apply.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 72
- ↑ src/uhitm.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 3113
- ↑ src/uhitm.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 3121: minimum non-adjacent dist2() is 4, so no more than 1 + 50/4 turns
- ↑ src/uhitm.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 3138
- ↑ src/uhitm.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 3135
- ↑ src/uhitm.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 3126
- ↑ src/uhitm.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 892: attacking with a wielded camera
- ↑ src/dothrow.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1943:
release_camera_demonis described here
