Potion of full healing

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! Pink potion.png
Name full healing
Appearance random
Base price 200 zm
Weight 20
Monster use May be used defensively by monsters.

A potion of full healing is a type of potion that appears in NetHack.

Generation

Healers start the game with the potion of full healing identified.[1] Randomly-generated monsters may receive the potion of full healing as a defensive item.

Potions of full healing can be found very rarely in health food shops.

Alchemy

The potion of full healing can be created via alchemy by mixing a potion(s) of extra healing and a potion(s) of either gain energy or gain level; mixing a potion of full healing with a potion of gain energy or gain level can create a potion of gain ability.[2][3]

Description

Quaffing a potion of any beatitude will heal you for up to 400 HP, cure hallucination and blindness, and exercise constitution and strength.[4] A non-cursed potion will also cure sickness and boost your maximum HP if quaffing it would heal you to full HP: an uncursed potion increases maximum HP by 4, while a blessed potion increases it by 8. Monsters can quaff this potion for the same effect, and will do so at low HP.

Quaffing a blessed potion will also restore one lost experience level if you have any, but also decreases your maximum experience level by one in the process[5] - e.g., if a character is level drained to XL 10 from XL 14, and quaffs a blessed potion of full healing, it will bring their level back up to 11 and lower their "remembered" maximum to 13. This effectively means that only half of your lost levels can be regained solely by quaffing blessed potions of full healing. Therefore, potion of restore ability is preferable, as it would restore one lost experience level (if uncursed) or all lost experience levels (if blessed) without affecting your maximum experience level.

Hitting a monster with a wielded or thrown potion of full healing will restore them to full HP and cure blindess;[6] hitting Pestilence with one will deal damage to him. Inhaling the vapors from a potion of any beatitude will heal you for 3 HP up to your maximum, cure blindness, exercise constitution, and additionally adjusts the health of your base form if you are currently polymorphed.[7]

Dipping a poisoned weapon into a potion of full healing will remove the poison coating.[8]

Strategy

Potions of full healing are a common fixture in almost every late-game kit: a set of at least a half-dozen potions of full healing are typically carried on an ascension run. A tin of nurse meat is a comparable item that has similar healing capabilities and resists elemental damage that can destroy potions, but its healing does not boost HP or cure as many ailments and the tin takes time to open, unless it is blessed and you have a tin opener ready. There is also the consideration of cannibalism penalties for humans, though they may not matter as much in life-and-death situations.

Smoky and milky potions of full healing present a peril to even the most prepared characters: an unexpected ghost or djinn instead of healing is a quick way to end up dead in a pitched combat situation. Even a blessed potion of full healing with a smoky randomized appearance can prove incredibly (and fatally) inconvenient if you get a peaceful or even hostile djinn when trying to quaff one with your HP in the single digits. This makes it imperative to heal proactively and avoid treating potions of full healing in particular as a poor man's amulet of life saving.

While quaffing blessed full healing is a decent means of partially restoring lost levels, players looking to regain all of their levels may prefer a potion of restore ability.

History

The potion of full healing first appears in SLASH 6, and makes its vanilla debut in NetHack 3.3.0.

Messages

You feel completely healed.
You quaffed a potion of full healing.

Variants

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, two potions of full healing are generated in the outer area of Grund's Stronghold.

UnNetHack

In UnNetHack, potions of full healing may be found on the last floor of the Dragon Caves in the stash behind the boulder.

dNetHack

In dNetHack, potions of full healing do not lower your maximum level when restoring a lost level. A blessed potion of full healing will also remove one morgul shard and cure mummy rot.

The elder priest and Daemon are both generated with a blessed potion of full healing. The two high-caste Eladrin statues in the law quest both contain two blessed potions of full healing.

EvilHack

In EvilHack, Kathryn the Ice Queen will have a potion of full healing if generated on a specific day (i.e. the birthday of the developer's daughter).

SlashTHEM

In SlashTHEM, in addition to SLASH'EM details, brewing a potion of full healing with a chemistry set takes five charges.

Various player monsters generated on the creation of certain levels may generate with potions of full healing in their inventory. Duri the blacksmith will always generate with four potions of full healing.

References