Hole

A hole is a trap, but it is always visible. It shows as ^ or on the screen. A hole causes you, affected monsters, and objects to fall through at least to the next level. A trapdoor is very similar to a hole.

Generation

Holes are much less likely to be randomly generated than other eligible types. Only 1 in 7 attempts to randomly place a hole will succeed. Holes cannot be randomly generated on levels with non-diggable floors, such as the vibrating square level or the Castle. If the floor is non-diggable, the hole trap is replaced with a falling rock trap. Holes cannot be generated beneath a boulder. Unlike other traps, holes are always generated visible.

Some of levels with undiggable floors will let you create a pit but not a hole.

Fast creation of holes

You can zap a wand of digging or cast the spell dig downward to make a hole in one turn.

Slow creation of holes

You can dig downward with a pick-axe or dwarvish mattock to make a hole, but this process is very slow and not useful for escaping monsters. The first time you dig downward you create a pit - as you are digging it, you do not fall in, which matters for those with cockatrice corpses in their posession. Beware, however, that items on the adjacent squares may fall in the pit.

If the level allows you to and you again dig downwards, the pit becomes a hole and any items on the square will fall through to the same random level as you.

Effects

If you step on a hole, there is a chance you escape its effects. This chance is normally 20%, but 0% if fumbling or in Sokoban, and 100% if outside Sokoban and levitating, flying, being held, polymorphed into a huge monster etc.

In case you are affected, you will fall down at least one dungeon level: 75% chance of 1, 19% of 2, 5% of 3, 3*4^(-n) of n levels down. However, you always stay in your current branch, except when falling from the Castle into the Valley of the Dead. All eligible tiles of your destination level are equally likely. Your destination level and tile are re-selected independently each time you fall through the trap. Adjacent or leashed pets and follower species will come along, and each object only on your own tile has a 33% chance of following (3% for boulders). They will be placed on your landing spot or adjacent to it.

A user has suggested improving this page or section as follows:

"If a monster steps on a hole, chance of escaping (especially if known trap type, or player-known trap for pets), deliberate usage as an escape route if damage. Monsters and unattended objects will always move down one level.

Autopickup takes effect both on top of the hole and on your destination square.

Objects: thrown or kicked onto hole, or "agitated" if a freshly-dug hole or a pet on a cursed leash kept you from falling through. The only case they don't fall through is if you escaped the trapdoor and the game doesn't even show the trap symbol.

You can fall past hard floor levels. Reference Dogley Dimension."

If you or a monster (see below) step on to a hole and fail to escape it, or an item is thrown onto the same square as a hole, it will fall a random number of dungeon levels, with increasingly less chance of higher numbers of levels. A pet that is leashed to you may be dragged after you, with a chance that the leash may break and the pet remains on the level with the hole.

The falling object will always remain in the same dungeon branch as the hole. Note that this random calculation is redone every time the hole is fallen through - even if the same hole is used on the very next action (even if it is the same turn due to having intrinsic or extrinsic speed), the dungeon level calculated may be different.

Once the random number of levels has been calculated, the falling object is placed randomly on the level and any objects that fell in as part of the same turn are placed nearby. Normal room-and-corridor levels will always place falling objects in a valid room.

If you are flying over or standing on an hole or a trapdoor, and use the > (descend) command, you will always go down exactly one dungeon level.

Creatures of size "huge" or larger will not fit into holes or pits and can walk across them. Flying creatures can also traverse holes.

Sokoban

Holes in Sokoban, only possible on levels 2, 3 or 4, are special. These holes have air currents that will pull you into them even if you are flying, jumping or levitating over them. The only way to circumvent a hole in Sokoban without filling it with a boulder is to throw an heavy iron ball (chained to you) over the hole. This carries a Luck penalty.

Removal

A hole can be removed by pushing a boulder onto it.

Monster use

Sometimes a monster will intentionally jump into an existing hole to escape. If a monster has a wand of digging, it might zap it downward as well to create a hole, especially if it is damaged - this makes hostile monsters with such wands annoying to track down without them emptying the wand. Monsters with digging tools will not create pits or dig downwards if in a pit to escape.

Strategy

One technique for dealing with holes is to go down any stairs you encounter and then go back up again immediately. This way, if you should ever fall down to that level you will know where the exit is. A high dexterity stat will reduce your chances of falling down the hole should you accidentally step on it.

Messages

There's a gaping hole under you!

You fell into a hole.

You fall down a shaft!

You fell 2 levels.

You fall down a deep shaft!

You fell 3 levels.

You fall down a very deep shaft!

You fell 4+ levels.

References

This page may need to be updated for the current version of NetHack.

It may contain text specific to NetHack 3.4.3. Information on this page may be out of date.

Editors: After reviewing this page and making necessary edits, please change the {{nethack-343}} tag to the current version's tag or {{noversion}} as appropriate.