Iron chain
An iron chain is a type of item that appears in NetHack. It is naturally made of iron.
Iron chains are classified under the "chain" object type in the hero's inventory, rather than tools or weapons.
Contents
Generation
Iron chains are not randomly generated, though they can be wished for or found in bones.
Iron chains can be generated by punishment:
- Reading a scroll of punishment that is cursed or uncursed will chain a heavy iron ball to the hero's leg, unless they read the scroll while confused.[1][2]
- Prayer to an angry god may cause them to smite the hero by chaining a heavy iron ball to them.[3]
Destroying a drawbridge will send several iron chains flying or generate them in piles near the bridge's former square, depending on if it was open or closed at the time.
Iron golems leave 2-8 iron chains behind as a special death drop in lieu of a corpse, which are the primary source of most iron chains in an average game.[4]
Description
An iron chain tethering an iron ball to a punished hero cannot be picked up, and will usually disappear when punishment ends, leaving the iron ball behind.[5]
Strategy
The iron chain's primary function is keeping an heavy iron ball attached to you—directly removing the chain, e.g. by using the #monster extended command while polymorphed into a nymph, or eating the chain while in the form of a metallivore, will end punishment and leave the iron ball behind. Other methods of ending punishment will also cause the chain to disappear.
The iron chain is essentially junk: whereas items such as the ring of aggravate monster can have some important use cases, the iron chain is generally considered the most useless item in NetHack: they serve few purposes as individual objects, have no value when sold to shopkeepers, and are of relatively little use as a weapon despite their weight. Even the cheap plastic imitation of the Amulet of Yendor can at least be polymorphed into another useful amulet—an iron chain will always polymorph into another iron chain, unless there are enough iron items piled with it to create an iron golem.
Improvised uses
Here are several, somewhat trivial uses for these objects:
- Throw or kick them as missiles.
- If the player is a Healer, Priest, Ranger, Tourist, or Wizard going for weaponless conduct, a chain will do more damage than Basic or Skilled bare hands (d4+1 vs d2+1 damage). Well-enchanted kicking boots will still be superior, however, and even a heavy iron ball will be more useful.
- Food for pet metallivores, or for you while polyselfed into a metallivore.
- Leave them in the path of hostile metallivores as a distraction.
- Polypile enough of them to make another iron golem, and either turn it into your pet or polymorph it into a monster worthy of sacrificing (though one is likely better off using the golem they killed in the first place if they can do this). If you are particularly bored, taming it and watching it get killed by a rust monster will produce an amusing message.
- Carry them in your main inventory to lower the chance that something "good" will be cursed or stolen. (Consider using lighter objects such as worthless gems instead.)
- Leave a bones file that will annoy others (using ASCII): "Darn, that's not an altar." (This might be considered very mild griefing.)
History
The iron chain first appears in Hack 1.0.
In NetHack 3.4.3 and earlier versions, including some variants based on those versions, iron chains can be used to mark the vibrating square. Prior to NetHack 3.6.1, they can also be used as a Vladsbane.
Variants
Some variants may elect to make iron chains somewhat useful in certain cases.
The Convict is a role that appears in many variants, and starts the game with a heavy iron ball attached to them by chain—various iron chains are also among the prison debris encountered in the upper levels of the Convict quest.
UnNetHack
In UnNetHack, applying a bag of tricks that is cursed or has been charged previously has a 1⁄20 chance of spitting out an iron chain, which replaces the random item that a non-cursed or non-recharged bag would generate.
xNetHack
In xNetHack, monsters that hate iron will avoid squares with iron chains on them.
SpliceHack
In SpliceHack, iron chains have uses in creating items at a furnace:
- You can create a heavy iron ball by combining an iron chain and a boulder.
- You can create a spiked chain by combining an iron chain with either a dagger or a knife.
Hack'EM
In Hack'EM, iron chains can be found at junk shops.
Reading a blessed scroll of punishment or reading any scroll of punishment while confused will simply generate an iron chain.
Zapping a wand of sonics and destroying iron bars will leave behind up to 3 iron chains.
Iron chains can be used in crafting recipes at a forge to make several other items:
- An iron chain can be combined with 2 shuriken to create a spiked chain.
- An iron chain can be combined with a flintlock to create a pistol.
- An iron chain can be combined with a pistol to create a submachine gun.
- An iron chain can be combined with a submachine gun to create a heavy machine gun.
- An iron chain can be combined with a rifle to create a sniper rifle.
- An iron chain can be combined with 2 darts, 2 daggers or 2 knives to create a stack of bullets.
- An iron chain can be combined with 2 bullets to create a shotgun shell.
Encyclopedia entry
"You are fettered, " said Scrooge, trembling. "Tell me why?"
"I wear the chain I forged in life," replied the Ghost. "I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it. Is its pattern strange to you?"
Scrooge trembled more and more.
"Or would you know," pursued the Ghost, "the weight and length of the strong coil you bear yourself? It was full as heavy and as long as this, seven Christmas Eves ago. You have laboured on it, since. It is a ponderous chain!"
References
- Jump up ↑ src/read.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1689
- Jump up ↑ src/read.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 2345: punish() function
- Jump up ↑ src/pray.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 711
- Jump up ↑ src/mon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 377
- Jump up ↑ src/read.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 2394: calling unpunish() causes the chain to vanish
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