Ring of free action
A ring of free action is a type of ring that appears in NetHack. The default randomized appearance associated with it is "a twisted ring".[1]
Contents
Generation
Wizards may be given a ring of free action as one of the two random rings in their starting inventory.[2]
General stores and jewelers shops can sell rings of free action.
Description
A hero that puts on the ring of free action grants the free action property, which protects them from most sources of sleep and paralysis:
- Paralayzing container traps[3]
- Thrown or quaffed potions of paralysis or sleeping and their vapors[4][5][6][7]
- The paralyze and stun monster spells[8][9]
- Paralyzing monster attacks, especially the passive gaze of a floating eye[10][11][12]
The ring does not protect the hero against other types of immobility from various sources:
- Being "paralyzed" by fear, e.g. from encountering a ghost or chatting to a skeleton
- Immobility from being hit with rays of lightning produced by clouds on the Plane of Air[13]
- Immobility from fumbling or from using turn undead via the #turn extended command
Eating the ring has a 1⁄3 chance of successfully absorbing its magic and granting intrinsic sleep resistance.[14] Monsters will not wear this ring.
Strategy
Rings of free action are fairly useful to wear throughout various stages of the game, and can grant protection against sleep if a hero has not yet obtained sleep resistance from another source. A commonplace strategy is to combine a worn ring of free action with a thrown or wielded potion of paralysis to immobilize and dispose of difficult (and usually covetous) monsters such as the quest nemeses, Vlad the Impaler, and demon lords and princes with much less risk to themselves.
The ring is also fairly useful for travel in Gehennom, particularly for builds that have low magic cancellation and/or poor AC—gelatinous cubes and guardian nagas are dangerous to engage for a hero that ends up surrounded, due to the former's passive paralysis and the latter's active paralysis. Heroes that have higher-priority uses for their ring slots can typically adjust to compensate for this danger. Another common place to wear them is Orcustown, where shades run rampant: entering the level from the up stair below will usually result in a round of attacks from at least one nearby shade and several other monsters, likely including Orcus himself.
Many players consider the ring of free action essential for endgame areas such as Moloch's Sanctum and the Astral Plane, which are always full of hostile aligned priests that can end your run with a single ill-timed paralyze spell—a thrown potion of paralysis is also not uncommon, and depending on how far you ar ein the dungeon it can also easily result in death if one hits you. Some players will wish or polypile for the ring of free action if they have not found it by the time they are ready to retrieve the Book of the Dead for the Invocation; if playing without reflection, it can also be helpful to wear the ring during the ascension run in order to avoid trouble with floating eyes.
It is more than possible to do without the ring of free action by taking other precautions: magic resistance shortens the duration of the paralyze monster spell's effects to 1 turn, conflict and other items or properties can prevent paralyzing monsters from engaging you at melee range, and a powerful ranged attack can kill most paralyzing monsters before they can reach you—this primarily leaves thrown potions to contend with. If you elect to enter the Sanctum or proceed towards the Astral Plane without a ring of free action, avoid being surrounded if at all possible and have an amulet of life saving and/or some potions of full healing ready to use at a moment's notice.
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 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 ef1eeed7, orange dragon scales and orange dragon scale mail grant free action when worn, making the property more accessible without the ring.Identification
Informally identifying a ring of free action without a sink can be difficult, since most forms of paralysis and sleep can result in a helpless hero's demise. In terms of price identification, free action is among the 200zm rings—the ring of levitation is the only 200zm ring that will auto-identify when worn, and the effects of some others (e.g. fire resistance or slow digestion) may not be immediately obvious.
For the paranoid player, one of the safest methods to test for this ring is to have the hero lock themselves in a closet and quaff a potion of paralysis while standing on either a semi-permanent Elbereth engraving or a scroll of scare monster. Paralysis from a gelatinous cube lasts for a much shorter duration compared to other forms, making it relatively safe to test a ring with, and especially cautious players can use this to set up similar circumstances for testing a purposes—keep in mind that attacking any monster while on an Elbereth engraving will cause the engraving to fade away.
History
The ring of free action first appears in NetHack 3.3.0.
Messages
- You momentarily stiffen.
- The ring of free action prevented a paralyzing attack or a chest trap from paralyzing you.
- You stiffen momentarily.
- The ring prevented a potion of paralysis or its vapors from paralyzing you.
- You momentarily stiffen under <monster>'s gaze!
- The ring prevented a floating eye's passive gaze from paralyzing you.[11]
- You stiffen momentarily under <monster>'s gaze.
- As above, while you are polymorphed into a monster with a gaze attack that you used on the floating eye.[12]
- You stiffen momentarily under your gaze.
- As above, but you were polymorphed into a floating eye and applied a mirror on yourself.[15]
- You stiffen briefly.
- Free action prevented the paralyze monster spell from paralyzing you.
- You see the ring slide right down the drain!
- You dropped a ring of free action onto a sink.
Variants
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, Flame Mages, Ice Mages, Necromancers, and Wizards may be given a ring of free action as any of the random rings in their starting inventory.[16][17][18][19]
While worn, the ring of free action also grants additional protection against holding attacks, including the drowning attacks used often by sea monsters and the tentacle attacks of mind flayers and master mind flayers. The chance is dependent on the hero's luck, ranging from a 1⁄2 chance at 0 luck to 9⁄10 at maximum luck.
The ring of free action's base functions can be invaluable protection against rhaumbusuns, which are not as dangerous on their own but can prove lethal if their paralyzing gaze freezes the hero in the midst of some freshly-summoned nasties.
Messages
- <The monster> grabs you, but you quickly free yourself!
- Free action prevented a monster from grabbing you with a holding attack.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, monsters will wear the ring of free action if possible.
The Barbarian quest artifact is changed to The Ring of P'hul, an artifact ring of free action that grants immunity to sickness while carried and grants magic resistance while worn.
SlashTHEM
In SlashTHEM, in addition to SLASH'EM details, Acid Mages, Corsairs, Electric Mages, Nobles, and Pirates may be given a ring of free action as any of the random rings in their starting inventory.
References
- ↑ src/objects.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 584
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 165
- ↑ src/trap.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 4945
- ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 792
- ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 807
- ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1716
- ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1727
- ↑ src/mcastu.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 475
- ↑ src/mcastu.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 671
- ↑ src/mhitu.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1181
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 src/uhitm.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 2893
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 src/polyself.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1429: Using a gaze attack against a floating eye while polymorphed
- ↑ src/timeout.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1613
- ↑ src/eat.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 2037
- ↑ src/apply.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 864
- ↑ u_init.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 69
- ↑ u_init.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 99
- ↑ u_init.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 136
- ↑ u_init.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 245
