Potion of extra healing
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|---|---|
| Name | extra healing |
| Appearance | random |
| Base price | 100 zm |
| Weight | 20 |
| Monster use | May be used defensively by monsters. |
A potion of extra healing is a type of potion that appears in NetHack.
Contents
Generation
All Tourists start with 2 non-cursed potions of extra healing. All Healers start the game with 4 non-cursed potions of extra healing.
Intelligent monsters may generate with a potion of extra healing as a defensive item. Shopkeepers have a 1⁄2 chance of starting with potions of extra healing.[1]
Mixing potions of healing with potions of gain energy, gain level, or speed can create an uncursed, diluted potion of extra healing.
Description
Quaffing a potion of extra healing will heal you for more than a standard potion of healing, with the effect's strength dependent on beatitude. A blessed one heals 8d8 HP when quaffed, an uncursed one 6d8 HP, and a cursed one 4d8 HP; additionally, if this would bring your HP above its maximum, your maximum will increase by 2 for an uncursed potion, or 5 for a blessed potion. The potion also cures hallucination, blindness, and deafness, and exercises constitution and strength, and if noncursed it will also cure vomiting and sickness.[2]
Monsters can quaff the potion to heal for the same amount of HP as the hero and cure blindness, while a monster hit by the potion is fully healed, with blindness cured if the potion was non-cursed.[3] Pestilence takes damage from the potion and will not quaff it, though in practice their 100 MR score means that the effects of the potion will always be completely resisted unless Pestilence is severely level drained first.[4]
Inhaling vapors from a potion of extra healing of any beatitude will restore 2 HP to the hero (up to your maximum HP), adjust the health of their base form if they are polymorphed, cure blindness and deafness if it was non-cursed, and exercise constitution.[5]
Mixing potions of extra healing with potions of gain level or gain energy can produce a potion of full healing. Dipping a poisoned weapon into a potion of extra healing will neutralize the poison and use up the potion.
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 09cf4648, the potion of extra healing heals more HP on average: 16+6d8 if blessed, 16+4d8 if uncursed, 16+2d8 if cursed.Strategy
The potion of extra healing is generally more than useful enough for restoring HP (especially in emergencies), up to and partly through the midgame; in the later stages, they are more often used in alchemy to produce full healing potions. Weaker characters, typically including pacifists or protection racket players, might quaff their stating potions right away for the maximum HP boost, or else quaff any they discover as soon as possible; other players can save it for emergencies or alchemy as necessary. In any event, blessing potions prior to quaffing if possible may also be preferable.
Below is a table describing the amount of max HP gained from drinking potions of extra healing:
| BUC | Range | Mean | Std. Dev. (zσ) | 90% Confidence (>-1.28155σ) | 99% Confidence (>-2.32635σ) | 99.9% Confidence (>-3.09023σ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blessed | 8-64 HP | 36 HP | 6.481 HP | 27.69427445 HP | 20.92292565 HP | 15.97221937 HP |
| Uncursed | 6-48 HP | 27 HP | 5.612 HP | 19.8079414 HP | 13.9445238 HP | 9.65762924 HP |
In practice, this means that for a blessed potion of extra healing, you are likely to heal at least 27 HP (19 HP for uncursed), and virtually guaranteed to heal at least 15 HP (9 HP for uncursed).
Smoky and milky potions
Smoky and milky potions can pose an obstacle if either one ends up as the randomized appearance of the potion of extra healing. Smoky extra healing in particular presents a bind, as it often forces a choice between extra HP or the chance for a wish: in this specific case, the odds favor performing alchemy over trying to get a wish from one, especially if you have not yet fully explored certain parts of the dungeon and/or assembled most of your planned kit (whether for ascension or otherwise). A smoky extra healing potion that generates a djinn is not remotely guaranteed to give you a wish, making it unreliable in a pinch, and a milky extra potion healing poses an even more direct danger, since a ghost appearing from the potion and freezing you in place is a potential death knell.
History
The potion of extra healing first appears in Hack 1.21 and Hack for PDP-11 and PDX, which are based on Jay Fenlason's Hack, and also appears in the initial item list for Hack 1.0. Hack 1.21 also has the potion of extra hit points, which is excluded from later versions, with its functions are effectively folded into the various healing potions.
Alchemy
With the new alchemy stacking rules introduced in NetHack 3.6.0, dipping a (sufficiently large) stack of extra healing potions will alchemize 5.5 of them on average; there is a further 1⁄10 chance of them exploding, losing any potential HP boosts from obtaining full healing. On average, you gain an extra 12.1 max HP per dip, compared to just drinking extra healing directly.
As each dip uses up either a gain energy or a gain level potion, these 12.1 HP need to be weighted against 10.5 average max energy boost from blessed gain energy or various useful effects from gain level (which gives less than 12 max HP on average, but increases max energy as well, and also has other uses). This means that, in comparison to 3.4.3, alchemizing may be less desirable in terms of optimizing HP gain for spellcasting roles and/or characters who already have decent HP but are lacking in energy.
Messages
- You feel much better.
- You quaffed a potion of extra healing.
- <Foo> looks much better.
- A monster quaffed a potion of extra healing.
- <Foo> looks sound and hale again.
- A monster was hit with a potion of extra healing.
Variants
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, two potions of extra healing can be found in the outside area of Grund's Stronghold.
SlashTHEM
In SlashTHEM, in addition to SLASH'EM details, making a potion of extra healing using a chemistry set takes three charges.
References
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 675
- ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 999
- ↑ src/muse.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 972
- ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1429: Healing potions initiate potion of sickness effects for Pestilence, subject to monster magic resistance; Pestilence needs to be drained below level 6 for the potions to have at least a few percent chance of affecting them.
- ↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1659
