Price identification
Price identification is the tactic of using the price of an item in NetHack to informally identify it. One can use the "buy price", the price of an item in shops, or the "sell price", the price that a shopkeeper offers when you try to sell an item. The sell price is easier to use because the buy price includes an unpredictable random factor that may disguise certain prices as other ones. Even if you have enough scrolls of identify and no conducts in mind, pricing lets you use those scrolls to prioritize the most important items.
NetHack 3.6.0 and 3.6.1 introduced changes to the price mechanics that make older price guides slightly inaccurate. The tables in § Price tables are duplicated for the 3.4.3 and 3.6.0 mechanics. If you're playing an older version and not using the tables, see the § History section before drawing conclusions based on prices.
Contents
Price derivation
Base price
Each item in NetHack has a base price, which is modified in various ways to produce the final selling price. Positively-enchanted weapons and armor have an additional 10 zm added to their base price for every point of enchantment.
Some items are considered "worthless":
- items with zero base price
- cancelled wands (with -1 charges)
- uncursed potions of water
Worthless items cannot be sold, but their buying price is calculated as though they have a base price of 5 zm. Unidentified valuable gems and worthless glass are always bought as though they were valuable, and sold for only a few zorkmids, regardless of their "true" value, so price identification cannot be used to distinguish them. Gray stones are priced like other items, so you can price-identify them.
Buying
When you buy an item, you are charged the base price, modified as follows. All multipliers are applied in sequence:
| Charisma: | ≤ 5 | 6–7 | 8–10 | 11–15 | 16–17 | 18 | ≥ 19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buy price multiplier: | 2 | 11⁄2 | 11⁄3 | 1 | 3⁄4 | 2⁄3 | 1⁄2 |
- Some characters are considered "suckers", and will be charged 1⁄3 more. You are a sucker if:[2]
- you're wearing a dunce cap
- you're wearing a shirt not covered by a cloak or body armor
- you're a Tourist below experience level 15
- When buying unidentified objects, in 1⁄4 of cases the shopkeeper will charge 1⁄3 more. This surcharge is tied to the individual item or stack; merged stacks will inherit the higher of the two prices, while split stacks will inherit the price of the original stack.
Selling
When you sell an item, you are normally offered 1⁄2 the base price; if you're a sucker, as above, you are offered 1⁄3 the base price instead. 1⁄4 of shopkeepers will pay 1⁄4 less for unidentified objects. This modifier is consistent for a given shopkeeper, so you can determine whether a given shopkeeper is affected by selling an informally-identified item. Note that if the shopkeeper doesn't have enough gold to cover the sale price, they'll only offer as much gold as they have, which can confuse the identification process. A shopkeeper with no gold will offer credit equal to 90% of the sale price, which you can multiply by 10⁄9 to determine the correct sale price.
Further strategies
General stores are very useful for price identification because they will offer to buy all types of items. However, you can still price-identify any object (unbreakable or in a bag of holding) in any store by throwing the item into the shop from outside. If the item is fragile, you can have your pet carry it in, in a container if the item is cursed. Beware that this will relinquish ownership of the item (and the container, if any) to the shopkeeper, who will then try to sell it to you. You will need to pay the asking price or steal the item to get it back, but in a pinch, this can provide a price for an object that the shopkeeper would not normally be interested in.
Some items in an item class are 4/3 the price of other items in the class, which can give ambiguous results when buying if the random surcharge applies. A 60zm scroll of enchant weapon could appear to be one of the 80zm scrolls, a level 3 spellbook can appear to be level 4, and there are many 150zm items that can seem to be 200zm. Selling items is more reliable in this case because the random selling modifier applies to the shopkeeper; if selling an item results in what appears to be an impossible price, you know that this shopkeeper is "greedy", and all other selling prices from them can be adjusted accordingly.
Common uses
The item which is most commonly price-IDed is the scroll of identify, which is far cheaper than the other scrolls. In addition, magic lamps cost more than oil lamps, and enchanted armor costs more than their unenchanted versions.
Price-IDing can also be useful to identify bad items. The scroll of amnesia has a base price of 200zm, ten times as much as a scroll of identify. A potion of sickness has a base price of 50zm, a potion of hallucination 100zm, and a potion of blindness 150zm.
Non-Wizards will find it helpful to price-identify the difficulty level of spellbooks to determine whether they are safe to read. The base price of a spellbook is 100 zorkmids times its difficulty level. The derived sell price is half that.
Stealing powerful wands
An expensive wand (base price 500zm) is either wishing or death. In general, you should have a pet steal such an item; if you don't have a pet, both wands are well worth buying. If you have neither a pet nor the gold, either should be pretty easy to obtain: throw a tripe or food ration at a wild dog or cat, or sell junk to the shopkeeper.
One might be tempted to zap the wand (wishing for a wand of death if it's a wand of wishing) at the shopkeeper, but for early characters, this is a bad idea: the death ray might miss, which can easily lead to a quick YASD, given shopkeepers' speed and damage output. Furthermore, wishing for a wand of death from a wand of wishing is generally a waste anyways, given that by the time you really need one, you can get the one Orcus carries. If you're truly concerned about your character's ability to survive long enough to buy or steal the wand, wishing for 5000 gold pieces is a safe way to be able to do so, though it is also a waste of a wish. If you really want to kill the shopkeeper, wish for a blessed figurine of an Archon, though be aware that this has a 10% chance of backfiring.
Price tables
In the tables below, the buying price is followed by two numbers in parentheses. The first number in parentheses is the higher price if you are charged either the unidentified surcharge or the sucker markup. The second is the price with both of those surcharges. The selling price is also followed by a number in parentheses: this is the offer you may get with the randomly applied discount. Numbers in bold are prices that do not allow a unique inference of the base price.
Magical armor
Boots
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Boot types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 16 (20/26) | 12 (15/19) | 10 (13/17) | 8 (10/13) | 6 (8/10) | 6 (7/9) | 4 (5/6) | 4 (3) | elven boots, kicking boots |
| 30 | 60 (80/106) | 45 (60/79) | 40 (53/70) | 30 (40/53) | 23 (30/40) | 20 (27/36) | 15 (20/26) | 15 (12) | fumble boots, levitation boots |
| 50 | 100 (132/176) | 75 (99/132) | 66 (88/117) | 50 (66/88) | 38 (50/66) | 34 (44/59) | 25 (33/44) | 25 (19) | jumping boots, speed boots, water walking boots |
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Boot types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 16 (21/28) | 12 (16/21) | 11 (14/19) | 8 (11/14) | 6 (8/11) | 5 (7/9) | 4 (5/7) | 4 (3) | elven boots, kicking boots |
| 30 | 60 (80/107) | 45 (60/80) | 40 (53/71) | 30 (40/53) | 23 (30/40) | 20 (27/36) | 15 (20/27) | 15 (11) | fumble boots, levitation boots |
| 50 | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/119) | 50 (67/89) | 38 (50/67) | 33 (44/59) | 25 (33/44) | 25 (19) | jumping boots, speed boots, water walking boots |
Fumble boots and levitation boots are both 30zm, but are of different weights. They are often cursed.
Speed boots, jumping boots, and water walking boots are all priced at 50zm. They are easily identified once worn: speed boots auto-identify if you are not already very fast (potion of speed or haste self spell), jumping boots allow you to jump, and boots of water walking are otherwise mundane.
Elven boots cause you to "walk very quietly" and self-identify if you are not already stealthy. Kicking boots are made of metal, and consequently add to spell failure percentage.
Cloaks
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Cloak types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 10 (12/16) | 7 (9/12) | 6 (8/10) | 5 (6/8) | 4 (5/6) | 4 (4/6) | 2 (3/4) | 1 | mummy wrapping |
| 40 | 80 (106/140) | 60 (79/105) | 53 (70/93) | 40 (53/70) | 30 (40/53) | 27 (36/47) | 20 (26/35) | 20 (15) | leather, orcish ("coarse mantelet") |
| 50 | 100 (132/176) | 75 (99/132) | 66 (88/117) | 50 (66/88) | 38 (50/66) | 34 (44/59) | 25 (33/44) | 25 (19) | alchemy smock ("apron"), displacement, dwarvish ("hooded cloak"), oilskin ("slippery cloak"), protection, robe ("robe") |
| 60 | 120 (160/212) | 90 (120/159) | 80 (106/141) | 60 (80/106) | 45 (60/80) | 40 (54/71) | 30 (40/53) | 30 (23) | elven ("faded pall"), invisibility, magic resistance |
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Cloak types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 10 (13/18) | 8 (10/13) | 7 (9/12) | 5 (7/9) | 4 (5/7) | 3 (4/6) | 3 (3/4) | 1 (1) | mummy wrapping |
| 40 | 80 (107/142) | 60 (80/107) | 53 (71/95) | 40 (53/71) | 30 (40/53) | 27 (36/47) | 20 (27/36) | 20 (15) | leather, orcish ("coarse mantelet") |
| 50 | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/119) | 50 (67/89) | 38 (50/67) | 33 (44/59) | 25 (33/44) | 25 (19) | alchemy smock ("apron"), displacement, dwarvish ("hooded cloak"), oilskin ("slippery cloak"), protection, robe ("robe") |
| 60 | 120 (160/213) | 90 (120/160) | 80 (107/142) | 60 (80/107) | 45 (60/80) | 40 (53/71) | 30 (40/53) | 30 (23) | elven ("faded pall"), invisibility, magic resistance |
The cloaks of displacement and protection both cost 50zm, and are the only ones at that price with a randomized appearance. If a cloak costs 60zm and has a randomized appearance, then it is either invisibility, magic resistance, or a +1 cloak of the first two types.
Other armor
All magical randomized helms (brilliance, opposite alignment, and telepathy) cost 50zm; the helmet costs 10zm.
All magical gloves (dexterity, fumbling, and power) cost 50zm; leather gloves cost 8zm.
Positive enchantment on a piece of armor increases the base price by 10zm per point of enchantment. In theory, a +2 or better pair of fumble boots might be confused for one of the much more useful 50zm boots, but the probability for positive enchantments on harmful items is too low to be worth worrying about.
Scrolls
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Scroll types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 40 (52/68) | 30 (39/51) | 26 (34/45) | 20 (26/34) | 15 (20/26) | 14 (18/23) | 10 (13/17) | 10 (8) | identify |
| 50 | 100 (132/176) | 75 (99/132) | 66 (88/117) | 50 (66/88) | 38 (50/66) | 34 (44/59) | 25 (33/44) | 25 (19) | light |
| 60 | 120 (160/212) | 90 (120/159) | 80 (106/141) | 60 (80/106) | 45 (60/80) | 40 (54/71) | 30 (40/53) | 30 (23) | blank paper ("unlabeled scroll"), enchant weapon |
| 80 | 160 (212/282) | 120 (159/211) | 106 (141/188) | 80 (106/141) | 60 (80/106) | 54 (71/94) | 40 (53/70) | 40 (30) | enchant armor, remove curse |
| 100 | 200 (266/354) | 150 (199/265) | 133 (177/236) | 100 (133/177) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/118) | 50 (66/88) | 50 (38) | confuse monster, destroy armor, fire, food detection, gold detection, magic mapping, scare monster, teleportation |
| 200 | 400 (532/708) | 300 (399/531) | 266 (354/472) | 200 (266/354) | 150 (200/266) | 134 (178/236) | 100 (133/177) | 100 (75) | amnesia, create monster, earth, taming |
| 300 | 600 (800/1066) | 450 (600/799) | 400 (533/710) | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/266) | 150 (113) | charging, genocide, punishment, stinking cloud |
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Scroll types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 40 (53/71) | 30 (40/53) | 27 (36/47) | 20 (27/36) | 15 (20/27) | 13 (18/24) | 10 (13/18) | 10 (8) | identify |
| 50 | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/119) | 50 (67/89) | 38 (50/67) | 33 (44/59) | 25 (33/44) | 25 (19) | light |
| 60 | 120 (160/213) | 90 (120/160) | 80 (107/142) | 60 (80/107) | 45 (60/80) | 40 (53/71) | 30 (40/53) | 30 (23) | blank paper ("unlabeled scroll"), enchant weapon |
| 80 | 160 (213/284) | 120 (160/213) | 107 (142/190) | 80 (107/142) | 60 (80/107) | 53 (71/95) | 40 (53/71) | 40 (30) | enchant armor, remove curse |
| 100 | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 133 (178/237) | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/119) | 50 (67/89) | 50 (38) | confuse monster, destroy armor, fire, food detection, gold detection, magic mapping, scare monster, teleportation |
| 200 | 400 (533/711) | 300 (400/533) | 267 (356/474) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 133 (178/237) | 100 (133/178) | 100 (75) | amnesia, create monster, earth, taming |
| 300 | 600 (800/1067) | 450 (600/800) | 400 (533/711) | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 150 (113) | charging, genocide, punishment, stinking cloud |
If the scroll costs 20zm, 50zm, or 60zm, it is uniquely identified. Identification of more expensive scrolls usually involves using the spell or scroll of identify. If you choose to read an unknown scroll, you should always make sure the unknown scroll is not cursed, and never read it while confused.
If the scroll costs 80zm, it is either enchant armor or remove curse. Both are harmless, unless the scroll is cursed or you are confused. Before reading, you may want to bless the scroll, wear only armor you want to enchant, and hold all the cursed items you want to uncurse.
Among scrolls that cost 100zm, there are two dangerous scrolls, fire and destroy armor. Before reading, to protect from ill effects of the former, put all your scrolls, potions, and spellbooks into a container, or into a closet, or leave them on a different level, or just leave them at least 2 squares from you (but then you should beware of the danger of them being picked up by a monster if you encountered a scroll of teleportation. To protect from ill effects of both scrolls, make sure all your armor, except a shirt covered by a body armor or cloak, and body armor covered by a cloak, is something you can afford to lose.
If the scroll costs 200zm, the only dangerous scroll is amnesia, but it is really bad, and you cannot protect from it. Unless you have identified the scroll of amnesia, don't read an unknown 200-zorkmid scroll. Identify it by other means.
If the scroll costs 300zm, the only dangerous scroll is punishment. In Nethack 3.4.3, there is a simple way to get rid of the heavy iron ball, involving a pit and a boulder, but since 3.6.0, it doesn't work. Don't read the scroll unless you have a non-cursed scroll of remove curse or a wand of opening, or unless you know and can cast a knock spell, or can polymorph into a nymph or metallivore. Alternatively, you can bless the scroll and then read it. Blessed scrolls of punishment are harmless, and blessed scrolls of genocide and charging are more powerful than uncursed scrolls. Finally, if you are absolutely sure it is not a scroll of genocide, you can read it while confused. Beware! Reading a scroll of genocide while confused would genocide your own race, thus killing you, even if you are wearing an amulet of life saving.
Potions
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Potion types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 10 (12/16) | 7 (9/12) | 6 (8/10) | 5 (6/8) | 4 (5/6) | 4 (4/6) | 2 (3/4) | 0 | water (uncursed) |
| 50 | 100 (132/176) | 75 (99/132) | 66 (88/117) | 50 (66/88) | 38 (50/66) | 34 (44/59) | 25 (33/44) | 25 (19) | booze, fruit juice, see invisible, sickness |
| 100 | 200 (266/354) | 150 (199/265) | 133 (177/236) | 100 (133/177) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/118) | 50 (66/88) | 50 (38) | confusion, extra healing, hallucination, healing, holy water ("blessed clear potion"), unholy water ("cursed clear potion"), restore ability, sleeping |
| 150 | 300 (400/532) | 225 (300/399) | 200 (266/354) | 150 (200/266) | 113 (150/200) | 100 (134/178) | 75 (100/133) | 75 (57) | blindness, gain energy, invisibility, monster detection, object detection |
| 200 | 400 (532/708) | 300 (399/531) | 266 (354/472) | 200 (266/354) | 150 (200/266) | 134 (178/236) | 100 (133/177) | 100 (75) | enlightenment, full healing, levitation, polymorph, speed |
| 250 | 500 (666/888) | 375 (499/666) | 333 (444/592) | 250 (333/444) | 188 (250/333) | 167 (222/296) | 125 (166/222) | 125 (94) | acid, oil |
| 300 | 600 (800/1066) | 450 (600/799) | 400 (533/710) | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/266) | 150 (113) | gain ability, gain level, paralysis |
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Potion types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 10 (13/18) | 8 (10/13) | 7 (9/12) | 5 (7/9) | 4 (5/7) | 3 (4/6) | 3 (3/4) | 0 (0) | water (uncursed) |
| 50 | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/119) | 50 (67/89) | 38 (50/67) | 33 (44/59) | 25 (33/44) | 25 (19) | booze, fruit juice, see invisible, sickness |
| 100 | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 133 (178/237) | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/119) | 50 (67/89) | 50 (38) | confusion, extra healing, hallucination, healing, holy water ("blessed clear potion"), unholy water ("cursed clear potion"), restore ability, sleeping |
| 150 | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 113 (150/200) | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 75 (56) | blindness, gain energy, invisibility, monster detection, object detection |
| 200 | 400 (533/711) | 300 (400/533) | 267 (356/474) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 133 (178/237) | 100 (133/178) | 100 (75) | enlightenment, full healing, levitation, polymorph, speed |
| 250 | 500 (667/889) | 375 (500/667) | 333 (444/593) | 250 (333/444) | 188 (250/333) | 167 (222/296) | 125 (167/222) | 125 (94) | acid, oil |
| 300 | 600 (800/1067) | 450 (600/800) | 400 (533/711) | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 150 (113) | gain ability, gain level, paralysis |
If the potion is water (clear potion), price gives some information about its beatitude. If the price is 0, the water is uncursed; otherwise it is either holy or unholy water.
If the price is 250zm, you can ensure it is not cursed, then try to apply it. If it is a potion of oil, it will be lit. Do not do this when the potion is owned by a shop, or you will be forced to pay for the potion and will be charged Yendorian Fuel Tax.
Otherwise, price identification of a potion usually includes quaffing it. See Potion § Price identification then quaffing for more information.
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.
As of commit 62fb8759, potion of healing costs 20.Rings
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Ring types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 200 (266/354) | 150 (199/265) | 133 (177/236) | 100 (133/177) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/118) | 50 (66/88) | 50 (38) | adornment, hunger*, protection, protection from shape changers, stealth, sustain ability, warning |
| 150 | 300 (400/532) | 225 (300/399) | 200 (266/354) | 150 (200/266) | 113 (150/200) | 100 (134/178) | 75 (100/133) | 75 (57) | aggravate monster*, cold resistance, gain constitution, gain strength, increase accuracy, increase damage, invisibility, poison resistance, see invisible, shock resistance |
| 200 | 400 (532/708) | 300 (399/531) | 266 (354/472) | 200 (266/354) | 150 (200/266) | 134 (178/236) | 100 (133/177) | 100 (75) | fire resistance, free action, levitation, regeneration, searching, slow digestion, teleportation* |
| 300 | 600 (800/1066) | 450 (600/799) | 400 (533/710) | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/266) | 150 (113) | conflict, polymorph*, polymorph control, teleport control |
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Ring types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 133 (178/237) | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/119) | 50 (67/89) | 50 (38) | adornment, hunger*, protection, protection from shape changers, stealth, sustain ability, warning |
| 150 | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 113 (150/200) | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 75 (56) | aggravate monster*, cold resistance, gain constitution, gain strength, increase accuracy, increase damage, invisibility, poison resistance, see invisible, shock resistance |
| 200 | 400 (533/711) | 300 (400/533) | 267 (356/474) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 133 (178/237) | 100 (133/178) | 100 (75) | fire resistance, free action, levitation, regeneration, searching, slow digestion, teleportation* |
| 300 | 600 (800/1067) | 450 (600/800) | 400 (533/711) | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 150 (113) | conflict, polymorph*, polymorph control, teleport control |
An asterisk (*) indicates that this ring is generated cursed 90% of the time.
The most useful rings to price-identify are the most expensive and most powerful rings: the 200zm and 300zm rings.
All 200zm rings, provided they are non-cursed, are useful and safe to wear. These include the rings of free action, slow digestion, searching, levitation, regeneration, fire resistance and teleportation. It is important to only wear rings from this group known to be non-cursed, since uncontrolled teleportitis or a cursed ring of levitation may be hazardous. The ring of levitation auto-identifies when worn; the effects of the other 200zm rings, with the probable exceptions of fire resistance or teleportation if you already have the intrinsics, will eventually become clear if you wear the rings. The ring of regeneration can also be quickly tested for: wear it, throw a (preferably non-breakable) object up to lose a few hit points, and watch if you re-gain them every turn.
The 300zm rings include the rings of conflict, teleport control, polymorph, and polymorph control. The first two are among the most coveted items in the game and are frequent wish targets, however the ring of polymorph means that 300zm rings are not generally safe to wear. Conflict can still be easily identified by wearing it for a turn or two around a peaceful monster (remember that a shopkeeper, aligned priest, or your Quest leader are probably not wise choices). Teleport control can also be identified by putting on the ring and triggering a teleport (via trap, scroll, wand, etc.) If your 300zm ring is neither of these, do not wear it; use a scroll, spell, a handy sink or a source of enlightenment to reliably identify the other 300zm rings. Alternately, a riskier method of determining whether a 300zm ring is safe to wear is simply to wear it for a few hundred turns without wearing a shirt, cloak, or body armor (or wearing junk armor); that way, if you polymorph you will not break your useful armor.
Wands
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Wand types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 200 (266/354) | 150 (199/265) | 133 (177/236) | 100 (133/177) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/118) | 50 (66/88) | 50 (38) | light, nothing |
| 150 | 300 (400/532) | 225 (300/399) | 200 (266/354) | 150 (200/266) | 113 (150/200) | 100 (134/178) | 75 (100/133) | 75 (57) | digging, enlightenment, locking, magic missile, make invisible, opening, probing, secret door detection, slow monster, speed monster, striking, undead turning |
| 175 | 350 (466/620) | 262 (349/465) | 233 (310/413) | 175 (233/310) | 132 (175/233) | 117 (156/207) | 87 (116/155) | 87 (66) | cold, fire, lightning, sleep |
| 200 | 400 (532/708) | 300 (399/531) | 266 (356/472) | 200 (266/354) | 150 (200/266) | 134 (178/236) | 100 (133/177) | 100 (75) | cancellation, create monster, polymorph, teleportation |
| 500 | 1000 (1332/1776) | 750 (999/1332) | 666 (888/1184) | 500 (666/888) | 375 (500/666) | 334 (444/592) | 250 (333/444) | 250 (188) | death, wishing |
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Wand types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 133 (178/237) | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/119) | 50 (67/89) | 50 (38) | light, nothing |
| 150 | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 113 (150/200) | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 75 (56) | digging, enlightenment, locking, magic missile, make invisible, opening, probing, secret door detection, slow monster, speed monster, striking, undead turning |
| 175 | 350 (467/622) | 263 (350/467) | 233 (311/415) | 175 (233/311) | 131 (175/233) | 117 (156/207) | 88 (117/156) | 88 (66) | cold, fire, lightning, sleep |
| 200 | 400 (533/711) | 300 (400/533) | 267 (356/474) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 133 (178/237) | 100 (133/178) | 100 (75) | cancellation, create monster, polymorph, teleportation |
| 500 | 1000 (1333/1778) | 750 (1000/1333) | 667 (889/1185) | 500 (667/889) | 375 (500/667) | 333 (444/593) | 250 (333/444) | 250 (188) | death, wishing |
It is usually better to engrave ID wands to determine their identity, however base 175zm wands found in shops are all useful (cold, sleep, fire, or lightning), price identification can distinguish a wand of sleep from a wand of death without using another charge, any wand that makes engravings vanish that has a base price of 150zm is a wand of make invisible, and any wand that gives no message when engraved with a base price of 100zm is a wand of nothing.
Spellbooks
| Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Spellbook types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 133 (178/237) | 100 (133/178) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/119) | 50 (67/89) | 50 (38) | Level 1 books: force bolt, protection, detect monsters, light, sleep, jumping, healing, knock |
| 200 | 400 (533/711) | 300 (400/533) | 267 (356/474) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 133 (178/237) | 100 (133/178) | 100 (75) | Level 2 books: magic missile, drain life, create monster, detect food, confuse monster, slow monster, cure blindness, wizard lock |
| 300 | 600 (800/1067) | 450 (600/800) | 400 (533/711) | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/267) | 150 (113) | Level 3 books: remove curse, clairvoyance, detect unseen, identify, cause fear, charm monster, haste self, cure sickness, extra healing, stone to flesh |
| 400 | 800 (1067/1422) | 600 (800/1067) | 533 (711/948) | 400 (533/711) | 300 (400/533) | 267 (356/474) | 200 (267/356) | 200 (150) | Level 4 books: cone of cold, fireball, detect treasure, invisibility, levitation, restore ability |
| 500 | 1000 (1333/1778) | 750 (1000/1333) | 667 (889/1185) | 500 (667/889) | 375 (500/667) | 333 (444/593) | 250 (333/444) | 250 (188) | Level 5 books: magic mapping, dig |
| 600 | 1200 (1600/2133) | 900 (1200/1600) | 800 (1067/1422) | 600 (800/1067) | 450 (600/800) | 400 (533/711) | 300 (400/533) | 300 (225) | Level 6 books: create familiar, turn undead, teleport away, polymorph |
| 700 | 1400 (1867/2489) | 1050 (1400/1867) | 933 (1244/1659) | 700 (933/1244) | 525 (700/933) | 467 (622/830) | 350 (467/622) | 350 (263) | Level 7 books: finger of death, cancellation |
Determining the level of a spellbook can be very useful for spellcasters, since it can eliminate books that are much too high level to be read, and reveal books that should be easy to read. However, knowing the level of a spellbook is not very helpful unless the book is also BUC identified.
Amulets
All amulets cost 150zm and weigh 20, so they cannot be distinguished using price, however, see Amulet#Identification for other methods of identifying them.
Comestibles
Comestibles are usually priced at their simple base cost (unless the shopkeeper is multiplying the price because you are hungry), and thus don't need identification.
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.
As of commit 7bf38887, corpses, tins and eggs have a higher price if they might grant one or more valuable intrinsics, making it possible to price-identify useful tins and eggs. The calculation is too complex to be covered in detail here, but as a general rule, tin and egg prices will increase with the number and power of the intrinsics it can grant (some intrinsics are more valuable than others). However, prices also increase with base monster level, which confounds a simple price-based analysis. At the very least, it is probably worth identifying or probing expensive tins and eggs to see what they contain.
Interestingly, tins of spinach, despite granting strength, still use the normal tin base cost. Since these are the only tins which are not associated with a monster, a very cheap tin will either be spinach or an extremely low-level monster such as a lichen or newt.Variants
SLASH'EM
Price identification is more complicated in SLASH'EM, partly due to the addition of several new items, and partly due to discriminatory role-based markups:
- Barbarians pay triple the base price ("Barbarians are gullible")
- Rogues pay double the base price ("Rogues are untrustworthy")
- Samurai pay double the base price ("Samurai are from out of town")
Furthermore, in the black market, magical items cost 50 times the base price, and nonmagical items cost 25 times the base price. These markups are applied in this order, after any relevant unidentified item surcharge, sucker markup, and charisma modifier.
Relevant parts of above tables that change are given in the table below.
| Category | Base cost | Cha ≤ 5 | Cha 6–7 | Cha 8–10 | Cha 11–15 | Cha 16–17 | Cha 18 | Cha ≥ 19 | Selling price | Item types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rings | 100 | 200 (266/354) | 150 (199/265) | 133 (177/236) | 100 (133/177) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/118) | 50 (66/88) | 50 (38) | adornment, hunger*, mood, protection, protection from shape changers, sleeping* stealth, sustain ability, warning |
| 150 | 300 (400/532) | 225 (300/399) | 200 (266/354) | 150 (200/266) | 113 (150/200) | 100 (134/178) | 75 (100/133) | 75 (57) | aggravate monster*, cold resistance, gain constitution, gain dexterity, gain intelligence, gain strength, gain wisdom, increase accuracy, increase damage, invisibility, poison resistance, see invisible, shock resistance | |
| Wands | 150 | 300 (400/532) | 225 (300/399) | 200 (266/354) | 150 (200/266) | 113 (150/200) | 100 (134/178) | 75 (100/133) | 75 (57) | digging, enlightenment, healing, locking, magic missile, make invisible, opening, probing, secret door detection, slow monster, speed monster, striking, undead turning |
| 175 | 350 (466/620) | 262 (349/465) | 233 (310/413) | 175 (233/310) | 132 (175/233) | 117 (156/207) | 87 (116/155) | 87 (66) | cold, draining, fire, lightning, sleep | |
| 200 | 400 (532/708) | 300 (399/531) | 266 (354/472) | 200 (266/354) | 150 (200/266) | 134 (178/236) | 100 (133/177) | 100 (75) | cancellation, create monster, fear, polymorph, teleportation | |
| 300 | 600 (800/1066) | 450 (600/799) | 400 (533/710) | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/266) | 150 (113) | create horde, extra healing, fireball | |
| Potions | 50 | 100 (132/176) | 75 (99/132) | 66 (88/117) | 50 (66/88) | 38 (50/66) | 34 (44/59) | 25 (33/44) | 25 (19) | blood ("blood-red potion"), booze, fruit juice, see invisible, sickness |
| 100 | 200 (266/354) | 150 (199/265) | 133 (177/236) | 100 (133/177) | 75 (100/133) | 67 (89/118) | 50 (66/88) | 50 (38) | amnesia ("sparkling potion"), clairvoyance, confusion, extra healing, hallucination, healing, holy water ("blessed clear potion"), unholy water ("cursed clear potion"), restore ability, sleeping | |
| 150 | 300 (400/532) | 225 (300/399) | 200 (266/354) | 150 (200/266) | 113 (150/200) | 100 (134/178) | 75 (100/133) | 75 (57) | blindness, ESP, gain energy, invisibility, monster detection, object detection | |
| 300 | 600 (800/1066) | 450 (600/799) | 400 (533/710) | 300 (400/533) | 225 (300/400) | 200 (267/356) | 150 (200/266) | 150 (113) | gain ability, gain level, invulnerability, paralysis | |
| 350 | 700 (932/1242) | 525 (699/931) | 466 (621/828) | 350 (466/621) | 263 (350/466) | 234 (311/414) | 175 (233/310) | 175 (132) | vampire blood ("blood-red potion") | |
| Robes | 25 | 50 (66/88) | 37 (49/66) | 33 (44/58) | 25 (33/44) | 19 (25/33) | 17 (22/30) | 12 (16/22) | 12 (9) | robe |
| 50 | 100 (132/176) | 75 (99/132) | 66 (88/117) | 50 (66/88) | 38 (50/66) | 34 (44/59) | 25 (33/44) | 25 (19) | power, protection, weakness | |
| Cloaks | 40 | 80 (106/140) | 60 (79/105) | 53 (70/93) | 40 (53/70) | 30 (40/53) | 27 (36/47) | 20 (26/35) | 20 (15) | leather, orcish ("coarse mantelet"), poisonous |
| 60 | 120 (160/212) | 90 (120/159) | 80 (106/141) | 60 (80/106) | 45 (60/80) | 40 (54/71) | 30 (40/53) | 30 (23) | elven ("faded pall"), invisibility, lab coat ("white coat"), magic resistance |
GruntHack
In GruntHack, shopkeepers that hate your race increase the buy price of every item by 33% (multiplying by 4⁄3), and cut the sell price of every item by 66% (dividing by 3). The base price of any item is increased if it has object properties: 100 for one property, 500 for two properties, 1000 for three properties, and so on.
Additionally, whenever in a shop you can view the prices of any items you have within a container you own in your inventory, even if the shop would not normally take that type of item.
UnNetHack
In UnNetHack, the random 25% reduction of selling price is applied per shop, rather than per item. Additionally, Tourists have a 1⁄3 chance of all items in a shop being identified the first time they enter it.
FIQHack
In FIQHack, all items in shops are automatically identified for Tourists, including items that you sell to shopkeepers.
History
In NetHack 3.4.3, the random modifiers for unidentified items also applied to identified items; all surcharges and price reductions are also applied sequentially, using integer arithmetic. For example, if a character with charisma 7 buying an item with base price of 100 is charged an unidentified surcharge, the shopkeeper's price is calculated as follows:
- 100 base price
- 4⁄3 unidentified surcharge multiplier = 100 × 4⁄3 = 133
- 3⁄2 charisma multiplier = 133 × 3⁄2 = 199
In 3.6.* versions, the calculation accumulates integer multipliers and divisors for all adjustments, then applies these once at the end to get the effective price. Thus for the same example, the calculation will be:
- (4⁄3) × (3⁄2) = 12⁄6
- 100 × 12⁄6 = 200
This sometimes results in prices 1 to 2 zorkmids higher or lower than would be obtained in previous versions. The stated intention of this change is to make price identification harder by ensuring that the price of items marked up twice more often equals another base price, e.g. 200zm instead of 199zm. Another consequence of this method is that the order in which adjustments are applied no longer matters.
Before NetHack 3.6.1, the random modifier for selling unidentified items was determined per-sale, not per-shopkeeper. By repeatedly dropping the item, declining the sale, and picking it up again, you'd eventually get two different quotes, the higher of which was the correct one.
References
External links
Various external tools exist for the purpose of aiding in price IDing:
- Clippy
- Determine Objects by their Price, which is more accurate due to taking some more corner cases into account, but less broad because it only works magical items and excludes weapons, armor, tools, and gems.
- Consolidated item tables on alt.org, which are 3.4.3-specific and lists the base price of every single item (which has not changed since)
- NetHack Shopping Spoiler, another 3.4.3-specific resource mirrored on alt.org
- DizzyPrice an open-source price ID tool updated to the new rounding method for the NetHack 3.6.0 series.
- #annotate at NetHackathon, a companion app that contains a price ID tool and several other note-taking features
