Ring of stealth
A ring of stealth is a type of ring that appears in NetHack.
Contents
Generation
Wizards may be given a ring of stealth as one of the two random rings in their starting inventory.[1]
General stores and jewelers shops can sell rings of stealth.
Description
A hero putting on a ring of stealth grants the hero extrinsic stealth, and putting on or removing the ring will auto-identify it unless they already have stealth from another source. Monsters will not wear this ring.
A hero eating the ring has a 1⁄3 chance of absorbing its magic and gaining intrinsic stealth.[2]
Strategy
The ring of stealth is a good aid for a hero that lacks stealth and wants to avoid sleeping monsters and tackling special rooms (such as the Sokoban treasure zoo), but does not want to spare an armor slot for elven boots or an elven cloak—heroes that gain intrinsic stealth (e.g. from their role at certain experience levels) will find the ring redundant, but may opt to polypile the rings once they have the ring type identified, or even hang on to one in case intrinsic stealth is lost. The ring's auto-identification is useful for saving heroes without stealth a trip to the sink.
History
The ring of stealth appears in Hack 1.21 and Hack for PDP-11, which are both based on Jay Fenlason's Hack, and is included in the initial item list for Hack 1.0.
The auto-identifying quality of the ring is introduced in NetHack 3.6.0.
Messages
- The sink seems to blend into the floor for a moment.
- You dropped the ring of stealth down a sink.
Variants
Variants based on NetHack 3.4.3 and earlier versions may not have the ring of stealth auto-identify when worn.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, giant heroes cannot gain stealth from the worn ring, and giant Wizards will never be given a ring of stealth as part of their starting inventory. A giant wearing a ring of stealth or any other source of the property will produce a different message when auto-identifying those items. Polymorphing to eat the ring can grant stealth as normal.
All of the above information also applies to Hack'EM.
