Scroll of mail

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Name	scroll of mail
Appearance	stamped scroll
Base price	0 zm
Weight	5
Ink to write	2
Monster use	Will not be used by monsters.

A scroll of mail is a type of non-magical scroll that appears in NetHack.

Generation

Scrolls of mail are never generated randomly in the dungeon, and only exist if the MAIL compile-time option is defined - the official Windows binaries do not define MAIL.

Scrolls of mail are delivered to the hero by the mail daemon if the "mail" option is set on, and can have varying sources depending on where the game is played:

• On UNIX and Linux, the player can set up an alert for incoming email.
• On DOS and Amiga, a scroll with a random message is delivered every 2000-5000 turns.
• Public servers often allow people watching a game to send short messages to the person playing the game.

Scrolls of mail can be found in bones, wished for or written with a magic marker like other scrolls. In particular, an error in wishing for body armor mail may also leave the player with a scroll of mail instead, e.g. a wish for "blessed greased fixed +3 dragon mail" will produce a blessed greased scroll of mail.

Description

To prevent abuse, scrolls of mail lack many of the gameplay applications of other scrolls:

• They cannot be made into other scrolls or merge into a paper golem via polypiling, instead turning into junk mail, and mail cannot be produced from polypiling any other scrolls.
• They cannot be blanked by cancellation, acid damage or getting them wet.
• A gelatinous cube gains no nutrition by eating one, including a hero in the form of a gelatinous cube.

Effects

Reading a scroll of mail delivered by mail daemon may launch an external mail program if appropriate, and will otherwise simply print the mail's message directly. Reading a delivered scroll breaks illiterate conduct, but unlike with other scrolls this will produce a warning prompt that gives the hero a chance to avoid reading the scroll if the conduct is intact.

Reading a scroll of mail that is wished for, written, created by polypiling, or else discovered in a bones file has no effect other than to print a message describing it as "junk mail addressed to the finder of the Eye of Larn". Reading any scroll that was not delivered by a mail daemon will break illiterate conduct without prompting, like most other scrolls.

Despite the scroll being non-magical, it still disappears when it is read.

Strategy

In theory, a hero can acquire as many scrolls of mail as desired by sending many messages to themselves, though they have limited effects on the average game. An enterprising hero can still make use of junk mail in the following ways:

• They can be thrown to propel yourself backward while levitating.
• Huge quantities of mail scrolls can be used for a shop-robbing exploit known as the "200 rock steal".
• Several stacks of scrolls of mail can be used as "fodder" against effects that curse items.

History

The scroll of mail first appears in Hack 1.0.2.

In NetHack 3.4.3 and earlier versions, including some variants based on these versions reading a scroll of mail immediately breaks illiterate conduct, and a scroll of mail will also "activate" an Elbereth square. As of NetHack 3.6.0, the reminder for illiterate conduct is included, and Elbereth's mechanics are significantly changed, meaning that scrolls of mail no longer affect squares with Elbereth engraved.

Origin

The message for reading a 'junk' scroll of mail is a reference to the roguelike Larn, which would send the user mail if they won.

Variants

UnNetHack

In UnNetHack, if the player has hints enabled, the mail daemon will deliver a scroll of mail once per game that contains a hint 250-500 turns after the beginning of a game.