Spellbook of extra healing

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spellbook of
+   extra healing   Light green spellbook.png
Appearance random
Abundance 2.74%
Base price 300 zm
Weight 50
Turns to read 10
Ink to write 15–29
Spell type healing
Level 3
Power cost 15 Pw
Direction beam
Equivalent potion of extra healing

In NetHack, the spellbook of extra healing allows you to learn the spell of extra healing. It is a level 3 healing spell, and the spellbook takes 12 actions to read. It is one of the many emergency spells.

Generation

Healers are guaranteed to start with a blessed spellbook of extra healing.

Effects

Extra healing is a directional spell that heals its target(s) for 6d8 HP and cures blindness;[1] the spell will awaken a sleeping monster without angering it. The effect is similar to an uncursed potion of extra healing, though it cannot increase maximum HP and will not cure your own hallucination or sickness if you cast it at yourself.

Casting this spell at a tame or peaceful monster will yield an alignment bonus for each monster affected, even if it was already at maximum HP. Lawfuls and Healers gain one alignment point, while chaotic non-healers lose one point.

Pestilence will actually take 3d8 damage from the spell, with the damage halved due to his guaranteed monster magic resistance.

Despite code that sets a flag to allow for different effects when cast at Skilled or higher, there is no actual difference in effect: the implementation of the spell effect cures blindness, regardless of the flag.[2][1]

Strategy

As a stronger version of the healing spell, this is an obviously useful utility spell. Players who have spare skill points and already know healing may invest in training the healing spell skill to cast this spell. If you are in no danger, the plain spell of healing spell is a more efficient use of power — the extra healing spell uses three times the power, but can restore only twice the amount of HP.

A creative use of this spell is for unblinding dangerous monsters who have become blind (e.g. from a wand of lightning) so that they will respect Elbereth.

History

The spellbook of extra healing and its spell first appear in NetHack 1.3d.

There was a bug that prevented both this spell and the spell of healing from correctly healing untimed (permanent) monster blindness; this is fixed as of NetHack 3.6.2.

Messages

<Monster> looks much better.
A monster was in the range of an extra healing spell.

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 src/zap.c in NetHack 3.6.6, line 2475: The fourth parameter of healup() is cureblind, and is always true for spell of extra healing regardless of skill
  2. src/spell.c in NetHack 3.6.6, line 1106