Sustain ability

Sustain ability is a property that appears in NetHack and prevents most changes to the attributes of the hero.

The only source of the property is wearing a ring of sustain ability.

Description

Sustain ability prevents a hero's attributes from changing through most methods, including exercise, abuse and specific parts of some item effects that would change attributes:

• Applying a cursed unicorn horn
• Strength gain from eating the corpse or tin of a giant or a tin of spinach
• Quaffing a non-cursed potion of gain ability, or quaffing from a magic fountain and gaining the potions effect
• Sitting on a coaligned altar and losing wisdom
• Intelligence drain from a brain-eating attack

Sustain ability does not prevent changes to attributes from a hero reaching low nutrition levels or else raising nutrition from such levels, and it also does not prevent the shuffling of attributes that occurs when polymorphing into the hero's own race.

Messages

You have fixed abilities.

You have sustain ability as viewed via enlightenment.

Variants

Some variants of NetHack introduce more sources of the property.

dNetHack

In dNetHack, the Binder spirit Dahlver-Nar grants sustain ability while bound.

The stasis subsystem of imperial elven body armor enables it to grant the sustain ability property while the armor is worn, and is repaired by using an upgrade kit and a ring of sustain ability.

FIQHack

In FIQHack, sustain ability is one of the properties that can be conferred by quaffing or dipping into a potion of wonder.

notdNetHack

In notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, in addition to dNetHack details, The Talisman of Buer is an artifact amulet of life saving that grants sustain ability while worn.

Hack'EM

In Hack'EM, the sustainability object property on weapons and armor causes the item to grant sustain ability while wielded or worn. The item's enchantment also cannot be magically altered, and worn armor of sustainability will not be destroyed by system shock if the hero is polymorphed.