Wizard/SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, the Wizard, abbreviated as Wiz, is one of the roles from NetHack that is available to the hero.

Wizards can be humans, elves, gnomes, orcs, hobbits, vampires, drow, or doppelgangers, and can be either neutral or chaotic.

Starting equipment

Each Wizard starts with the following equipment:

• a blessed +1 quarterstaff
• a +0 cloak of magic resistance
• three random scrolls
• four blessed spellbooks, which are chosen from the following lists with an equal probability for each:
  • force bolt or sleep
  • resist poison or resist sleep
  • detect food, detect monsters, light, knock, or wizard lock
  • magic missile, confuse monster, slow monster, cure blindness, endure heat, endure cold, insulate, create monster, or healing
• three random potions
• two random rings
• one random wand
• an uncursed magic marker (¹⁄₅ chance or 20%)
• an uncursed blindfold (¹⁄₅ chance or 20%)

Any ring that is generated with an enchantment of +0 or lower is given a random enchantment from +1 to +3. Duplicates of rings and spellbooks are not possible.

Orcish Wizards are not given extra food like orcish heroes in other roles. Hobbit Wizards will never be given a ring of invisibility. Elven Wizards are additionally given a random non-magical instrument.

Wizards start with knowledge of any applicable racial equipment.

The Wizard's default starting pet is a kitten.

List of unobtainable starting items

The random items generated in a Wizard's starting inventory will never be any of the following:

• scroll of amnesia
• scroll of blank paper
• scroll of fire
• spellbook of blank paper
• potion of acid
• potion of hallucination
• ring of aggravate monster
• ring of hunger
• ring of levitation
• ring of sleeping
• wand of nothing
• wand of wishing

Additionally, a Wizard will not start with a ring of polymorph control if a source of polymorph is generated in their starting inventory, and will never start with the ring of polymorph or potion of polymorph if a source of polymorph control (i.e. the ring) is generated in their starting inventory.

Intrinsics

Wizards gain the following intrinsic properties upon reaching the given experience levels:

• Level 15: warning
• Level 17: teleport control

Attributes

The Wizard's starting attributes are distributed as follows:

Attributes	Strength	Dexterity	Constitution	Intelligence	Wisdom	Charisma	Remaining
Minimum attributes	7	7	7	10	7	7	30
Distribution percentages	10%	20%	20%	30%	10%	10%
Mean w/ standard deviation (human)	10.60±1.80	13.48±2.15	13.47±2.15	17.44±1.07	10.28±1.74	9.96±1.67

Skills

Wizards have the following skills available to them:

Wizard skills
Max	Skills
Basic	Weapons: short sword, paddle, mace, spear, javelin, trident, shuriken Combat: bare hands, riding
Skilled	Weapons: knife, axe, club, polearms, sling, unicorn horn Spells: enchantment, body, matter, healing, divination, protection
Expert	Weapons: dagger, quarterstaff, dart, morning star, flail, hammer, quarterstaff Spells: attack

Wizards start with Basic skill in quarterstaff, attack spells and enchantment spells. They use the intelligence stat to cast spells, and their special spell is magic missile.

Techniques

Wizards can learn the disarm technique by reaching Skilled in any weapon, and also gain the following techniques at the listed experience levels:

Level	Technique
1	Reinforce memory
3	Draw energy
5	Power surge
7	Sigil of control
14	Sigil of tempest
20	Sigil of discharge

Special rules

Wizards have more special rules governing them than any other role.

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Spellcasting and magic

Wizards with an intelligence of 15 or 16 have reduced-hunger casting, lowering the nutrition drained when casting spells, and Wizards with an intelligence of 17 or more have hungerless casting.

Wizards only take ¹⁄₅ damage from breaking wands by applying them.

Wizards regain energy more often than other roles.

Spellbooks and writing

Wizards can write unknown scrolls and spellbooks using a magic marker with much higher success rates than other roles.

Wizards are warned when they have a significant chance of failing to read an uncursed spellbook:

This spellbook is <very> difficult to comprehend. Continue?

The Wizard's default crowning gift is the spellbook of finger of death, and a Wizard that is carrying the spellbook, or else is wielding either Vorpal Blade or Stormbringer, when they are crowned will receive the normal crowning gift for their alignment.

Miscellaneous

Wizards can safely enchant a cornuthaum from +5 or below, and are the only role to gain a charisma boost and clairvoyance while wearing one.

Wizards do not gain multishot bonuses from reaching Skilled in a given weapon or projectile, and do not gain a multishot bonus for racial launcher weapons, though they do gain standard multishot bonuses for Expert skill.

Wizards spend the least time of all playable roles as a beginner, and with teleportitis they can teleport at-will starting at experience level 8, rather than 12 as with other roles.

Rank titles

The status line displays one of the following ranks for the corresponding experience levels, which have been changed from NetHack to accommodate the Necromancer role:

• XL 1–2: Evoker
• XL 3–5: Conjurer
• XL 6–9: Thaumaturge
• XL 10–13: Magician
• XL 14–17: Warlock/Witch
• XL 18–21: Enchanter/Enchantress
• XL 22–25: Sorcerer/Sorceress
• XL 26–29: Wizard
• XL 30: Mage

Gods

The Wizard pantheon is based on Egyptian mythology. Their first sacrifice gift is Magicbane, and their second sacrifice gift is Deluder.

• Lawful: Ptah
• Neutral: Thoth
• Chaotic: Anhur

Quest

The Wizard's quest sees them fighting the Dark One for the Eye of the Aethiopica, an artifact amulet of ESP. While carried, The Eye of the Aethiopica grants half spell damage, magic resistance, and fast energy regeneration that restores at least one point of power per turn. While worn, the Eye grants extrinsic telepathy as with the base item. Invoking The Eye of the Aethiopica allows the hero to branchport and warp to another dungeon branch that they have visited.

Strategy

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Wizards in SLASH'EM are notably set back by a more difficult early and mid-game, where they face more hostile threats while remaining fragile, even with the ability to reliably utilize Elbereth as it functions in NetHack 3.4.3 upon obtaining Magicbane; Deluder is of somewhat limited use, and artifact weapons are generally preferable and much harder to obtain as a result. Wizards are also limited to Skilled in all spell schools save for attack spells, though this is far more than enough to make stellar use of both old and new spells alike.

The changes to polymorph mechanics both heavily nerf polypiling and make obtaining strong pets trickier (though far from impossible), though in exchange it is possible to upgrade items using either potions of gain level or the tinker technique only available to gnomish heroes. The Wallet of Perseus can help overcome the role's initial low carrying capacity without wearing gauntlets of power.

Most types of body armor in SLASH'EM raise spellcasting failure rates while worn, so dragon scale mail is much less viable for Wizards throughout the game: maintaining a reliable spellcasting ability while covering important properties such as drain resistance becomes more difficult to attain for the hero, and the shield of reflection is far more of a spellcasting impediment to a Wizard than it is in NetHack. However, robes do not penalize spellcasting, and the robe of protection is a stellar choice of suit that can somewhat compensate, while the robe of power can counteract penalties from wearing metallic armor in other slots.

Stormbringer remains fairly strong as an artifact weapon for chaotic Wizards due to its drain resistance, though obtaining it will require either a wish or crowning while carrying the spellbook for the finger of death. In a pinch, Wizards can also wield the The Hand of Vecna for drain resistance and cast remove curse to deal with curse items and other similar effects—netural Wizards should be careful of the stronger artifact blasts. The Staff of Aesculapius does not have drain resistance as in NetHack, and combined with artifact blasts and the inability to #tip, it is a significantly weaker artifact wish in spite of retaining its other perks and curse resistance. Nighthorn is similarly perilous to utilize due to being lawful, and though it does grant reflection while wielded, it is not intelligent and so lacks any resistance to cursing effects.

The create pool monster spell will necessitate a means of avoiding drowning, though the spell is most likely to come up during the ascension run: monsters will very rarely select it against a hero that does not yet have the Amulet of Yendor. Even so, this will add at least a couple more properties for a Wizard to check off their list, with some possible equipment choices for handling these situations listed below:

• Water walking boots can be paired with the haste self You need these to deal with create pool spells. You can use haste self as a substitute to speed boots.
• Ring of levitation with speed boots: With the ring, you are vulnerable to electric bugs. If you use this, you might want to blessed-genocide x to be safe, and this is no joke. The levitation spell is dangerously unreliable unless you are Skilled in body spells.
• The amulet slot is crowded due to reflection and drain resistance being incredibly important, making flying and life saving of far lower priority. Foregoing reflection or drain resistance is possible, but risky.