Amnesia

Amnesia is an effect in NetHack that causes the hero to forget some of the knowledge they have accrued.

Description

A hero afflicted by amnesia will potentially forget known spells, dungeon level maps, annotations, and the identification of items. There are two sources of amnesia:

• Reading a scroll of amnesia
• Being hit by the intelligence-draining tentacle attacks of mind flayers and master mind flayers

Monsters will not read the scroll of amnesia, and brain-eating attacks only apply extra damage to other monsters.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.

Amnesia now causes you to forget only "in-character" knowledge, rather than knowledge that can be recorded out of game like maps and item identities.

With a scroll of amnesia, you will always lose some training in your skills, which is the most significant effect; you additionally forget that you have seen specific monsters on the level (which is mostly irrelevant); and you forget where your ball and chain is, if you are punished and cannot see them. If you read a non-blessed scroll of amnesia, you additionally forget how to cast anywhere from 1 to all of your currently known spells; they will remain on your spell list but will have their retention set to 0.

Amnesia from mind flayers has a 20% chance per successful brainsuck of draining 1-2 weapon skills and a separate 20% chance per brainsuck of forgetting anywhere from 1 to all of your currently known spells.

Strategy

Amnesia is often a devastating occurrence for characters - not only is it one of many reasons why reading random scrolls is a Bad Idea, but it is also one of the primary reasons behind the mind flayer's status as a gain-ruining menace. With this in mind, the best way to deal with amnesia is to avoid it as much as possible:

• Formally or informally identifying scrolls can detect a scroll of amnesia and make it easier to avoid.
• Mind flayers are enough of a threat with amnesia alone to warrant a scroll of genocide, or even a blessed one if the hero is not a dwarf that would be wiped out by the scroll.
• Some especially paranoid players will name one item out of each particular type that is considered vital and/or does not auto-identify itself.

History

Amnesia as a mechanic first appears in Hack 1.0 with the scroll of amnesia.

Messages

You have a sense of deja vu.

You entered a level whose map you forgot.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.

The "deja vu" message is associated with bones instead - adjust the message redirect so it points to that article.

Variants

SLASH'EM

SLASH'EM adds the potion of amnesia, which causes amnesia when thrown or quaffed, and adds the migo queen, a monster with an intelligence-draining sting that causes amnesia.