harmon_c@h-sc1.UUCP (david harmon) (03/15/85)
This being a listing of the various types of wands to be found in hack, with
desriptions thereof. Starred wands have obvious uses in shops. Most wands
seem to start with 6 charges or thereabouts. When a wand is out of charges
and you zap it, "Nothing Happens".
1) wishing("): you usually get 3 wishes, and wishing for wands of wishing pro-
duces wands with 0 charges left. When it asks you what you want,
answer with the exact syntax it would appear in your inventory as, if
you had identified it with the scroll of ID. The wand does not ID
it for you, but if you wish for a scroll and get a scroll, you're
probably OK. If you wish for an illegal item or a non-existent item,
you get a random one. You can wish for any plussed item up to +3,
above that you take your chances. You can wish for one wand or 3 of
any other non-plussed item with each wish. Sample wishes are for:
+3 plate mail/pair of gloves/helmet/elven cloak/crysknife
3 potions of gain level
ring of regeneration/teleport control(#)
3 tins (There is no way to specify spinach, but the odds are
good)
3 diamonds (#)
(#) means I'm not sure of the exact wording.
/ means wish for *one* of the items listed.
You may want to wish for 3 rings of regeneration (say) in hopes of
selling the extras to a storekeeper before you rob him. DO NOT
make wishes when you are too loaded down to carry the items, or you
will get zilcho! Wishing for "a wand of wishing (3)" will not work.
"Illegal" wishes that seem to work often are +7 plate, 3 +3 crysknives
(but sometimes gives 3 -3 crysknives) Your luck may influence the
cahnce of getting many items.
2*) death("): kills target creature, but sometimes has bad side effects (takes
half of everything else's hit points, including yours!) This is a ray.
3*) sleep("): of variable duration, and doesn't seem to work on bats. Some
monsters get saving throws-i.e., a chance not to be affected. This
is a ray.
4-7) fire, cold, lightning, magic missile("): all fire rays/bolts/zaps which do
damage to anything they hit. (See note below.) Cold seems to do the
most damage, MMs do the least, fire seems to have the longest range.
8) striking("): wand hits the first monster in the direction you point it, even
from a considerable (but not infinite) distance. NOT a ray.
9*) polymorph("): turns one monster into a random other monster. New monster
could be anything! Of course, most people would rather turn a dragon
into a bat than vice versa. Use on your dog intil you get a monster
well above norm for your level, or a mega-monster. May not change all
characteristics of the monster (ie, speed may be unchanged).
Warning: if you polymorph your dog, then leave his level (fall in
a trapdoor, etc) he will not be tamed merely by throwing food at
him (need taming scroll). The dungeon apparently forgets he ever
was your dog. While it may be fun to polymorph your dog, you are
better advised to use it against any mega-monsters that you may
find at the higher level (eg. Dragons, demons, trappers). Your
dog is a fairly strong monster in his own right.
This wand is almost as useful as digging when you're being digested
by a trapper or a purple worm; have you ever been inside a nymph?
10) make invisible("): makes monster invisible, permanently. (?while on level?)
Don't use on doggie, you'll just keep tripping over him. Easy to con-
fuse with teleport away. No use whatsoever, except to maybe keep you
from taking the wand of teleport away for granted.
11*) teleport monster("): monster teleported to random spot on level (?or next
room?). Check to be sure you don't have a wand of invisibility. Note
that the monster will usually head straight back home at top speed,
and if he finds you still there, or on the way out, he will be pissed.
12) haste monster("): monster moves twice as fast. Use on doggie, but watch you
don't trip on him.
13) slow monster("): monster moves at half speed. Some monsters get multiple
attacks every other round (ie. xorn, 3 claws and bite or shopkeeper,
2 fists).
14*) digging("): This produces new corridor sections, and doors where the ray
intersects a room wall. Within the room, it produces useless fireworks
like ********. Naturally, this does not bounce off anything.
Net info seems to indicate that no monster can enter a dug tunnel.
They will go to door (and attack once or twice if fast enough) but can
never enter. (WRONG - a monster entered fom the far end of a newly
dug tunnel.) (Are you sure you didn't have a wandering monster appear
inside the tunnel?) Can dig through/under boulders, such as the one
the Amulet is under. Also useful for blasting your way out of a
trapper.
15) undead turning("): somewhat like fear, but no effect on most monsters.
Undead are: zombies, ghosts, wraiths, vampires, demons and
perhaps other monsters. Destroys weaker undead, causes bigger ones
to flee, including(!) demons.
16) create monster("): Creates a monster next to you, just like the scroll.
Once I zapped this wand and was immediately surrounded
by 8 monsters! Semi-Confirmed; it can happen, but it seems to be a
random (1 in 10?) occurence on a wand of create monster. This wand
may be useful to keep around if you are ever desperately short on
food. If you are, create a monster, kill it, and feast on the remains!
As noted above, there is a random chance that you will create 8
monsters at once instead of the customary one.
17) cancellation("): Should knock out any magical abilities of the monster.
Monsters which are affected:
Nymphs -- cancels her magical allure.
Wraiths -- cancels life draining.
Demons -- cancels powers of replication.
Vampires (?) -- cancels life draining.
Monsters which are not affected:
Rust Monsters -- still rusts your armor.
Dragons -- still blow flame at you.
Invisible Stalkers -- still invisible.
Chameleons -- still pose as different monsters.
Trappers -- still swallow you.
Cockatrices -- still petrify you.
Floating Eyes -- still paralyze you.
Unknown at present:
Giant Ants, Xans, Leprechauns, Freezing Spheres, Umber Hulks,
etc.
Please post if you have any more information!
18) secret door detection("): discovers all secret doors in room or in sight in
a corridor. If there are none, a charge is used and the wand seems
to do nothing. This is the only non-directional wand without a
special message. (?) This wand also detects shape-changers in the
room (eg. mimics, piercers). Usually comes in 10+ charges.
19) light("): lights up dark rooms. Usually comes in 10+ charges.
Also note that ray/straight-line wands are best fired when you are
diagonally aligned with your target so that ricochets can't hit you. ric-
ochets can be used to hit targets that won't get in straight line of fire
(leps, shopkeepers, etc.), or to get two hits on a target. Shots into corners
bounce straight back at you. Doors can reflect a diagonal shot back at you,
and the wand of fire reflects diagonally back at you occasionally just for the
heck of it. Wands seem to have differing, and possibly partly random, maximum
ranges. For a ray wand, ray just won't reach, for others, there is no effect.
When you get a wand, try zapping it. If it is non-directional, (like
*wishing*) you will usually find out what it is immediately. If not, hit
<ESC> when it asks you what direction, and save it until you reach a monster,
as before. This lets you ID many wands before you find a monster to test
them out on, and improves the odds that a partly-tested, directional wand
will turn out to be offensive, rather than secret door detection or light.