Quaffing from and dipping objects in fountains in NetHack 3.4

foun-341.html Last edited 2003-03-09 for NetHack 3.4.1
Complied by Dylan O'Donnell <psmith@spod-central.org>
HTML Conversion by Kate Nepveu.

Contents

Quaffing from fountains

Any randomly-generated fountain will have a 1/7 chance of being "magic", or "blessed"; there is no way to tell if a given fountain is magic or not.

Quaffing from a magic fountain, non-negative Luck:

3/10 Your hunger is reduced slightly.

"The cool draught refreshes you."
7/10 Your wisdom is exercised, and all your attributes are restored to their maximum (same effect as a blessed potion of restore ability). One attribute is increased by 1 (uncursed potion of gain ability effect); if your Luck is 4 or higher, this last effect will increase all your attributes by 1 (blessed potion effect). After this effect, the fountain is no longer magical.

"Wow! This makes you feel great!"
"A wisp of vapor escapes the fountain..."

Quaffing from a non-magic fountain, or magic with negative Luck:

9/30 Your hunger is reduced slightly. (Same as above.)

"The cool draught refreshes you."
9/30 No effect.

"This tepid water is tasteless."
1/30 You see your attributes and exercise your wisdom (as with a wand or uncursed potion of enlightenment).

"You feel self-knowledgeable..."
"The feeling subsides..."
1/30 You vomit and your hunger is increased.

"The water is foul! You gag and vomit."
1/30 If you are poison resistant, you lose d4 HP; otherwise, you lose d10 HP and d4+2 STR and your constitution is abused.

"The water is contaminated!"
"Perhaps it is runoff from the nearby <fruit> farm."

(if poison resistant)
1/30 d5+1 water moccasins are created.

"An endless stream of snakes pour forth!" (unblind)
"You hear something hissing!" (blind)
"The fountain bubbles furiously for a moment, then calms."

(moccasins genocided)
1/30 A water demon is summoned. It has a 80+DL/100 chance of being hostile (100% if you have the Amulet); if not hostile, he'll grant one wish and then vanish.

"You unleash a water demon!" (unblind)
"You feel the presence of evil." (blind)
"Grateful for his release, he grants you a wish!" (peaceful)
"The fountain bubbles furiously for a moment, then calms."

(summoning failed)
1/30 A water nymph is summoned.

"You attract a water nymph!" (unblind)
"You hear a seductive voice." (blind)
"A large bubble rises to the surface and pops." (unblind, water nymphs genocided or extinct)
"You hear a loud pop." (blind, water nymphs genocided or extinct)
1/30 Each item in your inventory has 1/5 chance of being cursed outright; your hunger is increased and your constitution is abused.

"This water's no good!"
1/30 You gain see invisible and your wisdom is exercised.

"You see an image of someone stalking you. But it disappears." (unblind)
"You feel transparent." (blind, invisible)
"You feel very self-conscious. Then it passes." (blind, not invisible)
1/30 You briefly see monsters on that level and exercise your wisdom.

"You sense the presence of monsters."

If no monsters on the level (other than you), no visible effect.

"You have a strange feeling for a moment, then it passes." (beginner not hallucinating)
"You have a normal feeling for a moment, then it passes." (beginner hallucinating)
"You feel threatened." (not hallucinating)
"You get the heebie jeebies." (hallucinating)
1/30 You find a random valuable gem or piece of worthless glass and your wisdom is exercised. If you have already acquired gems or gold from this fountain, a nymph is summoned instead (as above).

"You spot a gem in the sparkling waters!" (unblind)
"You feel a gem here!" (blind)
1/30 Monsters on the level flee you for a while.

"This water gives you bad breath!"
1/30 A number of pools may be created in your vicinity. (Never two orthogonally adjacent, never on your square, the more likely the closer to you.)

"Water gushes forth from the overflowing fountain!" (pool created)
"Your thirst is quenched." (no pools created)

Finally, the fountain has a 1/3 chance of drying up (except in Minetown, where you'll always get one warning).

Dipping items in fountains

From art1-341.html:

If you #dip a single ordinary long sword in a fountain, are at least experience level 5, and Excalibur doesn't already exist in your game, then there is a 1/6 chance of something special happening to your long sword. If you are lawful, the long sword is converted into the blessed, rustless, uncorroded, damageproof Excalibur and you exercise your wisdom. If you are neutral or chaotic, your long sword is cursed, loses its rustproofing, may lose an enchantment, and you abuse your wisdom.

The fountain then disappears; this will anger the Minetown Watch whether you've been warned or not, if that's where you happen to be.

In any other case, the dipping is handled normally. First, the object gets wet and does the appropriate things (scrolls and spellbooks blank, potions dilute, metal things rust, lit objects go out, grease washes off). Then special effects can happen:

18/30 No special effect.

"A strange tingling runs up your arm." (1/18 chance)
"You feel a sudden chill." (1/18 chance)
No message (16/18 chance)
4/30 The dipped item is uncursed if cursed.

"The water glows for a moment." (uncursed, unblind)
"A feeling of loss comes over you." (item not cursed)
1/30 The dipped item is cursed outright.

No message.
1/30 d5+1 water moccasins are created.

"An endless stream of snakes pour forth!" (unblind)
"You hear something hissing!" (blind)
"The fountain bubbles furiously for a moment, then calms." (moccasins genocided)
1/30 A water demon is summoned. It has a 80+DL/100 chance of being hostile (100% if you have the Amulet); if not hostile, he'll grant one wish and then vanish.

"You unleash a water demon!" (unblind)
"You feel the presence of evil." (blind)
"Grateful for his release, he grants you a wish!" (peaceful)
"The fountain bubbles furiously for a moment, then calms." (summoning failed)
1/30 A water nymph is summoned.

"You attract a water nymph!" (unblind)
"You hear a seductive voice." (blind)
"A large bubble rises to the surface and pops." (unblind, water nymphs genocided or extinct)
"You hear a loud pop." (blind, water nymphs genocided or extinct)
1/30 A number of pools may be created in your vicinity. (Never two orthogonally adjacent, never on your square, the more likely the closer to you.)

"Water gushes forth from the overflowing fountain!" (pool created)
"Water sprays all over you." (no pools created)
1/30 You find a random valuable gem or piece of worthless glass and your wisdom is exercised. If you have already acquired a gem or gold from this fountain, pools may be created instead (as above).

"You spot a gem in the sparkling waters!" (unblind)
"You feel a gem here!" (blind)
1/30 You lose some gold and your wisdom is abused. The amount you lose depends on the amount (GP) you have, as follows:
GP <= 10 0 zorkmids
GP < 100 GP/10 zorkmids
GP >= 10000 d(GP)/10 zorkmids
GP > 10000 d(10000)/10 zorkmids

Gems and gold can now be found in this fountain again.

"An urge to take a bath overwhelms you."
"You lost some of your gold in the fountain!"
1/30 You find (2 * d(height + 1)) + 5 zorkmids, where "height" is your height above the bottom level of the current dungeon branch; your wisdom is exercised. If you have already acquired a gem or gold from this fountain, there is no effect.

"Far below you, you see coins glistening in the water." (unblind)

Finally, the fountain has a 1/3 chance of drying up (except in Minetown, where you'll always get one warning).

Acknowledgements

Corrections and clarifications provided by Intoxicated astral medic.

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