# Potion of healing

! 

Name

healing

Appearance

random

Base price

100 zm

Weight

20

Monster use

May be used defensively by monsters.

A potion of healing is a type of potion that appears in NetHack.

Contents

1 Generation
2 Description
3 Strategy
4 History
5 Messages
6 Variants

6.1 SLASH'EM
6.2 NetHack Fourk

7 References

Generation
All Healers start the game with 4 non-cursed potions of healing, and all Monks start the game with 3 non-cursed potions of healing.
Intelligent monsters may generate with a potion of healing as a defensive item. Shopkeepers have a separate 3⁄4 chance to be generated with one.[1]
The inventory of health food shops has a 4% chance to contain a potion of healing on a given square.[2]

Description
Quaffing the potion will heal you and exercise constitution, with the amount healed dependent on beatitude: a blessed potion of healing will heal you for 8d4 HP, an uncursed one for 6d4, and a cursed one for 4d4. If quaffing a non-cursed potion would restore your HP above maximum, your maximum HP is also increase by 1. Non-cursed potions cure blindness and deafness, and blessed ones also cure sickness.
Monsters can also quaff the potion to heal for the same amount, though it can only additionally cure blindness (if blessed); monsters hit by the potion are fully healed and, if the potion was blessed, are also unblinded.[3] Pestilence is damaged by the potion, but the effects will always be completely resisted unless Pestilence is severely level drained first.[4]
Inhaling vapors from a potion of healing of any beatitude will heal 1 HP, cure blindness and deafness if it was blessed, and exercise constitution; if you are polymorphed, the health of your base form is adjusted as well.[5]
You can use a potion of healing in alchemy by dipping (or dipping into) potions of gain level, gain energy, or speed to get a potion of extra healing. Dipping a poisoned weapon into a potion of healing will remove the poison and use up the potion.

Strategy
The potion of healing is a decent resource for starting and early character; spellcasters are typically better off using the healing spell in most situations unless they are aiming to conserve power or reduce the weight of their inventory. Later in the game, when the potion's healing is less effective, you should consider alchemizing them into potions of extra healing, and then to full healing if possible. If saving speed potions for use in the late stages of the game, and/or reserving your other alchemy components for full healing potions, you can instead wield or throw healing potions at your pets, which always restores them to full health (although this is still considered abuse).

History
The potion of healing has been present in the game since Hack 1.21, a variant of Jay Fenlason's Hack. Hack121 also had the potion of extra hit points, which was excluded from later versions; its functions are effectively folded into the various healing potions.

Messages
You feel better.
You quaffed a potion of healing.

<foo> looks better.
A monster quaffed a potion of healing.
<foo> looks sound and hale again.
A monster was hit with a potion of healing.
Variants
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM and its variants, two potions of healing can be found in the outside area of Grund's Stronghold.
Making a potion of healing using a chemistry set takes two charges.

NetHack Fourk
In NetHack Fourk, all non-Healer sylphs start with a potion of healing; sylph Healers are given a magic harp in place of the extra potion.

References

↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 684

↑ src/shknam.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 320

↑ src/muse.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 958

↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1429: Healing potions do potion of sickness effects to Pestilence, subject to Pestilence's 100 monster magic resistance. This means that Pestilence needs to be drained below level 6 for the potions to have a few percent chance of affecting Pestilence.

↑ src/potion.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1667

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