# Orb of destruction

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Name

orb of destruction

Appearance

glass orb

Base price

750 zm

Weight

75

Material

glass

Monster use

Will not be used by monsters.

The orb of destruction was a tool that appeared in NetHack Plus and SLASH 6, and also appears in NetHack brass. It appears as a glass orb when unidentified.
In SLASH'EM, the orb is a deferred feature - its code can still be found in the SLASH'EM source, but has been commented out with the note of "potential for abuse".[1][2]

Effects
Applying an orb of destruction simply causes it to explode, destroying the orb and dealing 12d6 damage. The damage is of the same type as that of magic missiles, and thus can be completely negated by magic resistance. Whether the orb is charged or not does not seem to have any impact on its effect.

Strategy
All non-crystal ball glass orbs have a base price of 750 zm and weigh 75 aum, making it somewhat easier to tell an actual crystal ball apart from the other magical orbs (outside of NetHack brass, where the crystal ball also weighs 75 aum). Beyond this, the three non-crystal ball orbs can be distinguished by identification or use-testing - this is risky, since you may end up activating this orb.

References

↑ apply.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 3570

↑ objects.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 858