# Potion

Item classes

"&nbsp;Amulets

[&nbsp;Armor

%&nbsp;Comestibles

$&nbsp;Coins

*&nbsp;Gems

!&nbsp;Potions

=&nbsp;Rings

?&nbsp;Scrolls

+&nbsp;Spellbooks

`&nbsp;Statues

(&nbsp;Tools

`&nbsp;Boulders

)&nbsp;Weapons

/&nbsp;Wands

Potions, !, are magical drinks that appear in NetHack.
All potions have a weight of 20, and are used by drinking them via the quaff command; other monsters may be subjected to the effects of some potions by wielding the potion and hitting them with it, or else throwing it at them. It is also possible to dip other items into potions; some potions can be mixed together in this way to produce other potions—this is called alchemy. 
Potions do not leave behind the empty bottles when consumed; the bottle presumably evaporates or is otherwise disposed of when the potion is drunk.

Contents

1 Table of potions
2 Generation
3 Identification

3.1 Monsters
3.2 Dip identification
3.3 Price identification
3.4 Applying
3.5 Quaffing

3.5.1 Surviving harmful potions
3.5.2 Interpreting messages

4 Damage
5 Dilution
6 Thrown potions
7 Smoky and milky potions
8 Messages
9 References
10 External links
11 Encyclopedia entry

Table of potions

Potion
Cost
Weight
Relative probability[1]
Appearance

water (uncursed)
0
20
6.9%
clear

booze
50
20
4.2%
random

fruit juice
50
20
4.2%
random

see invisible
50
20
4.2%
random

sickness
50
20
4.2%
random

confusion
100
20
4.2%
random

extra healing
100
20
4.7%
random

hallucination
100
20
4%
random

healing
100
20
5.7%
random

holy water
100
20
1.15%
clear

unholy water
100
20
1.15%
clear

restore ability
100
20
4%
random

sleeping
100
20
4.2%
random

blindness
150
20
4%
random

gain energy
150
20
4.2%
random

invisibility
150
20
4%
random

monster detection
150
20
4%
random

object detection
150
20
4.2%
random

enlightenment
200
20
2%
random

full healing
200
20
1%
random

levitation
200
20
4.2%
random

polymorph
200
20
1%
random

speed
200
20
4.2%
random

acid
250
20
1%
random

oil
250
20
3%
random

gain ability
300
20
4.2%
random

gain level
300
20
2%
random

paralysis
300
20
4.2%
random

Generation
Potions constitute 16% of all randomly-generated items in the main dungeon, 18% in containers, 22% on the Rogue level, and 1% in Gehennom.[2] Potion BUC distribution is as follows: 1⁄8 cursed, 3⁄4 uncursed, and 1⁄8 blessed.[3]
On top of random generation, potions can be found in shops, and various monsters are generated with certain potions.

Identification
There are many ways to identify potions, without resorting to the obvious methods. Clear potions are always potions of water, and potions of oil are automatically identified for players starting with an oil lamp.

Monsters
Most monsters will only use, pick up, or be created carrying the following potions:

confusion
healing
extra healing
full healing
sleeping
blindness
invisibility
polymorph (difficulty &lt; 5 only)
speed
acid
gain level
paralysis

Nymphs will pick up anything, and are created with a potion of object detection half of the time.
Monsters drink useful potions occasionally; if they are in line of sight when quaffing, you will observe any changes to their condition, which can formally or informally identify the potion. Monsters will never quaff harmful potions, but are likely to throw them at you.

A user has suggested improving this page or section as follows:
"Do monsters with the Likes_magic attribute pick up unusable potions?  Yes, most potions are magical (sickness, fruit juice, booze, acid, oil and water are not).  likes_magic covers wizards, dragons, winged gargoyles, salamanders, archons and numerous named monsters"

Dip identification
The following table summarizes the effects of #dipping items into potions (excluding alchemy). In most cases, dipping will consume your potion, but on occasion it will change the potion instead; both are listed where applicable in the "Resulting potion" column.

Dipped object

Initial potion

Resulting potion

Message/Notes

Unicorn horn

Potion of oil

(Potion consumed)

Your unicorn horn gleams with an oily sheen.

Potion of sickness

Potion of fruit juice

Potion of blindness

Potion of water

Potion of confusion

Potion of hallucination

Poisoned projectiles

Potion of healing

(Potion consumed)

The projectiles become unpoisoned.
A coating wears off the poisoned 

<weapons>.

Potion of extra healing

Potion of full healing

Unpoisoned projectiles

Potion of sickness

(Potion consumed)

The projectiles become poisoned. (Eligible projectiles are arrows, crossbow bolts, darts, and shuriken.)
The <potion> forms a coating on the <weapons>.

Any polymorphable item

Potion of polymorph

(Potion consumed)

Most items will be polymorphed, but have a chance of resisting. If the item polymorphs into itself, you get the message "Nothing seems to happen."

Any non-polymorphable item

Nothing happens.

Amethyst

Potion of booze

Potion of fruit juice

This is also useful for identifying the amethyst.

Lichen corpse

Potion of acid

The lichen corpse turns red around the edges.
("orange" if the potion is diluted)

Any iron or copper item

(Potion consumed)

The item will corrode.

Any erodeproof iron or copper item.

Somehow, your <item> is not affected by the corrosion. Interesting...

Any rusty or corroded weapon

Potion of oil

(Potion consumed)

The weapon loses one level of each erosion damage.
Your <weapon> is less <corroded (and)="" rusty="">.

Any other item

Any other potion

Interesting...

Unicorn horns are incredibly useful for identifying potions. If dipping a unicorn horn into a potion produced no effect, then the potion is probably safe to drink, although some harmful potions (notably paralysis and sleeping) are not neutralized by a unicorn horn. Potions of booze will not be neutralized, but the negative effects can be dealt with as long as the potion is not cursed. Creating fruit juice using a unicorn horn or amethyst can also be useful when trying to identify the potion of see invisible; both produce the same message when quaffed.
However, carelessly dipping a unicorn horn into every unidentified potion might present difficulties if it is transformed by a potion of polymorph. While unicorn horns are not too hard to come across, this is still best avoided if you only have one at the moment; this also breaks polypileless conduct, and players adhering to it will want to refrain from dip-testing with anything but a wand of polymorph until they have potions of polymorph identified. Conversely, players with spare unicorn horns may want to do this for the chance of producing a useful (and possibly magical) tool, such as a magic marker.
Dip-testing with ammunition, such as a single dart or arrow, can safely detect potions of polymorph, and has the added benefit of identifying potions of sickness, since they will poison the item; if dipping projectiles that you intend to use, you should dip test for polymorph and acid first.

Price identification
Main article: Price identification
Most price categories have at least one good potion and one bad potion, so price identification needs to be combined with other methods to be useful. Price categories with just one harmful potion can be quaff-tested with very little preparation: for example if you have a carrot to cure blindness, you can quaff-test any 150 zm potion.

Base cost

Potion types

Notes

0

water (uncursed)

Useful to differentiate from holy and unholy water

50

booze
fruit juice
see invisible
sickness

In this category:

Sickness is harmful
Booze is inconvenient
Delicatessens only buy or sell booze and fruit juice

100

confusion
extra healing
hallucination
healing
holy water
unholy water
restore ability
sleeping

In this category:

(Un)holy water will be clear potions, and can be ruled out instantly
Hallucination is harmful
Confusion and sleeping are troublesome if enemies are nearby

150

blindness
gain energy
invisibility
monster detection
object detection

In this category:

Only blindness is harmful, and can be easily cured with a carrot
Invisibility will make it hard to leave a shop

200

enlightenment
full healing
levitation
polymorph
speed

In this category:

Polymorph is harmful, but can easily be identified with a junk item
Levitation is a nuisance

250

acid
oil

In this category:

Oil is very easy to identify by applying.
Neither of these are good to quaff

300

gain ability
gain level
paralysis

In this category:

About 40% of potions will be gain ability, which benefit from blessing
Cursed gain level can cause you to rise out of a shop with unpaid items
Paralysis is dangerous

Applying
Try to apply every new potion you find. If the potion lights, it will auto-identify as a potion of oil. Do not do this with an unpaid potion is owned by a shop, or you will be charged a Yendorian Fuel Tax. It is possible to avoid the charge by dropping everything else that can be applied besides the suspected potion, then hit a. If the potion is oil, you will be asked what to apply; if it isn't, you will be told that you have nothing that can be applied. This may be a bug.

Quaffing
When you have tried the above methods and all else fails, you can always quaff an unknown potion. However, this will not always identify it, and there are dangers. See potion quaffing effects for a comprehensive list of potion effects when quaffed.
Before you start quaffing, curse-test the potion, as quaffing a cursed potion is unwise—although you will still be able to identify it, you will miss out on some benefits of useful potions and suffer increased damage from harmful ones.
You should wait for your health to completely heal before quaffing. That way, should you quaff a potion of healing, extra healing, or full healing, your maximum health will increase. In addition, should you quaff a potion of acid or sickness, it will be much less likely to kill you outright.

Surviving harmful potions
Before drinking a potentially harmful potion, there are some things you can do to prevent or at least minimize the risks. Additionally, after drinking a harmful potion, there are ways to cure the bad effects. These are summarized in the table below.

Potion

Risk minimizers

Cures

sickness

potion is blessed, or
you are a Healer

non-cursed potion of restore ability
spell of restore ability
non-cursed unicorn horn

blindness

you are wearing the Eyes of the Overworld

one of the following potions, non-cursed
healing
extra healing
full healing
carrot
non-cursed unicorn horn

hallucination

you are wielding Grayswandir

one of the following potions, non-cursed
extra healing
full healing
potion of sickness, if you can drink it safely!
non-cursed unicorn horn

confusion, booze

potion is blessed

prayer
blessed scroll of confuse monster
eating a lizard corpse (reduces timeout to 2 turns)
non-cursed unicorn horn

polymorph

you have polymorph control, or
you have unchanging

paralysis, sleeping

wearing a ring of free action is the best countermeasure
if you can't use the ring
lock yourself in a closet
stay on shallow dungeon levels with easy monsters
kill all nearby monsters
keep your pets nearby
sleep resistance protects against sleeping, not paralysis

Perhaps, a Healer with a lizard corpse and ring of free action who is also wielding Grayswandir while wearing the Eyes of the Overworld and an amulet of unchanging would be in a good position to quaff-identify potions without fear. However, most players manage to find a unicorn horn before any of those other items.

Interpreting messages
If the potion is not automatically identified, the message is often helpful to identify it.

Message

Possible potions

You feel great, good, or mediocre

restore ability

You feel better

either restore ability ("Wow! This makes you feel better!"), or healing ("You feel better")

tastes like "liquid fire" or "dandelion wine" (maybe "watered down")

booze

you have an "uneasy feeling"

you either

quaffed a cursed potion of enlightenment, or
quaffed a cursed potion of gain level while being at one of the following
the first level without Amulet of Yendor
an endgame level
Sokoban
Fort Ludios
the top floor of the Wizard's Tower, Vlad's Tower, or the Quest

it tastes "rotten", "overripe", or its taste has something to do with slime mold or your favorite fruit

potion of either see invisible or fruit juice (aka slime mold juice). However, if you were invisible, could not see invisible already, and were not blind, it must be a fruit juice.

it tastes "foul"

cursed potion of gain ability

you feel "threatened", or you "get the heebie jeebies"

potion of monster detection without monsters on the level

it is something about your leg or legs (they "feel somehow better", or "get a new energy")

potion of speed

your eyes itch, or your eye itches

either a potion of blindness or a potion of hallucination

"you have a strange feeling for a moment, then it passes"

potion of blindness or a potion of hallucination, and you are an eyeless monster

you "rise up, through the ceiling"

cursed potion of gain level

it "burns", or the potion feels sour or tangy

if it was not water (a clear potion), then it was acid

If you have a "peculiar feeling for a moment, then it passes", it can be several cases:

Potion of hallucination while already hallucinating, or while being hallucination resistant (i. e. via wielding Grayswandir)
Potion of invisibility while already invisible, blind, or wearing a mummy wrapping
Blessed potion of monster detection while already having monster detection
Potion of confusion while already being confused
Non-cursed potion of gain ability while having sustain ability
Potion of levitation while already levitating
If you have a "normal feeling for a moment, then it passes", it can be the same as peculiar feeling while hallucinating, or it can be a potion of blindness or hallucination while you are an eyeless monster.

Damage
Fire and cold attacks can cause potions in your main inventory or on the ground to boil or freeze and be destroyed. This does not happen to potions in a container, so it is generally advisable to stash potions in one when possible. Potions boiled by fire attacks are vaporized, which can subject you to the effects of the vapors; potions frozen by cold attacks will not release any vapors.

Dilution
Most potions will become diluted when they get wet, either through immersion in open water, or dipping into open water, a fountain, or another potion. This will not happen when dipping into holy water or unholy water—those potions change the beatitude of the dipped item without actually getting it wet, and are consumed in the process; potions of water also cannot be diluted.
Diluted potions are listed as such in your inventory, and they will not stack with non-diluted potions, but function largely the same as their undiluted counterparts. This can be a minor hassle if your intention is to bless a group of potions with holy water, or if you have no container and inventory slots are at a premium. There are also some exceptions, mostly minor:

A diluted potion of booze will not cure 1HP of damage, as a non-diluted one will.
A diluted potion of see invisible will give somewhat different messages, though the effect is the same.
A diluted potion of fruit juice gives half the nutrition of a non-diluted one.
If a diluted potion is diluted a second time, it will lose any blessed or cursed status, and become an uncursed potion of water. This is often used for making holy water, and provides a reason for most characters to hold on to otherwise useless or harmful potions.
There are some exceptions to the above principles:

A potion of acid will not dilute, but instead cause an explosion that does damage to the character. If your character dies as a result of this, the cause of death will be listed as "elementary chemistry."
A potion of water can not be diluted, which is not surprising, but this means that holy water and unholy water are also immune to dilution, as they are simply blessed or cursed potions of water, and losing beatitude is a consequence of dilution.
Alchemy will not dilute an already-diluted potion, so it is safe to convert a potion of healing into a diluted potion of extra healing, and then into a diluted potion of full healing.
Alchemy is a somewhat complicated process which has a few wrinkles of its own; players are advised to study that article for more information before alchemizing, unless they enjoy picking imaginary shards of glass out of their faces.

Thrown potions
Potions may be wielded or thrown in combat by you or other monsters. A monster has an 80% chance of taking 1 HP of damage when hit, while you may receive 1 to 2 HP of damage. If you don't see the potion hit the monster, you will get the message "Crash!" A monster hit by a potion is subjected to its effects, but generally to a lesser extent than from quaffing it; however, a thrown potion has a chance of missing the target, in which case it will shatter without affecting them.
When a potion shatters, it is possible for the vapors to affect monsters in adjacent squares, including the player. For this reason, wielding a potion hand-to-hand can be riskier than throwing it from a distance, although in this case the potion will only shatter when it hits the monster. Circumstances will ultimately dictate which is more preferable for hitting a given monster, e.g. wearing a ring of free action and wielding a potion of paralysis.

Smoky and milky potions
Smoky and milky potions are special.  Regardless of their other properties, quaffing a smoky potion has a chance of releasing a djinni, and quaffing a milky potion may release a hostile ghost.

Messages
You have a peculiar feeling for a moment, then it passes.
You quaffed a potion, but it had no noticeable effect, e.g. quaffing a potion of blindness while already blind.[4]
You have a normal feeling for a moment, then it passes.
As above, but you were hallucinating.[5]
That is a potion bottle, not a Klein bottle!
You tried to dip a potion into itself.[6]
<one of=""> Your <color> potions <of type=""> boils and explodes!
A source of fire damage caused one or more of your potions in open inventory to explode, subjecting you to its vapors.
References

↑ objects.c in NetHack 3.4.3, line 722

↑ mkobj.c in NetHack 3.4.3, line 30

↑ mkobj.c in NetHack 3.4.3, line 545

↑ potion.c in NetHack 3.6.0, line 530

↑ potion.c in NetHack 3.6.0, line 530

↑ potion.c in NetHack 3.6.0, line 1805

External links
Potions and their direct effects in NetHack 3.4
Potions, alchemy, and other miscellaneous properties in NetHack 3.4
Encyclopedia entry

POTABLE, n.  Suitable for drinking.  Water is said to be potable; indeed, some declare it our natural beverage, although even they find it palatable only when suffering from the recurrent disorder known as thirst, for which it is a medicine.  Upon nothing has so great and diligent ingenuity been brought to bear in all ages and in all countries, except the most uncivilized, as upon the invention of substitutes for water.  To hold that this general aversion to that liquid has no basis in the preservative instinct of the race is to be unscientific -- and without science we are as the snakes and toads.

[ The Devil's Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce ] 

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It may contain text specific to NetHack 3.6.4. Information on this page may be out of date.
Editors: After reviewing this page and making necessary edits, please change the {{nethack-364}} tag to the current version's tag or {{noversion}} as appropriate.

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