# Poison resistance
Poison resistance is considered one of the most essential intrinsics in the game. This resistance protects against the harmful effects of poison, including instadeath. For example, a dart trap might shoot out a deadly poisoned dart.
Poison resistance does not protect you from food poisoning. It only partly protects you from the bad effects of potion of sickness.

Contents

1 Sources

1.1 Safe corpses
1.2 Unsafe corpses
1.3 Very unsafe corpses

2 Messages
3 External links
4 References

Sources
Many corpses that offer poison resistance are themselves poisonous or otherwise dangerous (notable exceptions are the corpses of shriekers, which can usually be found early). There are, however, many safe ways of acquiring poison resistance. For example, rings and amulets both include one that protects you against poison. Green dragon scale mail also protects against poison.
Barbarians, healers and orcs have a natural poison resistance. Monks get a natural poison resistance when they reach experience level 3 and tourists at level 20. Poison resistance is also granted when you are crowned.
You can safely obtain poison resistance from a corpse in one of the following ways:

Eat a non-poisonous corpse that grants the intrinsic.
Use a tinning kit to make a poisonous corpse safe (bear in mind that not all poisonous monsters grant poison resistance).
Wear an item that grants poison resistance. This could be a ring of poison resistance, an amulet versus poison, an alchemy smock, or green dragon scale mail or scales.
Use a unicorn horn to negate the strength drain caused by eating a poisonous corpse (this works because unlike poison attacks, corpse poison cannot cause instadeath, although it causes some HP loss).
Wear a ring of sustain ability to avoid the strength drain from eating a poisonous corpse.
If you know you can pray and you have lost more than 4 strength, pick up junk to be overtaxed, and pray to reverse the strength loss after eating poisonous corpses.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

Unicorn horns can no longer restore strength, so this tactic is not recommended unless you can cast the restore ability spell or don't mind using prayer.

Safe corpses
The following corpses provide a chance of gaining poison resistance, and are not dangerous to eat:

Monster
Conduct
Difficulty
Chance

red mold
vegan
2
3%

brown mold
vegan
2
3%

cave spider
meaty
3
7%

red naga hatchling
meaty
4
10%

flesh golem
meaty
10
12%

centipede
meaty
4
13%

blue jelly
vegan
5
13%

shrieker
vegan
2
20%

golden naga hatchling
meaty
4
20%

guardian naga hatchling
meaty
4
20%

quasit
meaty
7
20%

pyrolisk
meaty
8
20%

red naga
meaty
8
20%

black unicorn
meaty
6
27%

gray unicorn
meaty
6
27%

white unicorn
meaty
6
27%

quivering blob
vegan
6
33%

golden naga
meaty
13
67%

Unsafe corpses
The following corpses and globs are among those that provide poison resistance, but are mildly dangerous:

Monster
Conduct
Difficulty
Chance
Notes

yellow mold
vegan
2
7%
poisonous and hallucinogenic

homunculus
meaty
3
7%
poisonous

gray ooze
vegetarian
4
7%
acidic

brown pudding
vegetarian
6
7%
acidic

black pudding
meaty
12
7%
acidic

tengu
meaty
7
13%
may also confer teleportitis

Chromatic Dragon
meaty
23
17%
poisonous, Caveman quest nemesis

black naga hatchling
meaty
4
20%
acidic

violet fungus
vegan
5
20%
hallucinogenic

jellyfish
meaty
5
20%
poisonous

soldier ant
meaty
6
20%
poisonous

Wizard of Yendor
meaty
34
25%
cannibalism for humans

snake
meaty
6
27%
poisonous

water moccasin
meaty
7
27%
poisonous

killer bee
meaty
5
30%
poisonous

giant beetle
meaty
6
33%
poisonous

giant spider
meaty
7
33%
poisonous

gremlin
meaty
8
33%
poisonous

pit viper
meaty
9
40%
poisonous

cobra
meaty
10
40%
poisonous

xan
meaty
9
47%
poisonous

scorpion
meaty
8
50%
poisonous

black naga
meaty
10
53%
acidic

queen bee
meaty
12
60%
poisonous

nurse
meaty
13
73%
cannibalism for humans, bugged in pre-3.6.2 versions[1]

guardian naga
meaty
16
80%
poisonous

Scorpius
meaty
17
100%
poisonous, Ranger quest nemesis

green dragon
meaty
20
100%
poisonous

Master Kaen
meaty
31
100%
cannibalism for humans, Monk quest nemesis

Very unsafe corpses
Unless you are polymorphed into a stoning-resistant form, eating any of these corpses will instantly result in YASD. If, however, you are in a stoning-resistant form before getting poison resistance, these corpses can provide it permanently. Note that tinning them does not make them safe to eat.

Monster
Conduct
Difficulty
Chance
Note

chickatrice
meaty
7
27%
petrifies when touched or eaten

cockatrice
meaty
8
33%
petrifies when touched or eaten

Medusa
meaty
25
100%
petrifies when eaten

Messages
You feel healthy.
You received poison resistance by eating an applicable corpse or tin, or by reaching level 3 as a Monk; an exclamation point is present in the last case.
You feel especially healthy.
As above, while having extrinsic poison resistance (from a ring, amulet, etc.) or poison resistance from level gain.
You feel hardy!
You received poison resistance by reaching level 20 as a Tourist.
You feel a little sick!
You lost poison resistance due to a gremlin attack at night or eating a disenchanter corpse.
You feel less healthy/hardy!
You lost poison resistance due to level drain as a Monk or Tourist.
You seem unaffected by the poison.
You ate a poisonous corpse, but suffered minimal damage due to poison resistance.
The poison doesn't seem to affect you.
You were hit with a poisonous attack or poisoned weapon, but suffered no additional effects due to poison resistance.
External links
Eating Corpses For Food And Intrinsics
References

↑ Closed Issue #159: Nurse meat has the flag for conferring poison resistance, but doesn't.

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It may contain text specific to NetHack 3.6.1. Information on this page may be out of date.
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