A potion of water also exists in NetHack, with the following characteristics.
It is a clear potion, and like all potions can be quaffed or thrown. Unlike all other potions, dipping it (into other potions) is ineffective - it is however the prime potion for dipping into, due to its unique diluting properties.
It can be obtained in several ways:
- If you are a priest, you start out with 4 of them, blessed.
- You can dilute any potion (except acid, which will explode) into a potion of uncursed water by *dipping* (Meta-Key + D, or #dip) twice. The first dip will change the potion into a diluted version of itself, the second will change it into uncursed water. Note that everytime you dip, you use up the potion you're dipping INTO, so dipping potions into potions of water in order to obtain potions of water is rather counterproductive (er, you lose 2 to gain 1). However, if you group several potions together and dip the GROUP in a potion of water...now we're talking watery profit.
- You can also dip into fountains (warning - this may produce unexpected results stemming from NetHack's intrinsically magical fountains), moats or other bodies of water. Floating or falling into water may make your potions wet (i.e., as if you've dipped them).
- You can zap a wand (or spell) of cancellation at potions - most will turn to water, except sickness, see invisible, fruit juice (these turn to fruit juice), booze and oil (these remain same).
- Finally, you can change potions of blindness, confusion, or hallucination into potions of water by dipping a unicorn horn into them.
Now that you have water, you probably want to do something with it. The best thing to do with water is to get it
blessed because - as that node states succinctly -
to make an item blessed, dip it in holy water. To get your water blessed, set it on an altar to your god, and #pray. If your god is pleased, the water will turn to
Holy Water.
Contrariwise, to create
Unholy Water, drop the water on an alter to a god other than yours, and #pray. Warning: this will anger your god.
Now you can:
- If an item is cursed, dipping it in Holy Water will uncurse it.
- Dip any uncursed item to bless it. The process of dipping an item in holy water will not rust, paper will not fade, potions will not dilute. As above, nearly all items in NetHack have a better (sometimes LOTS better) effect when blessed, especially rare items such as scrolls of genocide or magic lamps.
- Likewise, dipping a blessed item into Unholy Water will make it uncursed. Repeating this will make it cursed.
- Quaffing it will exercise your constitution and wisdom stats and cure any sicknesses, including lycanthropy. If you are chaotic, demon or undead, you will take a small amount of damage and abuse your constitution.
- Reverse the above for Unholy Water. Heal and exercise if chaotic, demon or undead, suffer if you're lawful, abuse your constitution if neutral.
Random effects of water include rusting metallic objects (including
iron golems), multiplying
gremlins if they come in contact with it (remember the movie?), and switching were-forms (holy water will make you turn human, unholy will make you turn into your were form).