👉 This guide covers hunger states, comestibles, corpse attribute/level gains, dangerous foods, and brain-eating mechanics in GnollHack.
🍗 Hunger and Nutrition States
Characters in GnollHack have a nutrition level that dictates their current hunger state. Maintaining a well-fed status is crucial, as hunger states directly impact attribute scores, speed, and overall survival.
| Hunger State | Nutrition Range | Strength Penalty | Status Effects & Hazards |
|---|---|---|---|
| SATIATED | > 1000 | None | High choking risk if eating food with > 50 nutrition. |
| NOT HUNGRY | 151 – 1000 | None | The optimal baseline state. |
| HUNGRY | 51 – 150 | None | Character begins to feel hungry. Stops travel and non-eating occupations. |
| WEAK | 1 – 50 | -1 Strength | Character experiences temporary Strength loss and needs food badly. |
| FAINTING | <= 0 | -1 Strength | High chance of fainting and losing consciousness for 1 to 10 turns. |
| FAINTED | (Unconscious) | -1 Strength | Unconscious and completely vulnerable to attacks. |
| STARVED | Below -(100 + 10 * Constitution) | Dead | Instant death due to starvation (unless life-saved). |
Your character normally uses up 1 point of nutrition every turn, and each melee attack you make costs one extra turn's worth of nutrition on top of that. Worn magical items add to this: each worn item whose page lists Consumes nutrition every 20 rounds when worn uses 1 more point every 20 turns, counted separately for every such item. The same cost applies to each worn magical ring (a ring that can be enchanted counts only while its enchantment is not +0), to a worn magical amulet, and to carrying the Amulet of Yendor. Wearing two such items, with nothing else adding to your hunger, therefore raises the rate from 1 to 1.1 points per turn on average.
😵 Choking Hazard
Eating while in the SATIATED state can be fatal. If your nutrition level rises to 2000 or above, your character will choke to death.
- Safe Foods: Edible items that provide 50 or less nutrition (such as fruits, herbs, garlic, and most mushrooms) do not trigger choking checks and can be consumed safely even when satiated.
- Choking Warning: If you attempt to eat an item with more than 50 nutrition while satiated, the game will warn you: "However, you are feeling very full; eat it nevertheless?". Proceeding carries a risk of choking.
- Magical Breathing: Characters with magical breathing (such as those wearing an amulet of magical breathing or polymorphed into a breathless monster) are immune to choking to death. If they overeat, they will "choke, but recover their composure."
🍎 Comestibles and Special Food Items
GnollHack features traditional food items as well as new fruits and mushrooms. Unlike standard NetHack, some standard fruits now grant permanent attribute increases when eaten.
| Food Item | Nutrition | Special Effect when Eaten | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food ration | 800 | None | Standard, highly nutritious travel ration. |
| K-ration | 525 | None | High-density army ration. |
| C-ration | 450 | None | Standard canned army ration. |
| Cram ration | 900 | None | Dwarven travel ration. Non-rotting. |
| Elven waybread | 1000 | Cures food sickness | Elven travel bread. Non-rotting. |
| Handful of spinach leaves | 2 | Increases Strength | Blessed: +1 or +2 Str; Uncursed: +1 Str; Cursed: -1 Str. |
| Banana | 2 | Increases Dexterity | Blessed: +1 or +2 Dex; Uncursed: +1 Dex; Cursed: -1 Dex. Can tame Monkey. |
| Pomegranate | 2 | Increases Constitution | Blessed: +1 or +2 Con; Uncursed: +1 Con; Cursed: -1 Con. |
| Avocado | 2 | Increases Charisma | Blessed: +1 or +2 Cha; Uncursed: +1 Cha; Cursed: -1 Cha. |
| Cloudberry | 15 | Restores lost attribute scores | Works like a potion of restore ability. |
| Fig | 40 | Cures sickness | Cures food poisoning and illness. |
| Dragon fruit | 25 | Cures petrification | Stops stoning/petrification countdown. |
| Phantomberry | 2 | Grants 1 experience level | Cursed: acts as a potion of poison instead. |
| Carrot | 50 | Cures blindness | Restores sight. |
| Eucalyptus leaf | 30 | Cures sickness | Cures food poisoning and illness. |
| Fortune cookie | 15 | Contains a rumor message | Eating one makes the character literate (if they weren't already). |
| Lump of royal jelly | 200 | Increases Strength & heals | Blessed/Uncursed: heals HP (and max HP) and cures leg wounds; Cursed: damages HP. |
| Slime mold | 300 | None | Edible mold. Customizable via game options. |
| Tin | Varies | Varies | Boiled/Homemade: 50; French fried (greasy): 40; Pickled: 40; Soup: 20; Rotten: -50. |
| Tripe ration | 200 | Causes sickness for non-carnivores | Safe for carnivores/beast forms. Monks suffer vegan penalties. |
ℹ️ Note on Greasy Tins: Opening or eating French fried tins will cause greasy fingers, which makes you slip and drop weapons or fail to cast spells properly.
🍄 Shuffled Mushrooms
Mushrooms in GnollHack have shuffled appearances (e.g. "golden mushroom", "violet mushroom") in every game, but their true types and effects are fixed once identified:
| Food Item | Nutrition | Special Effect when Eaten |
|---|---|---|
| Champignon | 7 | Edible mushroom with no special effect. |
| Penny bun | 5 | Cures hallucination. |
| Chanterelle | 3 | Cures teleportitis. |
| Fly agaric | 5 | Poisonous (causes poison damage unless resistant). |
| Death cap | 4 | Deadly poisonous (causes massive poison damage). |
| Mana mushroom | 5 | Confers temporary Mana Regeneration. |
| Healing mushroom | 5 | Confers temporary Health Regeneration. |
| Panther cap | 3 | Confers Blind Telepathy. |
| Oracular toadstool | 5 | Causes hallucination. |
👹 Attribute and Level Gains from Corpses
Eating certain monster corpses offers a chance to permanently increase attributes or experience levels (up to your natural maximum).
When you fully consume a corpse, the game rolls a conveyance check. If multiple attributes or intrinsics succeed, one is chosen at random to be granted.
| Conveyed Gain | Conveying Monsters | Conveyance Chance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strength | All Giant corpses (Fire, Frost, Hill, Stone, Storm, etc.) | 50% | Giants also convey element-specific resistances (cold, fire, shock). |
| Dexterity | Monkey, all Snake corpses (except Pythons) |
20% (Monkey) 10% (Snakes) |
Python corpses convey Dexterity but have a different class chance. |
| Constitution | All Ogre corpses (Ogre, Ogre Lord, Ogre King, etc.) | 25% | Ogres are tough, fleshy humanoids. |
| Intelligence | Tentacled one, Elder tentacled one, all Lichen (Lichen, White, Black) |
25% (Tentacled ones) 1% – 30% (Lichens) |
Lichen difficulty determines the chance (Lichen: 1%, Black Lichen: 7%). |
| Wisdom | All Nagas, Owlbears, Treants, and Angels | 1% – 30% | Based on monster difficulty (e.g. Angel: 14%, Treant: 15%, Owlbear: 7%). |
| Charisma | All Nymphs and Harpy | 25% | Nymphs include Wood, Water, and Mountain nymphs. |
| All Attribute Scores | Titan | 20% | Titanium size conveys Strength, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. |
| Experience Level | Wraith, Spectre, King wraith | 100% | Level gain is guaranteed upon eating. Undead wights/wraithlords leave no corpses. |
⚠️ Dangerous Food and Penalties
GnollHack implements a sensory warning system that alerts characters to dangerous food items before eating them. These prompts will ask you if you want to eat the item anyway.
| Dangerous Food Type | Sensory Warning Prompt | Consequence of Eating |
|---|---|---|
| Tainted Meat | "…could be tainted! Eat it anyway?" | Causes food poisoning/illness. |
| Dangerous (Stoning/Sliming/Mummy Rot) | "…could be something very dangerous! Eat it anyway?" | Immediate petrification (death) or green sliming (death) or mummy rot. |
| Rotten Food | "…could be rotten! Eat it anyway?" | Causes vomiting, confusion, and loss of nutrition. |
| Poisonous Food | "…might be poisonous! Eat it anyway?" | Causes poison damage, Strength loss, or death (unless resistant). |
| Stunning Food | "…might make you stunned! Eat it anyway?" | Confers the Stunned condition for several turns. |
| Cursed Apple | "…might have been poisoned. Eat it anyway?" | Puts you to sleep for a substantial duration. |
| Non-Vegetarian (Monks) | "…unhealthy. Eat it anyway?" | Violates vegetarian conduct, leading to a loss of alignment and luck. |
| Acidic Food | "…rather acidic. Eat it anyway?" | Inflicts acid damage to mouth/stomach (unless resistant). |
🥩 Cannibalism & Pet penalties
Eating corpses of your own starting species, polymorphed species, or domestic pets carries heavy penalties:
- Cannibalism Penalty: Triggers when eating a corpse of your starting race (e.g. Human eating Human), polymorphed race, or were-beast counterpart. Results in Monster Aggravation (intrinsically alerts monsters to your presence) and a Luck loss of -2 to -5.
- Domestic Pet Penalty: Eating a domestic cat or dog (Little dog, Dog, Large dog, Kitten, Housecat, Large cat) results in Monster Aggravation.
- Exemptions: Characters playing as a Caveman or of the Orc race are exempt from both cannibalism and pet penalties and can consume these foods without consequence.
🤢 Rotten and Cursed Foods (Unconsciousness & Status Ailments)
Consuming rotten or cursed food in GnollHack carries severe penalties. A food item can become rotten or be treated as such based on its state and age.
Spoilage & Rotting Rules
| Food Status / Type | Spoilage / Rotting Rule |
|---|---|
| Cursed Food | Always treated as rotten immediately, regardless of age. |
| Blessed Food | Can rot after 80 turns with a 1 in 7 (14.3%) chance on the first bite. |
| Uncursed Food | Can rot after 40 turns with a 1 in 7 (14.3%) chance on the first bite. |
| Non-Rotting Food | Immune to spoiling. Includes Cram ration, Elven waybread, Tins, and Fortune cookies. |
Once an item has rolled a successful rotting check, it is permanently marked as rotten.
First-Bite Consequences
Taking a bite of rotten or cursed food prints the message "Blecch! Rotten [food]!" and triggers two immediate effects:
- Nutrition Halved: The remaining nutrition value of the food item is immediately halved.
- Status Ailment Roll: The game checks for status ailments in a sequential sequence (if one triggers, the rest are skipped):
| Status Ailment | Chance (Normal Vision) | Chance (If Already Blind) | Duration | Description / Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Confusion | 25% | 25% | 2d4 turns | Prints a light-headed message and confuses the character. |
| Blindness | 18.75% | 0% | 2d10 turns | Only checked if you did not become confused. |
| Unconsciousness | 18.75% | 25% | 1 to 10 turns | Only checked if you did not become confused or blinded. You pass out/faint. |
| No Effect | 37.5% | 50% | N/A | You eat the food without any immediate status ailments. |
🌟 Intrinsic Abilities from Corpses
Eating certain monster corpses offers a chance to permanently gain intrinsic abilities, such as elemental resistances or telepathy.
The probability of gaining an intrinsic generally depends on the monster's level. Most elemental resistances have a base divisor of 15 (i.e., Monster Level / 15 chance). If a monster's level meets or exceeds the divisor, the chance is 100%. Some specific monsters or intrinsics have different rules or guaranteed chances.
ℹ️ Note: Oozes and puddings (such as Black pudding, Brown pudding, and Gray ooze) leave a glob upon death instead of a corpse. Eating their globs conveys intrinsic abilities with the listed chances.
Elemental & Status Resistances
50% Acid Resistance
| Conveying Monsters | Conveyance Chance |
|---|---|
| Ancient yellow dragon, Yellow dragon | 100% |
50% Cold Resistance
| Conveying Monsters | Conveyance Chance |
|---|---|
| Brown mold | 6.7% |
| Gray ooze | 20.0% |
| Blue jelly | 26.7% |
| Brown pudding, Winter wolf cub, Yeti | 33.3% |
| Gelatinous cube | 40.0% |
| Winter wolf | 46.7% |
| Flesh golem | 60.0% |
| Black pudding, Frost giant | 66.7% |
| Ancient white dragon, Ice troll, Mucilaginous cube, Tiamat, White dragon | 100% |
50% Fire Resistance
| Conveying Monsters | Conveyance Chance |
|---|---|
| Red mold | 6.7% |
| Fire ant, Gray ooze, Red naga hatchling | 20.0% |
| Gelatinous cube, Pyrolisk, Red naga | 40.0% |
| Hell hound pup | 46.7% |
| Salamander | 53.3% |
| Fire giant, Flesh golem | 60.0% |
| Hell hound, Pyrohydra | 80.0% |
| Ancient gold dragon, Ancient red dragon, Cerberus, Gold dragon, Infernal pteranodon, Ixoth, Lord Surtur, Mucilaginous cube, Phoenix, Red dragon, Tiamat, Wizard of Yendor | 100% |
50% Shock Resistance
| Conveying Monsters | Conveyance Chance |
|---|---|
| Brown pudding | 33.3% |
| Gelatinous cube | 40.0% |
| Electric eel | 46.7% |
| Flesh golem | 60.0% |
| Black pudding | 66.7% |
| Ancient blue dragon, Blue dragon, Mucilaginous cube, Storm giant, Tiamat | 100% |
Disintegration Resistance
| Conveying Monsters | Conveyance Chance |
|---|---|
| Ancient black dragon, Bahamut, Black dragon, Tiamat | 100% |
Poison Resistance
| Conveying Monsters | Conveyance Chance |
|---|---|
| Brown mold, Cave spider, Red mold, Yellow mold | 6.7% |
| Centipede, Homunculus | 13.3% |
| Black naga hatchling, Golden naga hatchling, Gray ooze, Guardian naga hatchling, Jellyfish, Quasit, Red naga hatchling, Shrieker, Soldier ant, Violet fungus | 20.0% |
| Black unicorn, Blue jelly, Chickatrice, Gray unicorn, Snake, Water moccasin, White unicorn | 26.7% |
| Killer bee | 30.0% |
| Brown pudding, Cockatrice, Giant beetle, Giant spider, Gremlin, Quivering blob | 33.3% |
| Cobra, Pit viper, Pyrolisk, Red naga, Tengu | 40.0% |
| Xan | 46.7% |
| Scorpion | 50.0% |
| Black naga | 53.3% |
| Flesh golem, Queen bee | 60.0% |
| Black pudding, Gargantuan beetle, Giant cockatrice, Golden naga | 66.7% |
| Nurse | 73.3% |
| Guardian naga, Lernaean hydra, Phase spider | 80.0% |
| Ancient green dragon, Gargantuan cockatrice, Green dragon, Master Kaen, Medusa, Scorpius, Tiamat, Wizard of Yendor | 100% |
Sleep Resistance
| Conveying Monsters | Conveyance Chance |
|---|---|
| Homunculus | 13.3% |
| Woodland-elf | 26.7% |
| Green-elf | 33.3% |
| Gelatinous cube, Grey-elf | 40.0% |
| Elf-lord, Elven bard | 53.3% |
| Elvenking, Flesh golem | 60.0% |
| Elf | 66.7% |
| Ancient orange dragon, Mucilaginous cube, Orange dragon, Tiamat | 100% |
Magical & Utility Intrinsics
Blind Telepathy
| Conveying Monsters | Conveyance Chance |
|---|---|
| Floating eye | 100% |
Invisibility
| Conveying Monsters | Conveyance Chance |
|---|---|
| Stalker | 100% |
See Invisible
| Conveying Monsters | Conveyance Chance |
|---|---|
| Stalker | 100% |
Teleport Control
| Conveying Monsters | Conveyance Chance |
|---|---|
| Tengu | 50.0% |
| Phase spider | 100% |
Teleportitis
| Conveying Monsters | Conveyance Chance |
|---|---|
| Leprechaun | 50.0% |
| Tengu | 60.0% |
| Quantum mechanic | 70.0% |
| Elder quantum mechanic, Phase spider | 100% |
🧠 Brain Eating
When polymorphed into a Tentacled one or Elder tentacled one, hitting a monster with a tentacle attack allows you to eat its brain, which has unique mechanics and side effects:
- Intelligence Recovery: If your current Intelligence is below your natural maximum, eating a brain recovers 1 point of lost Intelligence (printing "You feel smarter."). It does not increase your maximum cap.
- Nutrition: Reduces your hunger slightly (increases nutrition by 1 to 30). This cannot cause choking.
- Target Damage: Inflicts severe damage on the target. It drains 1 to 2 points of the target's Intelligence. If the target's Intelligence drops below 3, they die immediately from brain loss.
- Mindless Targets: Monsters that are mindless (e.g. golems, molds, fungi) or have brain protection do not notice the attack, and no brain-eating benefits or attribute drains occur.
- Incorporeal Targets: Monsters without physical brains (e.g. ghosts, spectres, elementals) have their brains unharmed, and no effects occur.
- Petrification Hazard: Eating the brain of a petrifying monster (e.g. Medusa) immediately starts the stoning countdown.
- Rider Brain Fatality: Attempting to eat the brain of a Rider (Death, Famine, Pestilence) is instantly fatal (printing "Ingesting that is fatal.").
- Cannibalism: Eating the brain of another tentacled one or a member of your own starting species triggers standard cannibalism penalties.
💡 Advanced Eating Mechanics
- Curing Petrification: Eating the corpse of a Lizard or an acidic monster (such as an Acid blob) immediately cures the petrification process, saving you from a stoning death.
- Vegetarian and Vegan Conducts: Monks or players observing strict diets face severe penalties for eating meat or animal by-products. Review the Monk page for more details on conduct restrictions.
- Transformation: Eating a Green slime corpse or a glob of green slime will eventually turn you into a slime yourself, which is fatal unless cured.
- Old Corpses: Corpses left for too long become tainted and cause food poisoning when eaten (unless you are a Caveman, an Orc, or possess sickness resistance). An uncursed corpse becomes tainted after 210 turns (cursed after 140 turns, blessed after 280 turns).