👉 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). |
😵 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).