👉 Most magical items in GnollHack hide behind a randomized appearance that changes from game to game. This page explains exactly which items are shuffled, which ones always look the same, and what pool of appearances each item can be drawn from.

🔍 How Appearance Randomization Works

Every object type in GnollHack has two names:

  • An actual name, such as "potion of full healing", which is shown once the item type has been identified.
  • An appearance (unidentified description), such as "black potion", which is shown before identification.

At the start of every new game, GnollHack shuffles the appearances within predefined groups. The shuffle is a uniform random permutation inside each group, and the result is stored in the save file, so an item's appearance never changes during a game. Restoring a save (or continuing on another device) always restores the same assignment.

What is swapped

When an appearance is shuffled onto a different item, these things move with the appearance:

  • The appearance text itself (for example "pine" or "ZELGO MER").
  • The display color and the map/inventory tile.
  • For some groups only, the item's material (see below).
  • For jars, the description of the visible contents (for example "yellow ointment").

What is never swapped

These stay with the item's true type, no matter what it looks like:

  • Base price, weight, generation probability, and stack size.
  • All game effects, enchantment behavior, and charges.
  • The item description text shown for identified items.
  • The spellbook "contains …" hint shown when reading an unidentified book.

💡 Tip: Because price and weight follow the true item and not the appearance, price identification in shops and weighing stacks are still fully reliable identification methods.

Material shuffling

Some groups shuffle the material together with the appearance, and some do not.

Behavior Groups What it means
Material follows the appearance Potions, scrolls, spellbooks, amulets, venoms, wands, rings, robes, bracers, crowns, conical hats, brooches, nose rings, headbands, ioun stones, eyeglasses, goggles, belts, mushrooms A "pine wand" really is wooden and a "wooden ring" really burns. The material is part of the appearance and tells you nothing about the item type.
Material stays with the item type Helmets, gloves, cloaks, boots, shirts, staves, bags, candles, lamps, whistles, flutes, horns, harps, drums, jars The material is hidden because it matches the base material of that type, so no material prefix appears in the item name. It still governs how the item reacts to fire, rust and similar effects.

Materials are described in more detail on the Object Materials page.

Not every appearance is used

Several appearance pools contain more entries than there are real items, and a few items are never randomly generated. In any single game some appearances therefore belong to nothing at all and will never be seen.

Pool Appearances Item types Never generated
Potions 45 45 —
Scrolls 47 27 20 label-only entries, plus the scroll of supreme diabolism
Wands 35 32 3 appearance-only entries
Rings 38 38 —
Amulets 15 15 Amulet of seeing
Spellbooks 266 266 Spellbook of call hierarch modron

🧪 Potions

Potions are shuffled as a whole class, except for the last three types, which always look the same in every game.

Randomized potion appearances (45)

     
black bright bright cyan
bright magenta brilliant blue brown
bubbly cloudy crimson
cyan dark dark green
dark ochre deep red effervescent
emerald fizzy golden
gray greenish light blue
lime green magenta milky
murky ochre olive
orange pink puce
purple purple-red red
ruby sapphire shimmering
silvery sky blue smoky
swirly umber verdant
violet white yellow

Any one of these 45 appearances may be any of the 45 shuffled potion types:

Fixed potion appearances

Appearance Always is
clear Potion of water (holy and unholy water look the same)
dark ruby Potion of dwarven mushroom brew
pale yellow Potion of urine

📢 Important: A "clear potion" is always water. This is by far the most useful fixed appearance in the game, because water is the base of holy water, unholy water and most Alchemy recipes.

See also Potions and Diluted Potions.

📜 Scrolls

Scrolls are shuffled as a whole class up to (but not including) scroll of mail. The pool contains 47 labels for only 27 scroll types, so roughly 20 labels are attached to nothing in any given game and can never be found.

Randomized scroll labels (47)

Labels used by real scroll types:

     
ALA KA ZAM ANDOVA BEGARIN DAIYEN FOOELS
DUAM XNAHT ELAM EBOW ELBIB YLOH
HACKEM MUCHE HOCUS POCUS JUYED AWK YACC
KERNOD WEL KIRJE LEP GEX VEN ZEA
NR 9 NUGG YEBBEH PRATYAVAYAH
PRIRUTSENIE REX SAPH THARR
VE FORBRYDERNE VELOX NEB VENZAR BORGAVVE
VERR YED HORRE VEX DOL XIXAXA XOXAXA XUXAXA
YUM YUM ZELGO MER ZEPH NI

Extra labels with no item of their own:

       
ABRA KA DABRA ASHPD SODALG EIRIS SAZUN IDISI ETAOIN SHRDLU
FNORD FOOBIE BLETCH GARVEN DEH GHOTI
GNIK SISI VLE HAPAX LEGOMENON KO BATE LOREM IPSUM
MAPIRO MAHAMA DIROMAT PHOL ENDE WODAN READ ME STRC PRST SKRZ KRK
TEMOV VAS CORP BET MANI XOR OTA ZLORFIK

ℹ️ Note: The split above is only the order in which the labels are listed in the game data. After shuffling, any of the 47 labels can belong to any of the 27 scroll types, and the remaining labels belong to nothing.

The 27 shuffled scroll types are:

Fixed scroll appearances

Appearance Always is
stamped Scroll of mail
unlabeled Scroll of blank paper

See also Scrolls.

🪄 Wands

The 32 shuffled wand types share a pool of 35 appearances, so three appearances belong to nothing in any given game.

Randomized wand appearances (35)

         
adamantium aluminum balsa blackwood brass
copper crystal curved ebony flimsy
forked glass hexagonal iridium iron
jeweled long mahogany maple marble
mithril oak orichalcum ornamental pine
platinum runed short silver skull-headed
spiked steel tin uranium zinc

The 32 shuffled wand types are:

Wand materials by appearance

Wand materials are shuffled together with the appearance, so the material is always consistent with what you see. This matters because wooden wands burn and glass wands shatter.

Material Appearances
Wood balsa, mahogany, blackwood, maple, pine, oak, ebony, ornamental, flimsy, forked
Iron mithril, iron, steel, hexagonal, short, runed, long, adamantium, curved, spiked, jeweled
Other metal tin, iridium, zinc, aluminum, uranium
Brass brass
Copper copper
Silver silver
Platinum platinum
Orichalcum orichalcum
Glass glass
Crystal crystal
Mineral marble
Bone skull-headed

Fixed wand appearance

Appearance Always is
plutonium The Rod of Disjunction (base item never generates)

💡 Tip: The wand of nothing gets a random zap behavior at the start of each game. In half of all games it is a no-direction wand and in the other half it asks for a direction. This means the direction prompt alone does not reliably rule the wand of nothing in or out.

See also Wands and Exceptional and Elite Wands.

💍 Rings

All 38 magical ring types are shuffled together with their materials, in a pool of exactly 38 appearances.

Randomized ring appearances (38)

   
adamantium agate
black onyx black opal
black pearl brass
bronze clay
copper coral
crystal diamond
emerald engagement
gold granite
immaculate iron
ivory jade
moonstone opal
pearl platinum
polished ruby
runed sapphire
serpent-headed shiny
silver steel
thin tiger eye
topaz twisted
wire wooden

The 38 shuffled ring types are:

Because material is shuffled together with the appearance, a "wooden ring" really is made of wood and an "iron ring" really rusts, regardless of what the ring turns out to be.

Fixed ring appearance

Appearance Always is
golden runed The Ruling Ring of Yendor (base item never generates)

See also Rings.

📿 Amulets

All 15 amulet types share a pool of 15 geometric shapes.

Randomized amulet appearances (15)

     
circular concave convex
cubical cylindrical hexagonal
icosahedral linear octagonal
oval pyramidal spherical
square tetrahedral triangular

The 15 shuffled amulet types are:

Fixed amulet appearance

Appearance May be
Amulet of Yendor The real Amulet of Yendor or a cheap plastic imitation of the Amulet of Yendor

The imitation and the real Amulet look identical and must be identified individually.

See also Amulets.

📕 Spellbooks

All 266 ordinary spellbooks are shuffled together in a pool of 266 covers. Listing them is of little practical use, because reading a spellbook nearly always identifies it immediately.

Why covers rarely matter

  • For the great majority of spellbooks, opening the book prints "This spellbook contains ''." and identifies the type immediately, before you have to commit to actually studying it. The check costs one round if you decline.
  • Only 26 dangerous or extremely powerful books must actually be read through to be identified. For all of these the game shows a truthful hint about the school and antiquity of the magic before you commit, for example "This spellbook contains ancient necromantic magic. Read it?"
  • That hint is bound to the actual spell, not to the cover, and is therefore never shuffled.

The 26 books that must be read to be identified

Hint shown before reading Possible spells
ancient conjuration magic great Yendorian summoning, wish
long-forgotten conjuration magic black blade of disaster, sphere of annihilation
alien conjuration magic call hierarch modron
ancient clerical prayer absolution
ancient celestial prayer guardian angel, holy word, summon ancient gold dragon, summon archon
an aeon-old celestial prayer divine intervention, call Bahamut, heavenly army
ancient enchantment magic mass domination
an ancient movement spell time stop
ancient abjuration magic globe of invulnerability
long-forgotten abjuration magic disjunction
ancient necromantic magic touch of death, finger of death, deathspell, power word kill, create dracolich, create elder dracolich
long-forgotten necromantic magic armageddon, mass create dracolich
sinister necromantic magic call Demogorgon

Every book in this list carries a hint, so there is never a spellbook whose topic stays completely unknown. The hint is coarse, however: it names only the school and the age of the magic, so "ancient necromantic magic" leaves six possible spells.

Duplicated covers

Ten covers are used by two or three different books each, so even with a full appearance list some books remain ambiguous.

Cover Possible books
hand-patterned burning hands, shocking touch
oval-patterned meteor swarm, forbid summoning
scintillating magic storm, disjunction
wave-patterned animate air, greater animate air
octagonal-patterned animate earth, greater animate earth
flame-patterned animate fire, greater animate fire
water-drop-patterned animate water, greater animate water, summon dragon
colorless astral vision, true seeing
glowing enchant armor, protect armor
unspeakable raise minor zombie, raise giant zombie

Fixed spellbook appearances

Appearance Always is
plain Spellbook of blank paper
paperback Any of the tribute Novels
ornamental white The Prime Codex (base item never generates)
papyrus Book of the Dead

The manual has no appearance at all and is always shown by its real name. See also Spellbooks and Manuals and Catalogues.

🛡️ Armor

Armor is shuffled in small, tight groups. Each group below is a closed pool: an appearance from one group can never appear on an item from another group.

🪖 Helmets (4)

Appearance Possible items
plumed helmet, etched helmet, crested helmet, visored helmet Helmet, Helm of brilliance, Helm of opposite alignment, Helm of telepathy

All four may be randomly generated in adamantium, mithril or bronze, and this material roll is identical for all four types, so it gives no clue.

👑 Crowns (2)

Appearance Possible items
golden crown, ornamental crown Royal crown, Crown of rulership

🎩 Conical hats (3)

Appearance Possible items
blue conical hat, green conical hat, red conical hat Cornuthaum, Dunce cap, Gnomish felt hat

The color in the name always matches the color drawn on screen, because the display color is shuffled together with the appearance.

🧥 Cloaks (5)

Appearance Possible items
tattered cape, opera cloak, ornamental cope, hard woven cloak, piece of cloth Cloak of protection, Cloak of invisibility, Cloak of magic resistance, Cloak of integrity, Cloak of displacement

👕 Robes (11)

Appearance Possible items
old robe, decorated robe, ornate robe, golden ornamental robe, shining white robe, shining purple robe, shining green robe, star-patterned robe, shining blue robe, shining gray robe, shining black robe Medieval robe, Wizard's robe, Clerical gown, Robe of protection, Robe of magic resistance, Gown of the archbishops, Robe of powerlessness, Robe of eyes, Robe of the archmagi, Robe of splendor, Robe of starry wisdom

💪 Bracers (6)

Appearance Possible items
old bracers, runed bracers, deerskin bracers, dilapidated bracers, shining bracers, ornamental bracers Leather bracers, Bracers of defense, Bracers of archery, Bracers of shaking and tottering, Bracers of spell casting, Bracers against magic missiles

The bracers of reflection are not in the pool and always appear as polished silver bracers.

👚 Shirts (4)

Appearance Possible items
funny T-shirt, black T-shirt, green T-shirt, old T-shirt Shirt of uncontrollable laughter, Shirt of comeliness, Shirt of sound mindedness, T-shirt

The Hawaiian shirt has no appearance of its own and is always recognized.

🧤 Gloves (6)

Appearance Possible items
old gloves, padded gloves, brown gloves, deerskin gloves, riding gloves, fencing gloves Leather gloves, Gauntlets of fumbling, Gloves of haste, Gloves of spell casting, Gauntlets of ogre power, Gauntlets of dexterity

🥾 Boots (8)

Appearance Possible items
combat boots, runed boots, jungle boots, hiking boots, mud boots, buckled boots, riding boots, snow boots Speed boots, Galadhrim boots, Water walking boots, Jumping boots, Elven boots, Kicking boots, Fumble boots, Levitation boots

📢 Important: low boots (walking shoes), shoes (hard shoes) and high boots (jackboots) are not in the shuffled pool. Those three appearances always mean exactly those three mundane boots.

See also Armor, Helms, Cloaks, Robes, Bracers, Shirts, Gloves and Boots.

⚔️ Weapons

Only one weapon group is shuffled.

🪄 Staves (6)

Appearance Possible items
runed staff, ornamental staff, forked staff, blue-hued staff, serpent-entwined staff, twisted staff Staff of the magi, Staff of fire, Staff of thunder and lightning, Staff of frost, Staff of life, Staff of withering

The ordinary quarterstaff is always shown as a wooden staff and is not part of the pool.

Every other weapon appearance in the game is fixed. See Melee Weapons, Ranged Weapons, Polearms and Thrown Weapons.

🧰 Tools

Tools are shuffled in nine small groups.

Group Appearances Possible items
Bags (10) brown bag, vintage bag, decorative bag, ornamental bag, antiquated bag, silvery bag, dilapidated bag, old bag, old-fashioned bag, runed bag Leather bag, Sack, Oilskin sack, Bag of holding, Bag of wizardry, Bag of treasure hauling, Bag of the glutton, Pouch of endless bolts, Bag of infinite sling bullets, Bag of tricks
Candles (3) old-fashioned candle, twisted candle, handcrafted candle Tallow candle, Wax candle, Magic candle
Lamps (2) antiquated brass lamp, oriental brass lamp Oil lamp, Magic lamp
Whistles (2) old whistle, shiny whistle Tin whistle, Magic whistle
Flutes (2) oak flute, blackwood flute Wooden flute, Magic flute
Horns (5) arched horn, spiral horn, curved horn, polished horn, twisted horn Tooled horn, Frost horn, Fire horn, Horn of chaos, Horn of plenty
Harps (2) ornamental harp, runed harp Wooden harp, Magic harp
Drums (2) old drum, antiquated drum Leather drum, Drum of earthquake
Jars (4) glass jar, crystal jar, crystalline jar, transparent jar Jar of extra healing salve, Jar of greater healing salve, Jar of medicinal salve, Jar of prodigious healing salve

Jars and their visible contents

An unidentified jar is shown together with the color of the ointment inside, for example "a crystal jar containing purple ointment". The ointment color is shuffled together with the jar appearance, so the four pairings below always hold within a game, but which jar type they belong to is random.

Jar appearance Ointment shown
glass jar yellow ointment
crystal jar purple ointment
crystalline jar white ointment
transparent jar violet ointment

The jar of basilisk blood is not shuffled and always appears as an ornamental jar containing crimson liquid.

Other tools with a description, such as the brass horn, torch, brass lantern, bell and bugle, have fixed appearances. See Tools.

💎 Miscellaneous Items

Group Appearances Possible items
Brooches (2) golden brooch, silver brooch Brooch of shielding, Brooch of haplessness
Nose rings (3) golden nose ring, silver nose ring, bronze nose ring Nose ring of bull strength, Nose ring of bullheadedness, Nose ring of cerebral safeguarding
Headbands (3) shining blue headband, shining green headband, shining red headband Headband of intellect, Headband of martial prowess, Headband of cranial tightness
Eyeglasses (5) gold-framed eyeglasses, oval eyeglasses, square eyeglasses, silver-framed eyeglasses, round eyeglasses Lenses, Eyeglasses of hallucination, Eyeglasses of awkwardness, Eyeglasses of X-ray vision, Eyeglasses of see invisible
Goggles (2) leather-framed goggles, transparent goggles Goggles of night, Goggles of eye protection
Belts (9) old belt, brown belt, sturdy belt, runed belt, ornamental belt, heavy belt, decorative belt, coarse belt, rudimentary belt Leather belt, Belt of change, Belt of dwarvenkind, Belt of fortitude, Belt of hill giant strength, Belt of stone giant strength, Belt of frost giant strength, Belt of fire giant strength, Belt of storm giant strength
Ioun stones (19) see the table below see the table below

The sunglasses are not part of the eyeglasses pool and always appear as shaded eyeglasses.

🔮 Ioun stones

Nineteen ioun stone types share a pool of only 17 distinct appearances, because two colors are used twice.

Appearance Possible items
cyan ioun stone Ioun stone of magical breathing or Ioun stone of sustenance
bright green ioun stone Ioun stone of wisdom or Ioun stone of incessant hunger
black, blue, bright blue, bright cyan, brown, crimson, gray, green, orange, pink, purple, red, transparent, white, yellow One ioun stone type each, randomly assigned

The 19 shuffled ioun stone types are:

⚠️ Warning: Because "cyan" and "bright green" are each shared by one good and one harmful stone, identifying an ioun stone by appearance alone is never fully conclusive for those two colors.

Other miscellaneous items with a description, such as the wings of flying (artificial wings), gnollish leather mask (crude leather mask) and beak mask of sickness resistance (beak-shaped mask), have fixed appearances. See Miscellaneous Items.

🍄 Comestibles

The nine mushroom types are shuffled together with their materials.

Appearances Possible items
brown mushroom, black mushroom, golden mushroom, red mushroom, pale white mushroom, violet mushroom, orange mushroom, gray mushroom, green mushroom Champignon, Penny bun, Chanterelle, Fly agaric, Death cap, Mana mushroom, Healing mushroom, Panther cap, Oracular toadstool

⚠️ Warning: The death cap is deadly poisonous and the fly agaric is poisonous. Since all nine mushrooms share one pool, no mushroom color is safe to eat until the type has been identified.

All other comestibles, including slime mold, food ration and the various globs, have fixed appearances or none at all. See Comestibles and Eating Guide.

🪨 Gems, Glass, and Gray Stones

Gems are not shuffled. Instead, every gem has a fixed color, and each color is shared by a valuable gem, several less valuable gems and one worthless piece of glass. This is the identification puzzle for gems.

Color Possible items
white Dilithium crystal, Diamond, Opal, Pearl, Gem of seeing, Worthless piece of white glass
black Black pearl, Black opal, Jet, Obsidian, Worthless piece of black glass
red Ruby, Garnet, Jasper, Worthless piece of red glass
orange Jacinth, Agate, Worthless piece of orange glass
blue Sapphire, Worthless piece of blue glass
green Emerald, Jade, Worthless piece of green glass
yellow Citrine, Chrysoberyl, Worthless piece of yellow glass
yellowish brown Amber, Topaz, Worthless piece of yellowish brown glass
violet Amethyst, Worthless piece of violet glass

Gems with a randomized color

Three gems get their color rolled at the start of each game and move between the groups above.

Gem Possible colors
Turquoise green (1 in 2) or blue (1 in 2)
Aquamarine green (1 in 2) or blue (1 in 2)
Fluorite violet, blue, white or green (1 in 4 each)

💡 Tip: A blue gem is not automatically a sapphire. Turquoise, aquamarine and fluorite can all join the blue group, which makes blue one of the least reliable colors to gamble on.

Gray stones

The six gray stones are never shuffled and all share the same gray appearance.

Appearance Possible items
gray stone Luckstone, Loadstone, Jinxstone, Prayerstone, Touchstone, Flint

See Gems and Stones.

🗝️ Fixed Appearances That Still Hide the Item

Many items have a description that is never shuffled. The item still starts unidentified, but the appearance always means the same thing in every game, so recognizing it is pure knowledge rather than luck.

Weapons and ammunition

Appearance Always is
runed arrow Elven arrow
crude arrow Orcish arrow
bamboo arrow Ya
crude crossbow bolt Gnollish quarrel
throwing star Shuriken
throwing spear Javelin
runed spear Elven spear
crude spear Orcish spear
stout spear Dwarvish spear
crude dagger Orcish dagger
crudely decorated dagger Ornamental orcish dagger
black dagger Wraithblade
runed short sword Elven short sword
crude short sword Orcish short sword
broad short sword Dwarvish short sword
curved sword Scimitar
shining long sword Sword of holy vengeance
black long sword Sword of unholy desecration
bright broadsword Sword of luckiness
black-hilted long sword Sword of nine lives stealing
samurai sword Katana
long samurai sword Tsurugi
sword-shaped planar rift Black blade of disintegration
double-headed axe Battle-axe
broad axe Dwarvish axe
broad pick Dwarvish mattock
wooden mace Heavenly oak mace
skull-headed obsidian mace Mace of the underworld
runed war hammer Heavy war hammer
large jagged-toothed club Two-handed club
thonged club Aklys
iron staff Flindbar
wooden staff Quarterstaff
runed long bow Elven long bow
crude short bow Orcish short bow
oriental long bow Yumi
large shovel Spade of colossal excavation
silvery saw Saw of mighty cutting
club-headed metal rod Golf club
iron hook Grappling hook

Polearms

Every polearm has a fixed, unique appearance:

Appearance Always is
vulgar polearm Partisan
hilted polearm Ranseur
forked polearm Spetum
single-edged polearm Glaive
angled poleaxe Halberd
long poleaxe Bardiche
pole cleaver Voulge
pole sickle Fauchard
pruning hook Guisarme
hooked polearm Bill-guisarme
black ornamental hooked polearm Ancus
pronged polearm Lucern hammer
beaked polearm Bec de corbin

Armor

Appearance Always is
runed hat Elven helm
crude hood Gnollish hood
iron skull cap Orcish helm
hard hat Dwarvish helm
thin metal hat Tinfoil hat of mind shielding
cylindrical hat Silk top hat
faded pall Elven cloak
coarse mantelet Orcish cloak
hooded cloak Dwarvish cloak
slippery cloak Oilskin cloak
apron Alchemy smock
soft cotton robe Bathrobe
fine robe Tailored silk robe
crude robe Gnollish haircloth robe
orange robe Simple gown
crude bone armor Gnollish bone mail
crude studded leather armor Gnollish studded leather armor
crude leather armor Gnollish leather armor
crude chain mail Orcish chain mail
crude ring mail Orcish ring mail
armor-shaped force field Force field armor
blue and green shield Elven shield
black shield Orcish shield
large black shield Great orcish shield
large round shield Dwarvish roundshield
polished silver shield Shield of reflection
polished silver bracers Bracers of reflection
walking shoes Low boots
hard shoes Shoes
jackboots High boots

Tools and other items

Appearance Always is
religious symbol Holy symbol
glass orb Crystal ball
metal can containing viscous fluid Can of grease
small runed cube Cubic gate
sandalwood chest Magic chest
gold-encrusted bag Expensive handbag
silk-woven bag Oriental silk sack
cylindrical bag Quiver of infinite arrows
wooden grail containing red liquid Grail of healing
ornamental jar containing crimson liquid Jar of basilisk blood
artificial wings Wings of flying
shaded eyeglasses Sunglasses
crude leather mask Gnollish leather mask
beak-shaped mask Beak mask of sickness resistance
gray glob Glob of gray ooze
brown glob Glob of brown pudding
green glob Glob of green slime
black glob Glob of black pudding

⚠️ Appearances Shared by More Than One Item

A few appearances outside the shuffled pools are used by two or more item types. These stay ambiguous in every game.

Appearance Possible items
runed dagger Elven dagger or Elven runedagger
runed broadsword Elven broadsword or Runesword
ornamental long bow Divine long bow or Galadhrim bow
looking glass Mirror or Magic mirror
key Skeleton key, Geometric key, Ornamental key or Master key
splash of blinding venom / splash of acid venom Either venom type; these two descriptions are shuffled against each other, so the name of a venom splash may not match its real type

The other keys, such as the magic key, stone key, bronze key, silver key, gold key, platinum key, mithril key, orichalcum key and adamantium key, have no appearance of their own and are always shown by their real names.

📊 What the Appearance Does and Does Not Tell You

Clue Reliable? Explanation
Appearance text Only within its group It narrows the item down to the members of its shuffle pool, never further.
Display color and tile Follows the appearance Colors and tiles are shuffled together with the description, so they never leak the true type.
Material shown in the name Follows the appearance For groups that shuffle materials, the material is part of the disguise. For the other groups, the material equals the type's base material and is therefore hidden.
Base price Yes Prices stay with the true item type, which is why shop price identification works.
Weight Yes Weight stays with the true item type.
Spellbook read prompt Yes The "contains … magic" hint is bound to the real spell, not to the cover.
Jar ointment color Follows the appearance The ointment color and the jar description are always the same pairing, but which jar type they mark is random.
Wand direction prompt Partly The wand of nothing is randomly a directional or non-directional wand in each game.

Items with no appearance at all

Some item categories are always shown by their real names and never require identification of the type:

  • All Reagents.
  • Most ordinary weapons, suits of armor and shields without a racial or special variant.
  • Coins, ordinary rocks, boulders, statues and most Art Objects.
  • Ordinary comestibles such as rations, fruit and corpses.

ℹ️ Note: The cotton slippers have a purely cosmetic second tile that is chosen randomly for each individual pair when it is created. This affects only the picture, never the name or the behavior.

💡 Summary

  • Appearances are shuffled once per game, inside fixed groups, and are stored in the save file.
  • Shuffling moves the description, the color, the tile and sometimes the material, but never the price, the weight or the effects.
  • The only fixed potion appearances are clear (water), dark ruby (dwarven mushroom brew) and pale yellow (urine).
  • Scrolls and wands have more appearances than items, so some labels and wand descriptions belong to nothing in a given game.
  • Spellbook covers rarely matter, because reading a book identifies it, and the 26 books that must be read announce their school truthfully beforehand.
  • Gems are not shuffled, but each color pools several gems together with a worthless piece of glass, and turquoise, aquamarine and fluorite change color group at the start of each game.
  • Many racial, mundane and special items have fixed appearances, so learning that table is a permanent advantage across all your games.

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