Magic Resistance

👉 Magic Resistance is a vital defense in GnollHack that protects you from polymorph traps and monster spells, among other things.

✨ Effects of Magic Resistance

Magic resistance provides several benefits, protecting the player from various hazards.

🧙 Monster Spells

Magic resistance protects the player from the following spells cast by monsters:

Destroy armor: The spell is completely neutralized. Monsters will also avoid casting this spell at you if you have magic resistance.
Drain strength: The spell is completely neutralized. Monsters will also avoid casting this spell at you if you have magic resistance.
Stun: The spell is completely neutralized. Monsters will also avoid casting this spell at you if you have magic resistance.
Paralyze: The spell is completely neutralized.
Confuse: The spell is completely neutralized.
Curse items: While magic resistance does not directly block curses, monsters will not target you with the curse items spell if you have magic resistance.
Open wounds: Damage taken from the spell is halved.
Psi bolt: Damage taken from the spell is halved.

🪤 Traps

Magic resistance protects the player from the effects of certain traps:

Anti-magic traps: Instead of draining your spell energy (mana), the trap deals physical damage to your hit points.
Level teleport traps: The trap is completely neutralized and does not teleport you.
Teleport traps: The trap is completely neutralized and does not teleport you.
Polymorph traps: The trap is completely neutralized and does not polymorph you.

🛡️ Sources of Magic Resistance

Granted by Items

Granted by Artifacts

Granted by Potions

Potion of magic resistance

Granted by Spells

Anti-magic shell

⚠️ Nerfs to Magic Resistance

Contrary to NetHack, Magic Resistance does not protect you from:

Death attacks — such as the Finger of death spell, or the wand of death
- You need death resistance to be safe from death attacks
Magic missiles — such as the Magic missile spell, or the wand of magic missile
- You need full magic missile resistance to be immune to magic missiles
Striking — such as the Force bolt spell or the wand of striking
- You need full magic missile resistance to be immune to striking
Curses — Magic Resistance used to halve the effect of incoming curses, but it does not do so anymore
- You need curse resistance to be immune to cursing

🎲 Chance to Work

If a player gets Magic Resistance from an item, it always has a 100% chance to work.

However, monsters' Magic Resistance has a percentage chance to work. The magic resistance is listed in the monsters' stats.

💥 Cancellation Attacks and Magic Resistance

Cancellation attacks prevent players and monsters from using spells and wands.

They can be resisted as follows:

Cancellation spell or effect against a normal monster bypasses magic resistance and has a 100% chance to work. However, unique monsters are still shielded from cancellation by magic resistance.
Disjunction spell or effect bypasses every monster's magic resistance, including unique ones, and thus always has a 100% chance to work.
Cancellation attacks against a player, such as the gaze attack of a gazer, bypass magic resistance and have a 100% chance to work.

Additionally, it is good to remember the following things about cancellation:

If you zap a wand of cancellation or cast a cancellation spell at yourself or at items, it will set items' beatitude to Uncursed, set the enchantment to +0, make most potions into water, blank scrolls and spellbooks, and set items' charges to 0.
Putting a wand of cancellation into a bag of holding will destroy the bag.

🐺 Polymorph and Magic Resistance

Magic resistance protects from:

Wand of polymorph zapped at monsters
Polymorph traps
Polymorph other spell cast at monsters
Polymorph from being hit with a wielded potion of polymorph

Magic resistance does not protect you from:

Polymorph from ring of polymorph
Wand of polymorph zapped at yourself
Polymorph other spell cast at yourself
Polymorph from drinking a potion of polymorph

ℹ️ See Also

Resistances and Saving Throws