👉 This guide covers the various kinds of magical and elemental resistances in GnollHack, and how to get them from items, monster corpses, character classes, and races.
📖 Overview
GnollHack has nine kinds of resistances to magical attacks:
- Full Resistances
- Partial Resistances
- Magic Resistance
- Magic Cancellation
- Wisdom-Based Saving Throw
- Constitution-Based Saving Throw
- Dexterity-Based Saving Throw
- Charisma-Based Saving Throw
- Reflection
These resistances work similarly for players and monsters with small differences.
🛡️ 1. Full Resistances
⚔️ Bisection Resistance
Immunity to bisection attacks (namely, The Tsurugi of Muramasa).
Granted by Items:
- Adamantium body armor
- Mithril body armor
- White dragon scale mail
Granted by Artifacts:
💖 Charm Resistance
Immunity to nymph stealing and seduction attacks.
Granted by Items:
Granted by Spells:
🖤 Curse Resistance
Immunity to cursing of items in the inventory.
Granted by Items:
Granted by Artifacts:
Granted by Spells:
Granted by Classes:
| Class | Level |
|---|---|
| Knight | 19 |
| Priest | 16 |
💀 Death Resistance
Immunity to death attacks.
Granted by Items:
- Amulet versus undeath
- Black dragon scale mail
- Gown of the archbishops
- Ring of protection from undeath
- Staff of life
Granted by Artifacts:
Granted by Spells:
Granted by Classes:
| Class | Level |
|---|---|
| Priest | 19 |
💥 Disintegration Resistance
Immunity to disintegration attacks.
Granted by Items:
- Adamantium body armor
- Adamantium shield
- Black dragon scale mail
- Black dragon scales
- Cloak of integrity
Granted by Spells:
Granted by Corpses:
| Monster | Conveyance Chance |
|---|---|
| Ancient black dragon | 100% |
| Black dragon | 100% |
| Tiamat | 100% |
📉 Drain Resistance
Immunity to level drain attacks.
Granted by Items:
- Amulet versus undeath
- Black dragon scale mail
- Gown of the archbishops
- Ring of protection from undeath
- Staff of life
- Staff of withering
Granted by Artifacts:
Granted by Spells:
Granted by Conditions:
- Lycanthropy
🕶️ Flash Resistance
Immunity to blinding attacks.
Granted by Items:
Granted by Artifacts:
🏃 Free Action
Immunity to paralysis attacks.
Granted by Items:
Granted by Artifacts:
Granted by Races:
| Race | Level |
|---|---|
| Elf | 6 |
🧪 Full Acid Resistance
Immunity to acid attacks.
Granted by Items:
Granted by Spells:
❄️ Full Cold Resistance
Immunity to cold attacks, protects equipment.
Granted by Items:
Granted by Artifacts:
Granted by Potions:
Granted by Spells:
🔥 Full Fire Resistance
Immunity to fire attacks, protects equipment.
Granted by Items:
Granted by Artifacts:
Granted by Potions:
Granted by Spells:
🔮 Full Magic Missile Resistance
Immunity to magic missiles and striking.
Granted by Items:
Granted by Artifacts:
⚡ Full Shock Resistance
Immunity to lightning attacks, protects equipment.
Granted by Items:
Granted by Potions:
Granted by Spells:
🌈 Hallucination Resistance
Immunity to hallucination.
Granted by Items:
Granted by Artifacts:
🐺 Lycanthropy Resistance
Immunity to lycanthropy.
Granted by Classes:
| Class | Level |
|---|---|
| Healer | 7 |
Granted by Races:
| Race | Level |
|---|---|
| Gnoll | 1 |
Granted by Spells:
🧠 Mind Shielding
Immunity to telepathic attacks of tentacled ones.
Granted by Items:
☠️ Poison Resistance
Immunity to poison attacks.
Granted by Items:
- Alchemy smock
- Amulet versus poison
- Belt of dwarvenkind
- Green dragon scale mail
- Green dragon scales
- Ring of poison resistance
Granted by Artifacts:
Granted by Spells:
Granted by Corpses:
Granted by Classes:
| Class | Level |
|---|---|
| Barbarian | 1 |
| Healer | 1 |
| Monk | 7 |
| Tourist | 19 |
Granted by Races:
| Race | Level |
|---|---|
| Orc | 1 |
🌀 Polymorph Resistance
Immunity to polymorph traps.
Granted by Items:
🤢 Sickness Resistance
Immunity to sickness attacks, including mummy rot.
Granted by Items:
Granted by Artifacts:
Granted by Spells:
Granted by Classes:
| Class | Level |
|---|---|
| Healer | 14 |
| Tourist | 14 |
💤 Sleep Resistance
Immunity to sleep attacks.
Granted by Items:
Granted by Corpses:
| Monster | Conveyance Chance |
|---|---|
| Ancient orange dragon | 100% |
| Elf | 66.7% |
| Elf-lord | 53.3% |
| Elven bard | 53.3% |
| Elvenking | 60.0% |
| Flesh golem | 60.0% |
| Gelatinous cube | 40.0% |
| Green-elf | 33.3% |
| Grey-elf | 40.0% |
| Homunculus | 13.3% |
| Mucilaginous cube | 100% |
| Orange dragon | 100% |
| Tiamat | 100% |
| Woodland-elf | 26.7% |
Granted by Classes:
| Class | Level |
|---|---|
| Monk | 1 |
Granted by Races:
| Race | Level |
|---|---|
| Elf | 3 |
🦠 Sliming Resistance
Immunity to sliming attacks (namely, the green slime).
Granted by Items:
🪨 Stoning Resistance
Immunity to petrification attacks.
Granted by Items:
Granted by Spells:
🛡️ 2. Partial Resistances
Partial resistances reduce the elemental damage you take by a percentage and offer a chance to protect your equipment.
🧪 50% or 75% Acid Resistance
Reduces acid damage.
Granted by Items:
| Item | Resistance |
|---|---|
| Alchemy smock | 75% |
Granted by Corpses:
| Monster | Resistance | Conveyance Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Ancient yellow dragon | 50% | 100% |
| Yellow dragon | 50% | 100% |
❄️ 50% or 75% Cold Resistance
Reduces cold damage, chance to protect equipment.
Granted by Items:
| Item | Resistance |
|---|---|
| Silver dragon scale mail | 50% |
| Silver dragon scales | 50% |
| Staff of frost | 75% |
Granted by Corpses:
| Monster | Resistance | Conveyance Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Ancient white dragon | 50% | 100% |
| Black pudding | 50% | 66.7% |
| Blue jelly | 50% | 26.7% |
| Brown mold | 50% | 6.7% |
| Brown pudding | 50% | 33.3% |
| Flesh golem | 50% | 60.0% |
| Frost giant | 50% | 66.7% |
| Gelatinous cube | 50% | 40.0% |
| Gray ooze | 50% | 20.0% |
| Ice troll | 50% | 100% |
| Mucilaginous cube | 50% | 100% |
| Tiamat | 50% | 100% |
| White dragon | 50% | 100% |
| Winter wolf | 50% | 46.7% |
| Winter wolf cub | 50% | 33.3% |
| Yeti | 50% | 33.3% |
Granted by Classes:
| Class | Level | Resistance |
|---|---|---|
| Valkyrie | 1 | 50% |
🔥 50% or 75% Fire Resistance
Reduces fire damage, chance to protect equipment.
Granted by Items:
| Item | Resistance |
|---|---|
| Staff of fire | 75% |
Granted by Corpses:
| Monster | Resistance | Conveyance Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Ancient gold dragon | 50% | 100% |
| Ancient red dragon | 50% | 100% |
| Cerberus | 50% | 100% |
| Fire ant | 50% | 20.0% |
| Fire giant | 50% | 60.0% |
| Flesh golem | 50% | 60.0% |
| Gelatinous cube | 50% | 40.0% |
| Gold dragon | 50% | 100% |
| Gray ooze | 50% | 20.0% |
| Hell hound | 50% | 80.0% |
| Hell hound pup | 50% | 46.7% |
| Infernal pteranodon | 50% | 100% |
| Ixoth | 50% | 100% |
| Lord Surtur | 50% | 100% |
| Mucilaginous cube | 50% | 100% |
| Phoenix | 50% | 100% |
| Pyrohydra | 50% | 80.0% |
| Pyrolisk | 50% | 40.0% |
| Red dragon | 50% | 100% |
| Red mold | 50% | 6.7% |
| Red naga | 50% | 40.0% |
| Red naga hatchling | 50% | 20.0% |
| Salamander | 50% | 53.3% |
| Tiamat | 50% | 100% |
| Wizard of Yendor | 50% | 100% |
🔮 50% or 75% Magic Missile Resistance
Reduces magic missile and striking damage.
Granted by Items:
| Item | Resistance |
|---|---|
| Brooch of shielding | 75% |
| Gray dragon scale mail | 50% |
| Gray dragon scales | 50% |
⚡ 50% or 75% Shock Resistance
Reduces lightning damage, chance to protect equipment.
Granted by Items:
| Item | Resistance |
|---|---|
| Staff of thunder and lightning | 75% |
Granted by Corpses:
| Monster | Resistance | Conveyance Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Ancient blue dragon | 50% | 100% |
| Black pudding | 50% | 66.7% |
| Blue dragon | 50% | 100% |
| Brown pudding | 50% | 33.3% |
| Electric eel | 50% | 46.7% |
| Flesh golem | 50% | 60.0% |
| Gelatinous cube | 50% | 40.0% |
| Mucilaginous cube | 50% | 100% |
| Storm giant | 50% | 100% |
| Tiamat | 50% | 100% |
Granted by Classes:
| Class | Level | Resistance |
|---|---|---|
| Valkyrie | 15 | 50% |
🔮 3. Magic Resistance
Magic Resistance is very important to get in GnollHack, preferably before dungeon level 8, when polymorph traps start to appear. It protects you from the following things:
- Polymorph traps
- Some other polymorph effects (see below)
- Anti-magic traps
- Monster spells
Additionally, unique monsters are shielded from cancellation spells and effects by Magic Resistance (see below).
🛡️ Sources of Magic Resistance
Granted by Items:
- Cloak of magic resistance
- Gray dragon scale mail
- Ioun stone of magic resistance
- Orichalcum body armor
- Robe of magic resistance
Granted by Artifacts:
- Magicbane
- Ruby Rod of Asmodeus
- The Ark of the Covenant
- The Eye of the Aethiopica
- The Eyes of the Overworld
- The Orb of Detection
- The Platinum Yendorian Express Card
- The Rod of Disjunction
- The Sceptre of Might
Granted by Potions:
Granted by Spells:
⚠️ 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 it anymore
- You need Curse Resistance to be immune to cursing
🎲 Chance to Work
If a player gets Magic Resistance from an item, it has always 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 has always 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
🛡️ 4. Magic Cancellation
Magic Cancellation protects you from magical or semi-magical touch attacks. You get Magic Cancellation (MC) from armor. Contrary to NetHack, it stacks and the effect is on the scale 0–25, which gives you a % chance to resist magical or semi-magical touch attacks. The chance is listed in the status bar. MC protects you from:
- Disenchantment touch attacks
- Drain energy (mana) touch attacks
- Life drain attacks (which drain an experience level)
- Lycanthropy
- Mummy rot
- Nymph stealing attacks (but nymphs' attack gives a big penalty to MC, so it has a bigger than normal chance to work)
- Paralysis attacks
- Seduction attacks
- Sleep touch attacks
- Sliming touch attacks
- Slow touch attacks
- Stat drain touch attacks (strength, dexterity, and constitution)
- Steal gold touch attacks
- Stoning (petrification) touch attacks
- Stun touch attacks
- Teleportation touch attacks
- Terminal illness attacks
- Wound legs touch attacks
⚠️ Attacks that Bypass Magic Cancellation
The following touch attacks bypass Magic Cancellation completely:
- Elemental touch attacks (fire, cold, shock)
- Confusion touch attacks
- Mimic grabbing and sticking
- Snake and eel wrapping and drowning
- Armor-damaging attacks (rust, corrode, decay)
- Acid attacks from spotted jellies
- Item cursing from gremlins
- Attacks from the Riders (Death, Pestilence, Famine)
- Healing touches from nurses
Note that intelligence drain attacks also bypass Magic Cancellation (see below).
🎲 Magic Cancellation Chance
The Magic Cancellation formula is the following:
| MC | Chance to Resist |
|---|---|
| 0 | 0% |
| 1 | 10% |
| 2 | 20% |
| 3 | 30% |
| 4 | 40% |
| 5 | 50% |
| 6 | 55% |
| 7 | 60% |
| 8 | 65% |
| 9 | 70% |
| 10 | 75% |
| 11 | 80% |
| 12 | 82% |
| 13 | 84% |
| 14 | 86% |
| 15 | 88% |
| 16 | 90% |
| 17 | 91% |
| 18 | 92% |
| 19 | 93% |
| 20 | 94% |
| 21 | 95% |
| 22 | 96% |
| 23 | 97% |
| 24 | 98% |
| 25 and above | 99% |
📉 Modifiers to Magic Cancellation
Monster attacks can incur a bonus or penalty to MC depending on the monster difficulty. Attacks of higher level monsters usually incur more penalty to MC than those of lower level monsters.
✨ Magic Cancellation from Enchantments
When you enchant an armor, you get +1 MC for every +3 enchantment. Therefore, it is very useful to enchant armor to at least +3. The same rule applies to divine protection that you can buy from a priest NPC by making a major contribution to the temple.
Other sources of Magic Cancellation include:
- Armor Quality: Exceptional, Elite, Celestial, Primordial, and Infernal armor modifiers grant an MC bonus equal to their AC bonus (e.g., Elite grants +2 MC).
- Rings: The ring of protection and ring of supreme power grant an MC bonus.
-
Materials: Armor made of
dragonhidegrants +1 MC. - Classes: Monks receive an innate role-based MC bonus.
- Spells: The Stoneskin, Barkskin, Shield, and Protection spells grant direct MC bonuses.
- Accessories: Some special accessories, such as a brooch of shielding or an ioun stone of protection, grant bonuses to Magic Cancellation.
🧠 Intelligence Drain Attacks
Magic Cancellation does not protect you from the intelligence drain attacks of tentacled ones. Instead, you need a helmet to block 87.5% of these attacks. Additionally, you can wear a nose ring of cerebral safeguarding or a ring of sustain ability to become immune to the intelligence drain attacks.
Note that the intelligence drain attacks also cause amnesia, which makes you forget items' identification, spells, and the layout of dungeon levels.
🧠 5. Wisdom-Based Saving Throw
Contrary to NetHack, charm, sleep, and other mind-affecting spells and effects, such as fear, do not check against the magic resistance of monsters. Instead, monsters need to make a wisdom-based saving throw to resist the effect. The chance of resisting is equal to:
$-30\% + 5\% \times \text{Wisdom}$
Thus, a monster with Wisdom 10 has a 20% chance of resisting and a monster with Wisdom 20 has a 70% chance of resisting such a spell or effect.
Spells cast with the Skilled or higher spell school skill incur a -15% penalty to the wisdom-based saving throw per skill level above Basic. A spell cast at an Unskilled skill level incurs a +15% bonus to the wisdom-based saving throw.
Similarly, the Wand skill applies penalties to the target's saving throw when using wands: Basic grants a -10% penalty, Skilled grants a -20% penalty, and Expert grants a -30% penalty.
Furthermore, a target with lowered Magic Resistance suffers severe penalties to all ability-based saving throws (-20% for 3/4 MR, -40% for 1/2 MR, -60% for 1/4 MR, and -100% for 0 MR). When monsters cast spells or use wands, their rank simulates high skill levels. Lord-tier monsters cast at Expert level, and Prince-tier monsters cast at Grand Master level (giving up to a -60% penalty to the player's ability saving throw).
Blessed items with mind-affecting effects, such as a blessed scroll of taming or a blessed wand of sleep, incur a -25% penalty to the wisdom-based saving throw. Similarly, cursed items with mind-affecting effects – if there is no separate cursed effect – such as is the case with a cursed wand of sleep, incur a +25% bonus to the wisdom-based saving throw.
🔋 6. Constitution-Based Saving Throw
Some spells, such as Power Words and Holy Word, and some potion effects, such as sickness and poison, check against the constitution of the target. The chance of resisting is:
$-30\% + 5\% \times \text{Constitution}$
Thus, a monster with Constitution 10 has a 20% chance of resisting and a monster with Constitution 20 has a 70% chance of resisting such a spell or effect.
(Note: The Holy Word spell checks against the Constitution of the target to determine if it is affected, just like other constitution-based saving throws).
Spells cast with the Skilled or higher spell school skill incur a -15% penalty to the constitution-based saving throw per skill level above Basic. A spell cast at an Unskilled skill level incurs a +15% bonus to the constitution-based saving throw.
🤸 7. Dexterity-Based Saving Throw
The Flesh to Stone spell checks against the dexterity of the target to see if they can dodge the petrification effect. The chance of resisting uses the same formula:
$-30\% + 5\% \times \text{Dexterity}$
🗣️ 8. Charisma-Based Saving Throw
The Silence spell checks against the charisma of the target to see if they can resist the effect. The chance of resisting uses the same formula:
$-30\% + 5\% \times \text{Charisma}$
🪞 9. Reflection
Reflection gives a complete immunity to ray attacks, such as most wands and dragon breath. The rays reflect back to the caster.
🛡️ Sources of Reflection
Granted by Items:
- Amulet of reflection
- Bracers of reflection
- Crystal body armor
- Shield of reflection
- Silver dragon scale mail
Granted by Artifacts:
Granted by Spells:
💡 Advice on Getting Resistances
Generally, magic resistance and reflection are considered most important to get for a player. However, poison resistance, sleep resistance, free action, and death resistance are generally very important as well, because they can shield you from some insta-death attacks and situations. Additionally, drain resistance is important against some level-draining undead.
It is also important to note that polymorphing into a monster inherently grants you many of its resistances, making it a powerful way to temporarily gain immunities you lack from items.
Full elemental resistances are also useful against some item-destruction effects (such as shocking spheres) but are generally not considered as must-haves.